The Bilbao Effect is well-known, but what about the Disney effect? Certainly, the castle that graces the company’s logo far eclipses Gehry’s Guggenheim design in recognizability. A synthesis of various European manses, Cinderella’s turreted abode can be visited as easily in Tokyo as in Florida, not to mention found lighting up millions of screens the world over.
“Disney is often seen as what’s quote-unquote ‘wrong’ in postmodernity. But apparently people like going to Disneyland,” says curator Saskia van Stein. “I’m trying to investigate why.” To that end, van Stein brought together artists, architects, theorists and designers to organize an exhibition at Rotterdam’s Het Nieuwe Instituut this fall. On display through March, “The...
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It’s Disney’s World, We Just Live in It
A Dutch exhibition explores how Disney has monopolized the architectural imagination.