I heard about the documentary "My Architect: A Journey to Find My Father" when I was not studying architecture. After procrastinating, I finally saw it at the film screening of the Waijin Construction Classroom. After watching it, I searched for the Chinese and English subtitles of different versions. and movie reviews. I secretly think that this is not so much a documentary about "architecture" as it is a work that explores "relationship": the illegitimate child realizes the connection through the living people who have worked with or lived with Kang and Kang's architecture, and this connection is not Rather than a puzzle-like attempt to present Kang's entire life experience and architectural philosophy, the lines generally complement the subtle connections between Kang and himself, his work, his wife and lovers, etc. There is no complete father image, but there is a illegitimate child who knows more and misses more because he chooses tolerance and learns to say goodbye to the final self-consistency of his identity and the construction of his father and the surrounding environment.
Quan Dang is looking for reasons for the author's lack of talent and learning. A documentary that is not very "architectural" may also correspond to a short review that is not very "architectural". In the author's opinion, the most accurate metaphor for Kang's state of mind and life's journey is the "nomadic people". He tossed between three women. After a brief visit, he left in a hurry. After a tacit cooperation, he refused to share happiness. In fact the more stable home was 1501 Walnut Street, his office. When he decided to pursue architecture as a lifelong pursuit, the quest to find himself was deepened and revealed in a perhaps more artistic way: discovering his architectural language on tours of Rome and Egypt and in a shower house in Trenton. Affirm yourself in practice; the ugly scar on the face after the fire at the age of three is preserved like the bolt hole in the concrete wall of the Shaker Institute. Although it does not look good, it is naturally left during the construction process. It is better to accept it than to hide it; Huwa The synagogue's retrospective and pilgrimage to its Jewish identity; in the speculation of non-light and non-dark, the material is presented with the spirit, the outer feeling is illuminated by order, and the inner thinking reaches the starting point of reality and becomes measurable.
It's hard to tell if Kang is confident or not. His sensitivity to scars on his face and Jewish origin collide with form causing function, a firm architectural statement of brick wanting to be an arch, and an uncompromising image of a fighter, so precise and unforgiving until old age. Bit by bit, don't forgive yourself. Kang's life seems to be full of contradictions and complexities. The completed works embody a poetic and timeless translation of light, but in reality, he is constantly faced with the death of the plan and the heavy debt; "Maybe he was made into a short, ugly, A Jew with a hoarse voice, and not very good at getting along with people. Maybe he was made like this on purpose, because it allowed him to explore the inside."
And Kang's death, along with his work and family, became the poet's enigmatic perfection. color. His heart belongs to the nomads, but he stops at the node of the work and writes eternity. As viewers, we, as Kang's third wife said when describing herself, also became "romantic fatalists" when experiencing Kang's architecture. Despite the debate surrounding Kang's character and work, his love is still at 1501 Walnut Street, between the work and the eternal light and shadow.
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