Colors of Rhetoric

Rhetoric provides a repertoire of different methods for original and innovative creation by introducing notions of surprise, the unexpected, and conflict. The myths of “inspiration” and “the brilliant idea” dominate explanations of the genesis of many architectural and creative projects. Nevertheless, perhaps the most original ideas and innovative designs could be explained as transpositions of the classical figures or colours of rhetoric. This possibility brings up several questions.
Is rhetoric a kind of repertoire of different ways in which one can be “original”? Can the creative process be facilitated and enriched if creators become more aware of the system that they often use intuitively? Do architects make conscious or unconscious use of some of the figures of thought, tropes, and colours when creating and discussing architecture? Can metonymies, hyperbatons, oxymorons, antitheses, and puns, among many other rhetorical figures, be identified in spatial and visual disciplines? Can rhetorical mechanisms be applied to architecture to coordinate social action?
These are some of the key questions addressed in this book, which revolves around an inventory of rhetorical figures found in architecture and visual arts.