The Twin Towers 1977

Editor: Here we have Stephen Willats' "The Twin Towers" from the Tate Collections. It looks like a technical drawing. What's striking is how the architectural form is broken down into seemingly modular, repeatable units. What do you see in this piece? Curator: The work reflects Willats' interest in systems theory and social cybernetics. It's less about architecture as a finished product, and more about the social processes of its making and the conditions of its reception. Consider the diagrammatic presentation – how does that influence our understanding of the towers? Editor: It makes it seem almost like a blueprint, emphasizing the underlying structure over the aesthetic. Curator: Exactly. It makes you wonder about the labor, the materials used, the conditions of production and consumption inherent in building such structures. Editor: That reframes it entirely, from a drawing to a commentary on social and economic systems. Curator: Precisely, focusing on the unseen forces that shape our environment.