iwan baan's 'from las vegas to rome' reinterprets venturi & scott brown's iconic book

From Las Vegas to Rome: Photographs by Iwan Baan

When Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown published Learning From Las Vegas in 1972, they shook the world of architecture with their assertion that the lessons the American desert city had to offer were equal to those of Rome, also known as the Eternal City. ‘Las Vegas is to the Strip what Rome is to the Piazza,’ the two challenging architects declared. To mark the fiftieth anniversary of this groundbreaking publication, the exhibition From Las Vegas to Rome explores the dialog between the two cities through images by renowned photographer Iwan Baan. Curated by Lindsay Harris, the show will be on view at the American Academy in Rome through November 27, 2022.

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

looking at both commonalities and stark differences

With From Las Vegas to Rome, the American Academy of Rome seeks to reinterpret the famous publication, this time focusing on Las Vegas and its extraordinary buildings and infrastructures in order to rethink Rome, a city shaped by power and money for centuries. To this end, the Academy is showing iconic photography by Iwan Baan marked by his signature style. 

By showing both panoramic bird-eye and close-up detailed shots, the Dutch photographer highlights the similarities between the two cities. ‘You see a lot of commonalities in these places (…) Rome, where nothing changed basically in the last centuries and Las Vegas, (…) a place which is changing in a snap.’ Iwan Baan shares. ‘What you see here in this show, we try to create that kind of density from the large aerial views where you can zoom into all the details to really personal moments where you’re almost right in the face of the people, the tourists enjoying the place. So, it’s kind of zooming in and out, what we tried to recreate.’

Baan’s views of Las Vegas and Rome, taken specifically for the occasion, force us to ask whether we can view architecture without moral judgment, a perspective Venturi promoted for Las Vegas, in the environmental and social contexts of the twenty-first century. ‘The whole show is seeing all the commonalities between the two cities and, of course, the stark differences, but in the end, also how in these two worlds, we’re all there together.’ the photographer explains.

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

image © Iwan Baan, from his show ‘From Las Vegas to Rome,’ on view at the American Academy in Rome

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image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

image by Daniele Molajoli, courtesy of the American Academy in Rome

project info: 

exhibition name: From Las Vegas to Rome
photographer: Iwan Baan
location: American Academy in Rome