MAK Center for Art and Architecture

The MAK Center for Art and Architecture, which is affiliated with the Museum der angewandte Kunst (MAK), Vienna, is an art museum and cultural center known for its site-specific and artist-centric exhibitions and public programs sited in three significant architectural landmarks by the Austrian-American architect R.M. Schindler. Founded in 1994 by Peter Noever through a cooperative agreement between the Friends of Schindler House and MAK, the museum has transformed the mandate of historic houses to include contemporary art and architecture program. Particularly important among the museum's critically acclaimed exhibitions are presentations of both historically over-looked and emerging contemporary artists. The Hammer Museum also hosts over 120 exhibitions and 500 programs, from workshops, lectures, symposia, performances, film screenings and concerts.

History

On August 10, 1994, the Friends of the Schindler House signed an agreement with the Museum der angewandte Kunst (the Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna / Museum für angewandte Kunst Wien) to create the nonprofit MAK Center for Art and Architecture. The MAK Center for Art and Architecture's mission is to serve as a contemporary, experimental, multi-disciplinary center for art and architecture and is headquartered in three architectural landmarks by the Austrian-American architect Rudolph M. Schindler. The Center is headquartered in the landmark Schindler House (R.M. Schindler, 1922) in West Hollywood; operates a residency program and exhibition space at the Mackey Apartments (R.M. Schindler, 1939) and runs residencies and a study center at the Fitzpatrick-Leland House (R.M. Schindler, 1936) in Los Angeles.

Exhibitions and Programs

Major exhibitions in the Center’s history include Anarchitecture: Works by Gordon Matta-Clark (1997); Martin Kippenberger: The Last Stop West—METRO–Net Projects (1998); Architecture and Revolution: The Cuban National Art Schools (1999); Richard Prince: Up State (2000); Frederick J. Kiesler: Endless Space (2000–01), Gerald Zugmann, “Blue Universe: Architectural Manifestos by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU” (2002), Skip Arnold, 835 North Kings Road (2003), Contemporary Architects Face Schindler Today (2003), Yves Klein: Air Architecture (2004); Amir Zaki: Spring Through Winter (2005); Gunther Domenig: Structures that Fit My Nature (2005); Issac Julien: True North (2005); Symmetry (2006); Repeat: Brandon Lattu (2006); The Gen(H)ome Project (2006); Arnulf Rainer: Hypergraphics (2007); Victor Burgin: The Little House (2007).  

Sites

The MAK Center operates three works of architecture by Rudolph M. Schindler: the landmark Schindler House in West Hollywood, the Mackey Apartments in Mid-City Los Angeles, and the Fitzpatrick-Leland House in the Hollywood Hills.

The Schindler House (1922) serves as the headquarters of MAK Center for Art and Architecture, founded in 1994 as an independent satellite of the MAK – Austrian Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, in cooperation with the Federal Chancellery of Austria/Art Division and the Friends of the Schindler House (FoSH).

The Mackey Apartments (1939) are the home to the MAK Center’s residency program designed for visiting artists, architects, and students of architecture. The building was purchased by the Republic of Austria in 1995 and made available for the activities of the MAK Center. Restoration work began in 1995 by the Central Office of Architecture, and continued with architects Space International in 2001 and 2004, thanks to funding by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Labor. The Mackey Apartments hosts the Artists and Architects-in-Residence Program, a six-month residency hosted twice annually, and serves as a contemporary exhibition space for residents and international and local artists.

Originally designed by R.M. Schindler as a model home, the Fitzpatrick-Leland House (1936) serves as the MAK Center’s Study Center.[1] The mid-century architectural work is home to an international residency, research library, and curatorial headquarters. Through intimate programming and research-based residencies, the Study Center cultivates interdisciplinary inquiry and engaged dialogue centering on contemporary issues relating to art and architecture.