CLANCY_TAUBMAN ARCHITECTURE FELLOWSHIPS 2024_SAMPLE PORTFOLIO by tessclancy

TESS CLANCY _ SUMMARY OF SELECTED WORK

ERODING THE CONFEDERACY

EROD

Breaking down Confederate Monuments with Human-powered machines

“[The confederate monuments] are a gash in our civic fabric and they need to be either drastically contextualized or relocated...these are powerful objects that need powerful recontextualization.” (Louis Nelson, Professor of architectural history and associate dean in the school of architecture at the University of Virginia).

There are currently 1500 confederate memorials scattered across the United States—750

Albert Pike Monument, Washington DC

There are currently 1500 confederate memo-

of which are physical monuments. The monu-

rials scattered across the United States—750

ments are solid and heavy, carved from stone,

of which are physical monuments. The monu-

rarely encouraging interaction and designed to

ments are solid and heavy, carved from stone,

instill fear in minority populations. They resur-

rarely encouraging interaction and designed to instill fear in minority populations. They resur-

rect traumatic singular and collective memories.

The primary discussion surrounding these The primary discussion surrounding these

monuments is “should they stay or should they go?” However, to counteract the racism embedded in our society requires more work than this nar row question implies.

monuments is “should they stay or should Memorial to Confederate Soldiers + Sailors Jackson, MS

they go?” However, to counteract the racism embedded in our society requires more work than this nar row question implies.

While Lewis Mumford proclaimed ‘The Death of

the Monument,’ declaring it “a symbol of soci-

ety’s fixation on death,” philosopher Adrian Parr,

argues that “contemporary memorial culture has

the power to put traumatic memory to work in a positive way.” Taking Parr’s statement about work literally and combining it with the idea that the stay-or-go question leads to oversimplification, this thesis will revolve around the design of

ERODING THE CONFEDERACY

the power to put traumatic memory to work in

Breaking down Confederate Monuments with Human-powered machines

a positive way.” Taking Parr’s statement about work literally and combining it with the idea that

Confederate Monument

the stay-or-go question leads to oversimplifica-

State Capitol Montgomery, AL

tion, this thesis will revolve around the design of

mechanical counter monuments which, powered

mechanical counter monuments which, powered “[The confederate monuments] are a gash in our civic fabric and they need to be either drastically contextualized or relocated...these are powerful objects that need powerful recontextualization.” (Louis Nelson, Professor of architectural history and associate dean in the school of architecture at the University of Virginia).

by the interaction of visitors, will slowly deface, deteriorate, deconstruct, and eventually destroy

the legibility of the original confederate monu-

ments. The machining structures will produce a

There are currently 1500 confederate memorials scattered across the United States—750

cathartic experience resistant to the history and

ments are solid and heavy, carved from stone,

collective memory of the site—while breaking

instill fear in minority populations. They resur-

Stone Mountain Atlanta, GA

place by the regime who erected the monument.

The primary discussion surrounding these monuments is “should they stay or should they go?” However, to counteract the racism embedded in our society requires more work than this nar row question implies.

Memorial to Confederate Soldiers + Sailors Jackson, MS

While Lewis Mumford proclaimed ‘The Death of the Monument,’ declaring it “a symbol of society’s fixation on death,” philosopher Adrian Parr, argues that “contemporary memorial culture has the power to put traumatic memory to work in a positive way.” Taking Parr’s statement about work literally and combining it with the idea that the stay-or-go question leads to oversimplification, this thesis will revolve around the design of

Confederate Monument State Capitol Montgomery, AL

mechanical counter monuments which, powered by the interaction of visitors, will slowly deface, deteriorate, deconstruct, and eventually destroy the legibility of the original confederate monuments. The machining structures will produce a cathartic experience resistant to the history and collective memory of the site—while breaking down and subverting the power structure put in place by the regime who erected the monument.

cathartic experience resistant to the history and

down and subverting the power structure put in

rect traumatic singular and collective memories.

Confederate Monument

ments. The machining structures will produce a

collective memory of the site—while breaking

rarely encouraging interaction and designed to

down and subverting the power structure put in place by the regime who erected the monument.

