Juhani Pallasmaa is an architect, Professor Emeritus, Aalto University, School of Arts, Design and Architecture, Helsinki, Finland.
He has been engaged in architectural, product and graphic design and town planning since 1963, designed of exhibitions of Finnish architecture, planning and visual arts shown abroad in more than thirty countries, currently running his architectural office of some thirty employees in Helsinki.
Is an author of numerous articles and lectures on cultural philosophy, environmental psychology and theory of architecture and arts in various countries, editor of several books and over thirty exhibition catalogues.
Juhani Pallasmaa is also Honorary Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, Member of the CICA International Committee of Architectural Critics, Member of the International Academy of Architecture.
Title of the keynote
DRAWING WITH THE MIND — THINKING WITH THE HAND — pen, hand, eye, and brain
[Abstract]
In our current globally networked culture, that puts so much emphasis on the virtual and the visual, the mind and the body are becoming increasingly detached and ultimately disconnected. Though physical appearance is idolised for its sexual appeal and social identity, the role of the body in developing a full understanding of the physical world and the human condition is neglected. The potential of the human body and hand as knowing entities fails to be recognised; all our senses, as well as our entire bodily functions, produce and maintain silent, existentially crucial knowledge which is the mental ground for art and creativity.
We regard our own hand as a commonplace and self-evident member of the body, but in fact, it is a prodigious precision instrument that seems to have its own intelligence, will and desires. Often it even appears to be both the origin and expression of pleasure, emotion and thought.
It is only through the unity of mind and body, hand and thought, that profound craftsmanship and artistic work, including the crafts of drawing and architecture, can be fully realised. Even those endeavours that are generally regarded as solely intellectual, such as writing and thinking, depend fundamentally on this fusion of mental and manual skills, cognitive and embodied engagements.
