Lecture Response: Triple Exposure

Response to Momoyo Kaijima, Izzy Kornblatt, & Joan Ockman: “The Architect as Photographer: Observation, Research, and Pedagogy”

What is the role of photography in architecture? This was the fundamental question we were left with after the opening lecture for the new exhibition on the photographic practice of Denise Scott Brown, the main author of Learning from Las Vegas and one of the school’s most influential critics.

Izzy Kornblatt, the curator, opened with a thoughtful account of how the exhibition came together and what it set out to do. Momoyo Kajima followed, speaking as a practicing architect and researcher and situating photography within her own work. Joan Ockman then framed Scott Brown’s practice historically, expanding the scope of discussion with more existential questions about the architect’s role and its long entanglement with photography.

The exhibition itself is a clear success, and Izzy deserves congratulations for introducing us to Scott Brown’s photographic work. Her photographs, often composed in a total shot, give us context without sacrificing details—something that a panel discussion similarly aims for. However, time constraints left each speaker rushing through ideas rather than guiding the audience through them, flattening what could have been a more layered conversation.

In Las Vegas, more is more. Here, less might have been. Reducing density and allowing a single argument to unfold would have benefited the evening, especially given Ockman’s timely questions about architectural photography in a visual era. These questions feel too urgent—and too current—not to linger on.