Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1907, Oscar Niemeyer is recognized as one of the worlds most fiercely original architects and the central figure of Brazilian architectural Modernism. The prolific designer of more than 600 buildings, Niemeyer has been in practice for seven decades. Architecture, he declares must be functional, beautiful, and shocking. Transgressing orthodox Modernist aesthetic doctrine and subverting hegemonic cultural models, his work privileged invention and affirmed spectacle and luxury, pleasure, beauty, and sensuality as legitimate architectural pursuits.
This gorgeously illustrated book explores the development of Niemeyers extraordinary body of ideas and forms as well as his role in the construction of Brazils modern image and cultural tradition. Through a detailed discussion of his intoxicating experiments in reinforced concrete, the book offers the opportunity to relish the stream of pleasures afforded by Niemeyers important buildings, including his mid-century projects as chief architect for the new capital of Braslia, and the spectacular Niteri Museum of Contemporary Art, completed in 1996. Providing the first comprehensive analysis of Niemeyers radical work and dissident perspective, Oscar Niemeyer: Curves of Irreverence sheds new light on the route the architect has followed as well as on Brazilian Modernism as a non-conformist project informed by a nationalist and anti-colonialist stance.
