Fragments of an imaginary dialogue between Eileen Gray e Charlotte Perriand

Abstract

[EN] This research is part of a long-standing interest in the pioneers of the 20th century through a particular appeal for biographies of personalities that allow us to interpret the character of an era from within.At the beginning of a revolutionary century, in which equal gender rights were far from been recognized, Eileen and Charlotte have been able to overcome all obstacles and find their space of creative expression, taking advantage of their position in a still undetermined territory for architecture.The paper develops the topic presented in the video “Sliding doors”, by the author herself (15 minutes, in Italian with English subtitles), and it has been conceived to answer the question here implicitly announced.The ambition is to transform a dead archive into a living dialogue dynamic that also tells us something about our present. These are also the reasons that led to the screenplay of the video as an effective communication tool.Eileen and Charlotte a century ago lived as isolated figures in a purely male context, far from the idea of a “esprit de corps”. The research path thus lands on a reflection on the female's capacity for sharing and alliance vis-à-vis with the patriarchal power culture in the past, looking to the present and projecting towards the future.