Albert Pike Monument, Washington DC

of which are physical monuments. The monu-

Confederate Monument Stone Mountain Atlanta, GA

M. Arch Thesis_Eroding The Confederacy_Fall 2018

Eroding the Confederacy: Revealing + Dismantling White Supremacy on Richmond’s Monument Ave.

There are currently over 1500 Confederate monuments scattered across the United States. The majority of these monuments were dedicated during the postreconstruction Jim Crow Era—a period defined by Southern white-supremacist rule and terrorism against African Americans. They worked to perpetuate the “Lost Cause” myth of the Confederacy in Southern culture and “history” books. This thesis attempts to A) catalog methods of architectural intervention, designed to deconstruct the intended power of the mass-produced monuments and, B) apply these methods—in combination with urban planning and landscaping strategies—to Richmond’s Monument Avenue, revealing the structures of racism and white supremacy embedded in the wealth of Monument Ave and Richmond as a whole. Awarded the Richmond Harold Shreve Thesis Prize. Advisors: Val Warke, Sasa Zivkovic

(left) Plan oblique drawing of intervention at Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, VA. Red denotes the small alleyways behind Monument Ave., that were used by African Americans who worked for white families on Monument Ave.

Tess Clancy

M. Arch Thesis_Eroding The Confederacy_Fall 2018

(above) (L) Perspective Drawing of intervention on Stuart Monument in Richmond, VA. (R) View from below monument/intervention. (Facing Page_top) Plan oblique drawing of intervention on Stuart Monument in Richmond, VA.

Tess Clancy

M. Arch Thesis_Eroding The Confederacy_Fall 2018

(above) Perspective Drawing of intervention at Davis Monument in Richmond, VA. (Facing Page_top) Plan oblique drawing of intervention at Davis Monument.

Tess Clancy

M. Arch Thesis_Eroding The Confederacy_Fall 2018

M. Arch Thesis_Augmenting Monuments_Fall 2018

(above) Above: Culmination of Phase I of thesis—Selection of Architectural Methods from Counter-Catalog (left) Perspective drawing of intervention at Robert E. Lee monument in Richmond, VA.

Tess Clancy

Competition_Piscina Mirabilis_Spring 2020

L I T T L E S / C I S T E R ( N ): Reuse Italy Competition Piscina Mirabilis, Naples

“Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” -Charles Caleb Colton Little S/Cister(n) revitalizes the architectural origins of Piscina Mirabilis— bringing water to the depths of the 1st century “wondrous pool” through a system of vaulted piping, that imitates the program and the arcades of its idol, the older s/cister(n). The lightweight framework of pipes and grated platforms piggy-backs on the existing structure, spanning across the vaults to exhibit art works that hover above the cistern’s landscape of concrete, water, shadow and light. The thin structural framework of the Little S/Cister(n) hangs bridges of circulation for people to view the space at new heights, and stages performance, projection and installations against the backdrop of the concrete arcades—allowing the work to become a part of the sensory experience of the museum. With this design, we challenge featured artists to test the limits of contemporary art—asking them to work in direct dialogue with the architecture to create a new canon of sculpture, performance and visual practices that are enhanced and tested by their exposure to natural light, moisture and seasonal shifts. The roof has been preserved at the north-east and south-west corner, referencing the large program areas that sit below, while the rest of the original roofing has been removed and replaced with a grated metal floor that reveals the vaulted structure below. Large oculi that again reference the proportions of the arcades, span the central East-West axis of the roof---in the same location as the previously eroded openings. The structural piping that supports all of the exhibition and circulation platforms within Piscina Mirabilis is counter-balanced by arches that reach upward to the roof, extending the sectional landscape above ground. This piping circulates water from the roof to the lower level of the cistern, where new channels have been carved into the concrete floor.

(left) Cross sectional Perspective looking west.

Tess Clancy

Competition_Piscina Mirabilis_Spring 2020

(above) Longitudinal sectional Perspective looking North.

Tess Clancy

WASTED Symposium_Spring 2019

Structural Model, Scandura Expo Gate, Fall 2016

(above) Posters hand printed over re-used plots from students at Cornell AAP for the symposium “Wasted: Design for the end of Material as we Know it.”

