Anarchitecture: The Political Philosophy of Building Imported from Chile Main Menu Anarchitecture The Political Philosophy of Building Imported from Chile Anti-Architecture An introduction to the American Anarchitecture movement, spearheaded by our primary subject of analysis, Gordon Matta-Clark The Individual Identity of Art An Analysis of Gordon Matta-Clark's "Split" and Roberto Matta's "Le Pianiste" Beauty in the Void An analysis of Gordon Matta-Clark's "Conical Intersect" and Roberto Matta's "Disasters of Mysticism" How to Make Art when Art is Illegal An analysis of Gordon Matta's films and exhibitions in a historical context

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"Conical Intersect (1975)" is remarkably similar to "Splitting (1974)" in its two purposes: the more general deconstruction of Modernism's emphasis on function over form, and, more specifically, a removal of the boundaries between the interior and exterior spaces. Both pieces depict homes being opened up to public view like dollhouses, and break the wall between the outside world and the comfort of the home. Matta-Clark questions why the home is so much more comfortable and homely than any other building, and he attributes this feature to the architecture of homes, which had remained relatively consistent through the 20th century in comparison to the trends that ruled public and government buildings. While Art Deco gave way to Brutalism, giving way to Modernism, and eventually International Style, homes remained comfortably contemporary. 

By removing the barrier between the interior of the home and the exterior of the home, Matta-Clark at once forces those inside the house to face the disparity between their comfortable inside and the uncomfortable outside, building their appreciation for the architecture of the suburban home, and also forces those outside to see the comfort of inside and make them envy the home with its softer styles. 

As the house in "Conical Intersect (1975)" was an 18th century Parisian home slated to be destroyed in favor of a more modern city square, this message is even more poignant: that new buildings come at the cost of old buildings and that progress for the sake of progress sometimes erases history. As a result, this exhibition is seen as one of Matta-Clark's greatest works, encapsulating the conflict between architecture and the people that must live in the architecture.

This, like much of Anarchitecture, is adapted from the style of Roberto Matta, and also Chile in general. "Les Roses sont Belles (1951)" was a Matta painting depicting the invasion of government surveillance into the home, and depicts a dollhouse remarkably similar to "Splitting (1974)." The title, The Roses are Beautiful,  is a reference to the public indifference, how the average person is distracted from this invasion by other pretty things, like public works projects, that are meant to portray the government in a good light and excuse its transgression. In real life, this image of the open home was revived in Chile due to the 1973 coup d'état and the heavily increased authoritarianism that came with the Pinochet presidency. While the actual message of surveillance was secondary in Matta-Clark's architecture, he incorporated the image of the open home in many works and reinterpreted it into an American context.

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