Hugh Ferriss and Metropolis
Tomorrow, 1929; Hugh Ferriss', Vista in the Business Zone, & Woolworth Building, The Metropolis of Tomorrow,
Princeton Architectural Press, Reprint of 1929 edition, 1986 /Artwork: designslinger]
We watched the movie Metropolis the other night with some friends, and I pulled out
a book I've had for several years, The Metropolis of Tomorrow. The book has nothing to do with the movie per se, but Hugh Ferriss' illustrations which fill the book, reminded me of Fritz Lang's movie and vice versa.
Ferriss was an architect, but his fame within the design world came from his work as an
architectural delineator. The word delineator comes from the Latin delineare, which means: to sketch out. Of course he did a lot more than just sketch out, he created an entirely new language in the world of architectural illustration.
Metropolis of Tomorrow has three sections; Cities of Today, Projected Trends and An
Imaginary Metropolis. The last two sections contain some of Ferriss' most dynamic work. Using charcoal, and its range of darks and lights, Ferriss infused these images with a sense of drama. Whether he was drawing an existing building, an architectural rendering for an client, or something that came from Ferriss' fertile imagination, he was a wonderful visual story teller, who used architecture as his subject.
There is a quote associated with the Ferriss legend that is almost as well known as his
artwork. When he died in 1962, it was noted that although Ferriss apparently never designed a noteworthy building, a colleague said, "he influenced my generation of architects more than any other man." I think after you take a look at this small sample of his work, you can understand why.
Princeton Architectural Press, Reprint of 1929 edition, 1986 /Artwork: designslinger]
Posted by designslinger at 3/3/2009 5:45 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Art
Tags: architectural drawing and illustration Hugh Ferris
Categories: Architecture, Art
Tags: architectural drawing and illustration Hugh Ferris
The movie was released in 1927. It's probably safe to say that it was probably influenced by the movie.