Tess Clancy

Parasitic Column Shelf_Office Anomalous

Custom Table Design_Office Anomalous

Tess Clancy

TEACHING >

Cornell in Rome_Studio Course_Spring 2020

C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y R o m e P ro g r a m C o l l e g e o f A rc h i t e c t u re , A r t , a n d P l a n n i n g F o u n d a t i o n s i n A rc h i t e c t u re Spring 2020 ARCH 1120 | Foundations Architecture Design Studio M & Th | 9AM - 1PM , Office hours by appointment I n s t r u c t o r : Te s s C l a n c y | t m c 2 5 5 @ c o r n e l l . e d u

Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Fragments of urns and sarcophagi from crematorium and columbarium of the Augustan era on the Appian Way, Rome, 1757

IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS / FRAGMENTING THE IMPERIAL: An introduction to architectural design through close inspection of Roman monuments and fragments

C O U R S E D E S C R I P T I O N A N D R AT I O N A L E : F o r c e n t u r i e s a r t i s t s a n d a rc h i t e c t s h a v e b e e n f a s c i n a t e d w i t h t h e m o n u m e n t a l r u i n s o f R o m e , a n d t h e a rc h i t e c t u re o f a n c i e n t R o m e h a s re p e a t e d l y i n f l u e n c e d t h e d e s i g n a e s t h e t i c o f re g i m e s a c ro s s t h e g l o b e ( a n d s t i l l d o e s t o t h e p re s e n t d a y ) . I n t h i s s t u d i o w e w i l l f o c u s o n o n e a s p e c t o f t h e c i t y ’s m a n y - l a y e re d a n d c o m p l e x h i s t o r y, t h ro u g h c a re f u l re s e a rc h a n d o b s e s s i v e d o c u m e n t a t i o n o f a s e l e c t i o n o f t h e c i t y ’s m o n u m e n t a l f r a g m e n t s a n d i n - t a c t m o n u m e n t s . I n t h i s i n v e s t i g a t i o n , s t u d e n t s w i l l w o r k b e t w e e n s c a l e s , f ro m t h a t o f t h e o b j e c t , o r f r a g m e n t , t o t h a t o f t h e u r b a n c o n t e x t . W i t h scale in mind, the studio will take part in two phases: P H A S E I _ T h e F r a g m e n t : We w i l l b e g i n w i t h c l o s e i n s p e c t i o n o f a n a rc h i t e c t u r a l f r a g m e n t o f e a c h s t u d e n t ’s c h o i c e . I t m u s t e x i s t p h y s i c a l l y a n d b e a b l e t o b e d o c u m e n t e d . S p e c i f i c a s s i g n m e n t s w i l l r a n g e f ro m p h o t o g r a p h i n g , s k e t c h i n g , d r a w i n g a n d m o d e l i n g t h e f r a g m e n t , t o d e s i g n i n g a s u p p o r t t h a t b o t h m e a s u re s a n d d i s p l a y s t h e f r a g m e n t a n d s p e c u l a t e s o n i t s o r i g i n a l c o n t e x t . Wo r k f ro m t h i s p h a s e w i l l b e p re s e n t e d a t t h e m i d t e r m re v i e w. P H A S E I I _ T h e M o n u m e n t : I n t h e s e c o n d p a r t o f t h e s e m e s t e r, e a c h s t u d e n t w i l l c h o s e f ro m a g i v e n s e l e c t i o n o f e x i s t i n g m o n u m e n t s i n R o m e a n d w i l l d o s i t e i n v e s t i g a t i o n v i a i n t e r n e t re s e a rc h a n d g o o g l e e a rc h , a n d t h e n t r a n s i t i o n t o d r a w i n g , m o d e l i n g , d i a g r a m m i n g , e t c . A f t e r i n v e s t i g a t i n g t h e e m b e d d e d p o w e r a n d ( p e r h a p s c o n t ro v e r s i a l ) h i s t o r y o f e a c h m o n u m e n t , s t u d e n t s w i l l d e s i g n a p a t h w a y a n d t e m p o r a r y s t r u c t u re w h i c h e n g a g e s t h i s h i s t o r y a n d e i t h e r h i g h l i g h t s o r c o u n t e r a c t s i t s e m b e d d e d p o w e r. I n t h e w a y t h a t d i ff e re n t e m p e ro r s a n d re g i m e s re - a p p ro p r i a t e d t h e m o n u m e n t s o f p re v i o u s r u l e r s ( s p o l i a ) , t h i s p ro c e s s m a y i n v o l v e m e t h o d s o f a d d i t i o n a n d s u b t r a c t i o n — d e c o n s t r u c t i n g o r re - a p p ro p r i a t i n g t h e m o n u m e n t . T h e m e t h o d o f i n t e r v e n t i o n m a y m a k e u s e o f t h e s a m e m e c h a n i s m o r a n e v o l u t i o n o f t h e s y s t e m u s e d i n s t u d e n t s ’ P h a s e I p ro j e c t s .

