Exhibition: From Las Vegas to Rome

Photograph by Iwan Baan

In 2022, 50 years after Denise Scott Brown, Robert Venturi, and Steven Izenour declared in their influential book Learning from Las Vegas that the desert town was to the Strip what Rome is to the Piazza, the American Academy of Rome debuted the exhibition From Las Vegas to Rome, exploring dialogues between these two cities through images taken by Dutch photographer Iwan Baan. This traveling exhibition is opening for the first time in the US in a new iteration on view at the Princeton University School of Architecture from August 6 through September 10, 2025.

In an inversion of Brown, Venturi, and Izenour’s notion to look from the Eternal City to Sin City to reimagine the field of architecture, this show turns to the spectacle of Las Vegas to rethink Rome–both urban centers that lie at the intersection of power and play.

Conceived during his residency at the American Academy in Rome, Baan’s featured body of work examines the unexpected similarities between the metropolises—resonances in architecture, urbanism, and the social uses of space. From aerial shots that demonstrate the density of these locales to zoomed-in images of individuals, often tourists, captured in quite personal moments, the collection of images presents an omniscient viewpoint.

“The show involves seeing the commonalities between these two cities—between the ancient and the new—and, of course, the stark differences. But in the end, despite the perceived polarities, we’re all there together in these dual worlds,” explains Baan.

The exhibition—which has also been previously been shown at the Architectural Association in London; at Beta 2024, The Timișoara Architecture Biennial in Romania; and at the Architekturgalerie München—coincides with the 2024 publication of the book Rome – Las Vegas: Bread and Circuses (Lars Müller Publishers) featuring Baan’s photographs of the two urban centers.

Exhibition Credits*
Photographs: Iwan Baan
Coordination: Suzanne Tóth-Pál
Graphic Design: Noah Beckwith
Fabrication: Marie Baretsky, John Hunter, Sean Rucewicz, and Bill Tansley
Exhibition Manager: Kira McDonald

With special thanks to Dean Mónica Ponce de Léon and the Princeton University School of Architecture staff.

*First shown at the American Academy in Rome, curated by Lindsay Harris.