Bernard Rudofsky (April 19 1905 - March 12, 1988) was a Moravian-born American writer, architect, collector, teacher, designer, and social historian. He earned a doctorate in architecture in Austria before working in Germany, Italy and other countries. He temporarily settled in Brazil in the 1930s and opened an architectural practice there, building several notable residences in Sao Paulo. An entry in a 1941 design competition brought an invitation from MOMA to tour the US. He remained based in New York City until his death, although he continued to travel. Rudofsky taught at Yale, MIT, Cooper-Hewitt, Waseda University in Tokyo and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. He was a Ford, Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellow.

Influence

Rudofsky was most influential for organizing a series of controversial MOMA exhibits in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. He is best remembered today for a number of urbane books that still provide relevant design insight that is concealed in entertaining, subversive sarcasm. His interests ranged from vernacular architecture to Japanese toilets and sandal design. Taken together, his written work constitutes a sustained argument for humane and sensible design.

Publications

In 'Architecture without Architects' Rudolfsky attempts to break down our limited idea of this field and briefly introduce the reader to the vast and wise world of non pedigreed architecture (vernacular, indigenous and anonymous). The lessons taught in this world are highly useful to mankind, especially relating to the environmental crisis the world now faces. Another notable work, Now I Lay Me Down to Eat is an entertaining tour of historical and cultural alternatives to the design problems of everyday life-dining, sleeping, sitting, cleansing, and bathing-and was "neither meant to spread dangerous heresies nor to undermine our birthright to make the worst of possible choices. Rather, it demonstrates by means of random examples that life can be less dull than we make it." By contrasting current western design solutions with earlier practices, he makes our current "solutions" look open to improvement, if not outright ridiculous and arbitrary. For instance, he asks why the standard American-style toilet is effectively a septic humidifier, and why American-style bathtubs are impossible for adults to lie down in and are as a matter of routine permanently fixed two or three feet away from a septic humidifier.

The Black Mountain Years

In 1944 Rudofsky and his wife Berta were invited to Black Mountain College for two weeks. Bernard gave two lectures on the sad state of clothing design, calling contemporary dress "anachronistic, irrational, impractical and harmful" and literally unsuitable. One of his lectures was called "How Can People Expect to Have Good Architecture When They Wear Such Clothes?".