(above) student work: models of architectural fragments

Tess Clancy

Cornell in Rome_Studio Course_Spring 2020

(above and facing page) student work from studio course in Rome.

Tess Clancy

Cornell in Rome_Studio Course_Spring 2020

Inspired by the monumental architecture of Imperial Rome, Benito Mussolini strived to insert his fascist agenda through the construction of new urban spaces and monuments. The creation the urban development E42 (now called the EUR) initially functioned as a space for Mussolini to showcase fascism through a series of monumental structures and alteration of the urban space. One of the most prominent structures and perhaps most recognizable, is the Square Colosseum. The structure stands as a testament to the monumentality of the EUR. By the time construction on the building was complete, it had already lost its functional value due to World War II. The building was left abandoned for a decade, uninhabited by anyone except for its 28 classical statues which stand in the first floor arches on its exterior. It’s iconic facade has received a range of opinions over the years. Film director Federico Fellini described the building as a “house built for ghosts or statues”. A Metaphysical Transformation emphasizes the abandoned and metaphysical feel of the Square Colosseum. The hedge maze and water intervention work together to create a series of new spaces in the surrounding walkway which include metaphysical “scenes” for the viewer as they walk through. The statues are no longer stagnant, set in their original positions, but instead relocated throughout the new series of spaces so as one walks through they are forced to encounter these statues, the original inhabitants, on their way. The design’s goal is to set the Square Colosseum into a real life metaphysical scene inspired by compositions from metaphysical paintings. The focus remains on the building’s facade as the intervention acts as a constant barrier between the person and the building. Similar to buildings set in the background of metaphysical paintings, the Square Colosseum while always present in view, is unreachable and therefore absent from people. This separation from human interaction further develops into a separation from time and supports the idea that it is a structure only inhabited by statues. It also acts as a reminder of the buildings lost functionality and time of abandonment after the fall of fascism.

T h e i n t e r v e n t i o n , w i t h i t s o r g a n i c , t w i s t i n g f o r m , o b s c u r e s t h e M a r c o n i O b e l i s k , s u b v e r t i n g t h e o b e l i s k ’s p o w e r as the focal point of EUR and a symbolic center of a Modern Rome. In the decade leading up to World War II, Mussolini was quickly fashioning a new identity for his country—a new Italy that showcased Fascist modernity while simultaneously flaunting Rome’s imperial past. Mussolini became obsessed with imprinting his ideology on the Roman landscape through architecture. Perhaps the greatest example of this monumental architecture is EUR (Esposizione Universale di Roma), a new district southwest of Rome built for the 1942 World’s Fair. The site, with its imposing, rationalist buildings, projects an image of imperialism, growth, and excess. In many ways, EUR is the physical embodiment of the modern Roman Empire Mussolini was striving to build. At the center of the district (and the symbolic center of Mussolini’s modern Rome) sits a marble obelisk dedicated to Guglielmo Marconi, the Italian inventor of the radio and Fascist sympathizer. The obelisk serves as the focal point for all roads that converge on the central piazza. The purpose of the intervention is to obscure the obelisk, subverting its power as the central focus of the district. The design of the intervention, with its twisting, organic forms, has its foundations in nature, more specifically a natural phenomenon known as a solar pillar. The atmospheric spectacle produces an apparent column of light above a sunrise or sunset and is believed to be the inspiration for ancient Egyptian obelisks and their specific proportions. The height and two-degree vertical incline of the intervention conforms to the solar pillar’s natural proportions. The manner in which visitors move through the intervention, from east to west, also mimics the cycle of the sun. The east-to-west directionality of the intervention also counteracts the north-south axial symmetry of the site.

