The Architecture of David Lynch by Richard Martin

by Richard Martin

Home to some of the most remarkable spaces in contemporary culture, the cinema of David Lynch demonstrates an acute awareness of architecture. From the urban wastelands of Eraserhead to the eerie Red Room in Twin Peaks, Lynch's architecture is anxious, absurd and utterly distinct. Contemporary architects such as Peter Eisenman, Frank Gehry and Jean Nouvel have responded to these spaces in fascinating ways.This book is the first sustained critical assessment of the role architecture and design play in Lynch's films. What can be learnt about Lynch's films by examining the architecture we see within them? What can be learnt about architecture, especially the spatial developments of post-war America, by examining Lynch's films?Drawing on primary research in Lódz, London, Los Angeles, Paris and Philadelphia, the book is structured around the prime symbolic spaces found in Lynch's the small town, the city, the home, the road, and the stage. A final chapter deals with the singular architecture of Lynch's latest film, Inland Empire, a complex work yet to receive sufficient critical explication. Alongside a broad set of literary, cinematic and artistic comparisons, a diverse range of urban and architectural theorists, including Mike Davis, Jane Jacobs and Richard Sennett, are discussed in a new context.The Architecture of David Lynch will emphasise key architects such as Rem Koolhaas, Le Corbusier, Adolf Loos, Richard Neutra, Jean Nouvel and Frank Lloyd Wright to show how Lynch's films enable us to understand contemporary architecture and demonstrates that Lynch's work prompts a reconsideration of how European modernism has been translated across the Atlantic.

Genres: Architecture, Film, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published July 17, 2014

Reviews

[False · Rating 5 out of 5]

A serious academic work on the films of David Lynch, the importance of architecture and inanimate objects in his movies, and locale, locale, locale. A difficult to find book (I had to special order it through the interlibrary loan system,) but well worth the effort. The first night I read it, the book actually gave me nightmares. Laughing. Lynch would approve.

[Tito Quiling, Jr. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read on how the architectural spaces in David Lynch's films create a distinct atmosphere that is essentially masculine in nature, even with featuring women as protagonists. While there is a sense of coldness in the writing at times, I do like how it refers to that form of subjugation, albeit briefly. It acknowledges the sense of freedom that comes with the travelling condition in his narratives, which is part of the spatial representation in a "Lynchian" work.

[valplanta · Rating 4 out of 5]

damn this man. no voy a contar nada porque todas las teorías y alusiones que se dan aquí son bastante entretenidas y mind blowing, especialmente las que tenían que ver con los Palmer o con el club Silencio, así que recomiendo mucho.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thorough resource on architecture in Lynch, yet not a lot of new perspectives on the works through this focus.

[Martin Raybould · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too obviously derived from a PhD thesis but some perceptive insights into the skewed vision of Lynch with observations on the underrated Inland Empire being particularly welcome.