Herbert Muschamp

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Herbert Muschamp
Art Forum

Herbert Mitchell Muschamp (November 28, 1947 – October 2, 2007) was an American architecture critic.

Early years

Born in Philadelphia, Muschamp described his childhood home life as follows: "The living room was a secret. A forbidden zone. The new slipcovers were not, in fact, the reason why sitting down there was taboo. That was just the cover story. It was used to conceal the inability of family members to hold a conversation. Who knew what other secrets might come tumbling out if they actually sat down and talked? The cause of Mother's headaches might come up."[1]

This motivated Muschamp to engage in boisterous conversations outside the home in later years, particularly in the company of such up-and-coming architects as

Ricardo Scofidio, Frank Gehry, Rem Koolhaas, Jean Nouvel, Bernard Tschumi and Tod Williams, which formed the basis for his perceptive and often vehement architectural commentary and criticism.[2]

Muschamp attended the

Architectural Association in London
.

Career

During this period, he began writing architectural criticism for various magazines, including

Art Forum. He was appointed the architecture critic for The New Republic
in 1987.

Muschamp became the architecture critic for

Casagrande & Rintala.[4]

His detractors, noted the

New York Observer, argued that his conflicts of interest, from socializing with his subjects frequently, and his "iconoclasm and obscurantism, his unapologetic dilettantism" were along with his "very public break downs" a source of a "fall from grace."[5]

Muschamp was a lover of cities. One of his most often quoted lines came from a 2004 review: "A city is never more fully human than when expertise – our own or someone else's – allows us access to ebullience, lightness and delight."[6] He spent a number of columns criticizing the new master plan for the World Trade Center site, calling the plan produced by Daniel Libeskind an embodiment of the "Orwellian condition America's detractors accuse us of embracing: perpetual war for perpetual peace."[7]

He stepped down as the architecture critic of The New York Times in 2004 to write the "Icons" column for the Times' T Style Magazine, among other features. He was replaced by his protégé, Nicolai Ouroussoff. Muschamp was openly gay, and the centrality of gay men in the cultural life of New York City was central to his writing. He continued to write until his death from lung cancer in Manhattan in 2007.

A book collection of Muschamp's writings, Hearts of the City: The Selected Writings of Herbert Muschamp, was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 2010.[2]

References

  1. ^ Herbert Muschamp. Hearts of the City: The Selected Writings of Herbert Muschamp. Introduction by Nicolai Ouroussoff. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2010.
  2. ^ a b Jonathan Glancey. Review: Muschamp, The Works. Archived 2010-02-09 at the Wayback Machine The Architect's Newspaper. Published: February 5, 2010
  3. ^ Nicolai Ouroussoff. Herbert Muschamp, 59, Architecture Critic, Dies. The New York Times. Published: October 3, 2007. Retrieved on October 6, 2007.
  4. ^ Herbert Muschamp. Architecture's Claim on the Future: The Blob . The New York Times. Published: July 23, 2000
  5. ^ Clay Risen. As Muschamp Goes, Angry Adversaries Ready for Revenge. New York Observer. Published: June 27, 2004.
  6. ^ Herbert Muschamp. An Appraisal - For Lower Manhattan, Tower Offers a Residential Stairway to the Sky. The New York Times. Published: March 3, 2004
  7. ^ Herbert Muschamp. Balancing Reason and Emotion in Twin Towers Void. The New York Times. Published: February 6, 2003
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