| Title |
The Things That Are Not Buildings in Architectural Photographs That Exemplify What Architecture Is |
| DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5659/JAIK.2026.42.6.181 |
| Keywords |
Architectural Photography; Ezra Stoller; Shadow; Exemplification; Timelessness; Louis Kahn; Mies van der Rohe |
| Abstract |
This study examines how non-building, secondary elements in architectural photography, especially shadows, can exemplify essential
architectural properties. It challenges the assumption that the mechanical nature of photography diminishes deeper architectural meaning.
Through an analysis of Ezra Stoller’s mid-20th-century photographs of projects by Louis Kahn and Mies van der Rohe, the study draws on
Michael Baxandall’s typology of shadows, Nelson Goodman’s concept of exemplification, and Kendall Walton’s theory of still photography.
First, self-shadows and shading communicate form and texture, while cast shadows reveal spatial relationships, allowing three-dimensional
architecture to be expressed as two-dimensional patterns. Second, beyond shadows, ephemeral elements such as moving people, cars, leaves,
water, and reflections introduce a transient presence that evokes the atmospheric timelessness central to the work of Kahn and Mies. Third,
Walton’s theory of duration explains how still photographs uniquely convey architectural timelessness: transient elements prompt repeated
moments of perception, while buildings persist and emerge as timeless entities, unaffected by change. The study concludes that, in certain
architectural photographs, non-building elements actively exemplify architectural properties, showing that mechanical representation can function
as an active agent in the mediation of architecture. |