Four Paragraphs related to the Singapore 2011 Biennale

Experiments by Professor Dowsing of Cambridge University have shown that neurons in

the brain are most stimulated when subjects receive unexpected gains. The next highest
neuron firing rate, coming in a very distant second, occurs when test subjects experience
an unexpected loss. The third highest degree of neural firing occurs in situations of
expected loss. Subjects receiving the gains they expected showed the least neural
activity. Professor Dowsing's experiments were based on financial transactions, but are
considered accurate for gains and losses of any type. Simplifying things, Dowsing's
experiments demonstrate that unexpected gains make people smarter. It also shows that
complacency encourages mental inactivity.

Kitano Maru- Built in 1909, by the Nippon Yesen Company, the Kitano Maru transported
mail, goods and passengers. The ship brought Einstein from Marseille to Tokyo and back.
Arata Endo,a respected architect who had worked with Frank Lloyd Wright, planned to
travel as far as Singapore with Einstein. The ship developed engine trouble and had to be
towed to the nearest port, Kuching. In Kuching Endo saw a newspaper full of architectural
doodles, a discovery which led to a meeting with Wong.
The Kitano Maru struck a Japanese mine and sank in 1942.

Terraced House
Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA
1958/Unbuilt
1:50

Inspired by Corbusier's Dom-Ino constructural system, the design for Terraced House was
mailed as a present to Frank Reicher, a life-long friend of Wong. The design hung in
Reicher's living room, where it was spotted and photographed by Reicher's artist neighbor
Walter deMaria (the Broken Kilometer, the Lightning Field). deMaria, in turn, wrote an
essay about the design for Art Forum magazine. The essay, entitled, Terraced House:
Shortcuts to Heaven, has been cited as an influence by many American conceptual artists,
including Robert Smithson (Spiral Jetty).

Allow me a brief digression. I believe the current reassessments of Corbusier's work are
not surprising. There were no shipwrecks for Corbusier, nothing in his life that was greatly
unexpected. He followed a traditional career path of university, apprenticeship, teaching
and managing his own practice. Granted, the Athens Charter is still valid, but that was a
group effort. With every passing year Corbusier's designs sink deeper into the sea of
architectural background noise. I believe that if Corbusier 's life contained a significant
unexpected event, his impact would have been on a level with that of Picasso, da Vinci or
Einstein.