PA G E 1

IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS / FRAGMENTING THE IMPERIAL

YOUR BEST/MOST DESCRIPTIVE DRAWING SHOULD GO HERE

OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME

IMPERIAL FRAGMENTS / FRAGMENTING THE IMPERIAL

A M E TA P H Y S I C A L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

NAME: CHARLOTTE DOODY SITE: MARCONI OBELISK OBSCURING MUSSOLINI’S MODERN ROME

C O R N E L L U N I V E R S I T Y R O M E P R O G R A M : F O U N D AT I O N S I N A R C H I T E C T U R E , S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 / / I N S T R U C T O R : T E S S C L A N C Y

NAME: ALEX STEELMAN SITE: SQUARE COLOSSEUM A M E TA P H Y S I C A L T R A N S F O R M AT I O N

Cornell in Rome_Studio Course_Spring 2020

Tess Clancy

The Stuckeman School_Penn State College of Arts & Architecture_Core II Studio_Spring 2022

BIO-LUMINESCENCE MICHAEL VALLE

ALISON CARUSO

LEONARDO LI

AN EXHIBITION OF FIRST-YEAR ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS IN ARCH 132, SECTION V

RED KANGAROO BECOMES A LAMP

9 OLIVIA SCHNEIDER

SEAN KELLY

ENIAYO OGUNRANTI

ALEXIS MISH

VARSHA RAJAN

ANUSHKA RAMROOP

KARA DERSHEM

HARRISON SILVESTER

(facing page) Poster for 2022 firstyear studio craft rotation exhibition. Students analyzed different animals, then designed and built a lighting device based on this analysis.

1_ALISON CARUSO 2_MIKE VALLE 3_LEO MINGYANG 4_HARRISON SILVERSTER 5_KARA RAMROOP 7_VARSHA RAJAN 8_ALEXIS MISH 9_ENIAYO OGUNRANTI 10_SEAN KELLY

DERSHEM 11_OLIVIA

6_ANUSHKA SCHNEIDER

(this page) Student work for craft rotation (Kara Dershem).

Tess Clancy

The Stuckeman School_Penn State College of Arts & Architecture_Core II Studio_Spring 2022

BIO-LUMINESCENCE AN EXHIBITION OF FIRST-YEAR ARCHITECTURE STUDENTS IN ARCH 132, SECTION I

I S A B E L S TA N L E Y

AARON SEDLAK

LAUREN REED

12 N AT H A N W A G N E R

GRACE TEED

P U R VA J A P E R A K A

A B I G A I L N O R Q U AY

DELANEY MINDER

NAOMI IBRAHIM

C H R I S T I N A G I AVA D I

CHARLES FRANCHINO

SAMUEL DE ALMEIDA

C O N N O R C L E A R W AT E R

MESHARI ALALI

(facing page) Poster for the second iteration of the project in 2023. (this page) Student work for craft rotation (Delaney Minder). 2 / 22 - 2 / 24, 2023

Tess Clancy

The Stuckeman School_Penn State College of Arts & Architecture_Elective Course_Spring 2022

D R AW I N G O N PRECEDENT

The Stuckeman School_Penn State College of Arts & Architecture_Elective Course_Spring 2022

Department of Architecture The Stuckeman School_ The Pennsylvania State University ARCH 497 | TUES 6 - 9 PM (TBC) Tess Clancy | tjc6406@psu.edu

Drawings by Aldo Rossi

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

In this course we will look closely at seminal precedent drawings from different periods in the history of architectural representation, and use both familiar and unfamiliar methods in studying, dissecting, and deploying various techniques observed in these precedents. The course will revisit analog drafting and also look at how to mimic the analogue with digital methods. We will investigate texts on the creative drawing practice of a selection of architects as well as instructional texts on various drawing workflows and processes (texts will be provided in digital format). Students will have the opportunity to develop a series of drawings using singular and composite techniques and media. Topics of exploration may include uncommon paraline and perspectival projections, understanding of light and shadow and how to construct shadows in the analogue and digital realms, the composition and designed graphic layout of drawings, combining projections and multiple drawing techniques or media into one drawing, and capturing of time, analytical and measured sketching, and representing temporality in drawings. Course time will be split between lecture/instructional sessions, informal pin-ups and guided work.

