‘We cover the universe with drawings we have lived’ Gaston Bachelard, The Poetics of Space, 1958.

Poetry and architecture, brought together by Gaston Bachelard in his seminal investigation of lived-in space, are art-forms that nevertheless continue critically to be considered broadly apart from one another. The one concrete and three-dimensional, the other abstract and metaphorical, these two creative art forms invite further comparison. Philosophers and theorists have often used architectural metaphors in their writing – Freud, considering the canny (heimlich) as a cage that represses the uncanny (unheimlich); Bataille using architecture to represent authority and social order, that might be attacked and undermined by the destructive act of the individual; or Lyotard, proclaiming that ‘the temporal regime of the domus is rhythm or rhyme’.

This conference seeks to re-assess such analyses. Concepts of beauty and utility, of personality and indexicality, of inscription and graffiti and of memory and temporality are all key concerns in the investigation of how these two distinct disciplines productively engage with one another. Intersections: Architecture and Poetry features speakers who bring global perspectives to bear in their diverse practices as architects, poets and academics. Key themes investigated throughout include urban development, bodily experience, ritual and memory, scale, and the nature of dwelling. As such, Intersections offers new ways of thinking about space and poetics.

To book a place: £25 (£15 students) Please send a cheque made payable to ‘Courtauld Institute of Art’ to: Research Forum Events Co-ordinator, Research Forum, The Courtauld Institute of Art , Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 0RN, clearly stating that you wish to book for the ‘Intersections: Architecture and Poetry’ conference. For credit card bookings call 020 7848 2785 (9.30 - 18.00, weekdays only). For further information, send an email to ResearchForumEventscourtauld.ac.uk

Organised by Ayla Lepine (ayla.lepinecourtauld.ac.uk) and Caroline Levitt (caroline.levittcourtauld.ac.uk)