Beyond the Architects Eye - Mary N. Woods

Have been reading this book during the past week (Woods Mary N.  (2009) Beyond the Architects Eye  Photographs and the American Built Environment Philadelphia  Philadelphia University Press ). It seemed to be directly relevant to the 2nd Assignment part of my Course although this judgement was solely based on the title. It cannot be argued that some of the material in the book is what one would expect from such a book. However two things struck me as strange - the overall construction and the way that the author's views impinged upon the presumed subject matter.

The book was quite difficult to follow (in part because of my expectations about content) because the reader would happily be following the narrative about say a particular photographer or an area of America when for no immediately obvious reason the main topic, at that point would change, frequently to a more sociological bent. I always found this slightly disturbing as I was left with the feeling that nothing ever reached a conclusion that linked directly with the material immediately beforehand.  On more than one occasion I checked to see if I had turned two pages over at once. Overall the effect was to lessen the impact of the major themes discussed and which in my humble opinion could have been written in a more structured form.

The author's views on such things as segregation of races are important of themselves but it was never the case that the links that were being suggested between these matters and the built environment were proven. Indeed at times they seemed irrelevant. Clearly the Afro-American and the itinerant population were poorly treated and occupied the less desirable and fashionable housing. Yet the author failed to prove that this was the direct consequence of building decisions - i.e poor accommodation was built and provided for the afro-american. As in all societies the well off and the upwardly mobile move on and usually into better and better standards of accommodation. What they leave behind is occupied by the less fortunate who in turn move out of their original accommodation that is then occupied by the least fortunate. Paradoxically, as can be seen in parts of London, a distressed area can become popular again with the well off and the cycle begins again. This is not to deny that speculators take advantage of the desperate situation of the poor and create multi-occupancy lodgings from accommodation that was originally occupied by just one family.


Those parts of the book that directly relate to the built environment are of considerable interest and offer a great deal of information both written and pictorially. Offering insights into the work of a number of photographers through looking at their work in three areas that were undergoing significant changes in the built environment at the time of their work - New York, the Old South and Florida. We are introduced to the work of such photographers as Thomas Ruff, Jeff Wall, Andrew Moor Eugene Atget, Walker Evans, Arthur Rothstein, Charles Sheeler, Albert Renger-Patzsch and Frances Johnston amongst many others all of whom contributed to the development of architectural photography.

I remain with mixed feelings about the book and my recommendation would be to borrow it if you possibly can rather than buy it.