Student Work: Prutha Patel

Tess Clancy

The Stuckeman School_Penn State College of Arts & Architecture_Elective Course_Spring 2022

“Monuments are mortal. In fact, a monument often becomes so powerfully symbolic that someone acquires a vested interest in destroying it. This potential for destruction or defacement may be the most meaningful aspect of the monument’s existence as an object.” -Julia Bryan-Wilson

Images of Lenin Statue and pedestal in Kyiv, Ukraine: Top_Protestors topple statue, 2013; Bottom_Cynthia Gutierrez, Inhabiting Shadows installation, 2016

M O N U M E N TA L MANIFESTOS

COURSE DESCRI PTI ON

Student Work: Shwetanc Bothra

In the above quote, Julia Bryan-Wilson speculates that the most meaningful moment in the life of a monument is when it becomes so strong as a symbol that the collective will to tear it down reaches a tipping point. But the acceleration of calls and actions to remove or tear down Confederate and colonialist monuments in recent years brings to the forefront an important question: who held the power to erect these symbols in the first place? In this course we will explore the history of public statues–why we have erected them for centuries and why we tear them down. We will ask: who decides which statues go up, and where? Where does the funding come from? Who pays to maintain them? Who owns the ground on which they stand and—if it is public land—for how long do they deserve to stay? Who decides when a public square will become home to an inflated statue of a war general instead of a playground or community garden? Whose history is told or displayed while others are obscured? How do these symbols politicize and/or racialize a public space? In a historically charged site like Richmond, Virginia’s Monument Avenue, what does the removal of the statues accomplish? And finally, can architects and landscape architects play a role in thinking beyond removal of the statues, to address underlying structures of power that underpin these sites? These questions serve as catalysts for a broader discussion of the ownership of public space. Through the lens of public monuments and statues, students will engage with a diversity of scholarly texts and existing manifestos of public space from designers and academics such as James Young, Dell Upton, Mabel Wilson, Michael Sorkin, David Gissen, and others. Each student will have the opportunity to explore a specific case study to develop their own manifesto concerning the future role of public monuments and public space architectures. Final projects will document this exploration through a combination of different media – drawing, modeling and text. Both architecture and landscape students are encouraged to join.

DEPARTMENT OF ARCHI TECTURE | THE STUCKEMAN SCHOOL | THE PENNSY LVANIA S TATE U NIV ER S ITY

Tess Clancy

RESEARCH >

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

Embedded Information: An Architectural and Historical Investigation of Mussolini’s Three Obelisks

45 M

The project begins with the question: what stories can these monuments tell? As an architecture, an obelisk might seem comparatively insignificant, but in its stoic, perceived permanence, it conceals an intricate network of power, pillage and political ambition. To investigate these three obelisks’ stories of erection in Rome is to uncover a trail of decisions regarding funding, placement, the politics of public space, and the representation of Italy’s colonial empire to the Italian people.

CONCEIVED 1927, INSTALLED 1932

MARCONI OBELISK

MUSSOLINI “DUXE” OBELISK

37 M 24 M

OBELISK (STELA) OF AKSUM PILLAGED & INSTALLED 1937

This research project probes and untangles the saga of a trio of obelisks planned and erected in Italy’s capital city at thebehest of Benito Mussolini. In 1932 when the Obelisk dedicated to Mussolini was erected at the entrance to Rome’s Foro Italico (then ForoMussolini), no obelisk had been moved since the 16th century. For this reason, no one involved in the process—from the material’s extraction and transport, to the erection of the obelisk itself—had any relevant experience, and thus each step took far longer than expected. Similar difficulties were encountered with the erection of The Axum Obelisk (pillaged and installed in 1937) and the Marconi Obelisk (conceived in 1939, installed in 1959).

