NEW YORK – The Shrine of the Book in the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is the only architectural work of Frederick Kiesler (1890-1965), an American Jew of Austro-Hungarian origin, a designer, artist and theoretician. In the enigmatic and unusual structure Kiesler implemented, but only partially, the idea of the Endless House – a concept which he conceived and developed for decades by means of manifestos, sketches and models.
Kiesler's thought and his work have been enjoying a renewal in recent years, providing materials for studies and interpretations and quite a number of exhibitions. The latest as of now is “The Endless House: Between Art and Architecture,” a tribute at the Museum of Modern Art in New York to mark the 50th anniversary of Kiesler’s death on December 27.
[...]
The Shrine of the Book, the only attempt to implement the impossible, is glaringly absent from the exhibition. Perhaps because it constitutes uncontestable proof that embodying the concept of Endless House would mark its finiteness.
[..]
But wait! There's more:
Meanwhile, in Jerusalem
On the other side of the world, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem is presently showing the mini-exhibition “The Architecture of the Shrine of the Book,” to mark the jubilee of the dedication of the museum and the construction of the shrine, where the Dead Sea Scrolls are on display. Kiesler designed the structure with Armand Bartos, a Jewish American architect of Hungarian origin who was born in 1910; December 29 will mark the 10th anniversary of Bartos' death.
In the architectural equation here, Kiesler was the avant-garde theoretician and Bartos was the pragmatist with his feet on the ground. Apparently only such a partnership enabled the construction of the shrine, which may not be endless, but is open to endless interpretations.