CONCEIVED 1939, INSTALLED 1959

(left) Scaled comparison of Mussolini’s Three Obelisks.

Tess Clancy

Stracci / Rags_Ongoing

Stracci / Rags: A Funerary Celebration for Pier Paolo Pasolini

In collaboration with leftist historian and former provincial representative for the city of Rome, Massimiliano Massimiliani, I am designing an installation in Rome’s Torre Fiscale park in celebration of the anniversary of the death of Pier Paolo Pasolini. The anniversary offers an opportunity to reflect on the artist’s relationship to the urban fringes of Rome that intersect with the ancient infrastructure of the aqueduct Felice. This aqueduct, carrying water across the many layers of the city, bore witness to nearly 2000 years of urban transformation. With this idea as a starting point, we propose to create a site-specific installation, dedicated to Pasolini. The proposed site for the installation is the path defined by the Acquedotto Felice, which starts from the Roman countryside, and cuts through the south-east section of the city, running between the major arteries of via Tuscolana and via Appia, on its way to the urban center. “For he who only knows your color, red flag, you must really exist, so that he can exist: he who was covered with scabs is covered with wounds, the laborer becomes a beggar, the Neapolitan a Calabrese, the Calabrese an African, the illiterate a buffalo or dog. He who hardly knows your color, red flag, won’t know you much longer, not even with his senses: you who already boast so many bourgeois and working class glories, you become a rag again, and the poorest wave you.” -Pier Paolo Pasolini, Roman Poems, translated by Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Francesca Valente, prefaced by Alberto Moravia (City Lights Books: San Francisco, 1986), pp. 78-79.

(left) Conceptual view and elevation diagram of flags installed on the Felice Aqueduct in Rome.

Tess Clancy

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

Architectures Against Fascism: An Architectural Investigation to Uncover and Counter Italy’s Fascist Monuments

This project builds on research and drawings produced for my M. Arch thesis ‘Eroding the Confederacy,’ as well as ideas developed for a 2022 elective course at Penn State’s School of Architecture titled ‘Monumental Manifestos.’ Travel to a number of sites in Italy was undertaken during the summer of 2023 and will support a long-term research project broken into 3 parts: 1) the development of an online catalog that indexes physical symbols of Italian Fascism 2) In-depth analysis of specific chosen sites, and 3) Development of speculative drawings to illustrate methods of architectural intervention that engage in dialogue with monuments on selected sites. “We dream about the Roman Italy, that is, the wise and strong, disciplined and imperial Italy. Much of what was the immortal spirit of Rome is reborn in fascism: the lictor is Roman, our organization of combat is Roman, our pride and our courage are Roman: ‘Civis romanus sum’.” -Benito Mussolini, April 21, 19221 “Mussolini used architecture as one of his main propaganda tools, erecting monuments and apartment complexes at a pace never seen before in Italy…The desire to sweep the horror of the regime under the carpet has opened the country to revisionism and indifference. And in spite of a law which criminalizes reviving the Fascist Party, attempts at whitewashing the country’s history are treated with surprising tolerance.” Ilaria Maria Sala

(left) Photo of Mussolini’s Obelisk in Rome, currently undergoing repairs costing close to 200,000 euros.

Tess Clancy

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

(left) Drawings of Mussolini’s obelisk at Rome’s former “Foro Mussolini” (now Foro Italico) in red. (right) Testing methods of architectural intervention at Mussolini’s Obelisk in Rome.

Tess Clancy

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

(above) Site plan showing Rome’s former “Foro Mussolini” (now Foro Italico) in red. (left) Testing methods of architectural intervention at Mussolini’s Obelisk in Rome. This one a tented projection screen displaying the face of Italian socialist martyr Giacomo Matteotti.

Tess Clancy

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

47 Tess Clancy

Eidlitz Fellowship, Funded Proposal_Architectures Against Fascism_Ongoing

(left) The facade of the former Casa del Fascio in Bolzano with installation by artists Arnold Holzknecht and Michele Bernardi of Hannah Arendt’s quote “No one has the right to obey.” (above) Fascist ossuary to WWI dead in Redipuglia with the insesant repetition of “presente.”

48 Tess Clancy