jackadeney

[jackadeney]

My Urban Utopia

Introduction

Creating a city under regular constraints comes with its own unique challenges. Whether it be the terrain, population size or accessibility, a utopian design must always be shackled to reality through some form or another. These constraints grow and fluctuate alongside each other, intertwined by the systems that equally constrain us as humans. We must ask therefore, when is the best time to attempt the design of an urban utopia? I would argue, at a time like this.

The planet is being crippled by a deadly pandemic, yet already we can see that the world has been given a rebirth. Businesses and social integrations begin to timidly poke their heads from quarantine, and it has become clear that they will never function in the same way again.  The global economy is weak and international cooperation is even weaker. Why then would this be a good time to build a city?

Firstly, our values have changed. News has been flooded with how clear the waters are looking in the seas across continents. People will return to the beaches finally able to wade into the water and observe the fish swimming between their toes. New satellite images have emerged of our planet earth that have never been clearer. Meteorologists can look at the skies with unbelievable clarity, and those living in our new-age mega-cities are giddy on the high oxygen levels in the air. We now understand how important it is for us to cooperate across streets, neighbourhoods, towns, cities, countries and internationally. The World Health Organisation moves around the world like a guardian angel, whilst governments send and receive care packages, never surrendering the fight against a protectionist strategy. Most importantly of all however, a quality that stands well above all others mentioned, is that we understand how much we value each other. It has brought families closer together, and reformed communities that were once crumbling through lack of social cohesion. The virus has rebuilt the ties that really mater. Not the economic ties, but the social ties built of love and compassion.

Therefore, we find these values at the forefront of our minds when building our urban utopia. As we have been given these values as a result of the pandemic, it only seems fair to also have the associated economic constraints. The biggest one of which is that there is very little finance available for explorative urban development. As a result, the build must be as cost efficient as possible. One would hope that in making the build cost efficient we also make it sustainable, consequentially there is no reason to assume that this does not align with our intention of observing the environment in the project.

Inspiration and Design

There are two architects and two cities from which I take my inspiration, we will begin with the architects.

Rafael Viñoly, an architect that is very close to my heart, is the creator of NYUAD. He has designed buildings all around the world, each as innovative as the last. He works hard to infuse the green of nature with high rise buildings constituted of glass. He is not afraid to break the rules, and as a result develops features that have won him a number of awards, some for the most attractive buildings in the skyline, and some, regrettably, for the least attractive.

One of the pieces I appreciate most is the ‘possible’ building. Although it has not yet been built, it is an office space intended to be inhabited by Facebook’s HQ. It reaches far above all other buildings in midtown Manhattan, and features an almost jenga style stacking of floors. Most importantly we note the combination of plants and glass. With the sun bouncing off the glass, turning it a crystal blue, the colour makes for an amazing contrast with the natural green.

https://archinect.com/news/article/150139992/images-surface-of-facebook-s-potential-new-tower-in-manhattan-designed-by-rafael-vi-oly

Another aspect of his that I enjoy is the large open spaces. Below is the Sky Garden, featured in the Walkie Talkie building in London. The building actually won the Carbuncle Cup in 2015, a prize awarded to the worst building completed in the year before. Despite this slightly unkind award, the Sky Garden features a place of luxury, making the most of the London Skyline. Again, it features a lot of greenery, which makes the large space feel smaller and more intimate- all the while maintaining its class.

https://www.designmynight.com/london/bars/city-of-london/sky-garden-bars

I would utilise Viñoly’s skills in designing the downtown financial district. As his speciality is in high-rise buildings, it makes sense that he designs a large amount of the financial centre. Designing buildings from glass, yet making sure to provide a large emphasis on nature will keep the environment in the forefront of our minds as we look at it. Contemporary brutalist concrete structures for me is a sign that the natural part of our city has been forgotten, and so one of the main priorities is avoiding large concrete structures.

Frank Gehry is the Banksy of architecture. His abstract flowy designs stick out like a sore thumb in otherwise unexciting city landscapes. His work has premonitions of Constant and Picasso in distorting shapes to make buildings. There are many twists in his buildings that aim to disrupt the hard lines of walls and faces. It makes his buildings far less invasive to the spectator, and they feel fresh amongst the cookie cutter construction of suburban and urban regions.

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Battersea_Power_Station_copy.jpg

https://igsmag.com/press-releases/permasteelisa/permasteelisa-and-frank-gehry-set-to-transform-battersea-power-station-with-complex-facade/

Above is Battersea Power Station, a site in London that was decommissioned long ago. Below it is how Gehry attempts to redesign the area. He would be a great assistance in designing the more residential areas, those that are not driven by business and finance but rather leisure and pleasure. It is clear from the design that there is no project too big for Gehry’s imagination, and this assists one of my greatest objectives. Rather than build the city on a new site, taking land and space away from the previous inhabitants, I would aim to transform an old city. This again links back to the idea of environmental protection, recycling and rejuvenation. Gentrification is fundamental in a world where space is finite, and utilising the creative minds of Gehry and Viñoly allows you begin your city on any canvas, not only a blank one.

One of the first cities that provides me with inspiration is Singapore. It is a new city that can provide something for everybody. It is frequently rated as one of the best places to reside, and has also been very successful in pulling in business from some of the biggest multinational corporations. The tall buildings with flowy designs cup the marina, a feature of all modern cities. The downtown area spans the majority of the city, yet there is still space for a China town, India town and Korea town to function both independently in terms of cuisine but interactively in terms of community. Singapore welcomes gifts of culture from its neighbours and its inhabitants, meaning that all those that arrive to Singapore are not forced to leave their heritage behind. It boasts one of the best transit systems in the world, and some of the cleanest streets.

https://www.floornature.eu/singapore-the-skyline-of-the-garden-city-designed-to-be-the-city-of-the-future-9945/

Due to its amazing features, it is undoubtedly a city of luxury. The Marina Bay Sands looks over the whole city and is one of the most famous casinos in the world. The golf clubs, horse riding and Formula One are all legendary in Singapore. Predictably therefore, Singapore is one of the most expensive cities in the world to design (4thmost expensive in Asia). This therefore puts aspects of its design slightly out of reach.

It also faces a unique advantage over other contemporary cities. Singapore is both a country and a city. It therefore has the opportunity to control exactly who enters and leaves the area. For cities such as London, controlling who visits from abroad is one thing, yet there are also 59 million other British citizens that can come and go to London as they wish. The stress that this puts on the infrastructure is massive. With Singapore having complete control over this aspect of immigration, it has a large advantage over most others. 

https://mapa-metro.com/en/Singapore/Singapore/Singapore-MRT-map.htm

Putting the luxuries of Singapore aside, there are some main qualities that we would like to take from its design. The transportation system is efficient, subtle, attractive and cheap. It spans the whole of the city, but most importantly, it is not invasive aesthetically. We could go for the other option, which would be to have the metro as an architectural feature of the city, such as in Dubai. However, I feel this is not the most efficient use of space, and often requires large concrete constructions for the tracks and supports.  For that reason Singapore provides an excellent model for city connectivity.

Singapore airport is also the most amazing airport on the planet. It is a luxury, but it personifies everything that we aim to achieve within our urban utopia. It is called the Jewel, and has an indoor waterfall and train track. The tropical setting of trees and vines with the water feature inside the main hall is an aesthetic that forces nature to the forefront of your imagination. It has a calming and relaxing effect whilst also looking truly impressive. It is futuristic, and yet strangely familiar. Exactly how we wish the city to appear.

https://fortune.com/2020/01/07/the-case-for-designing-beautiful-airports-its-about-the-experience/

Having a strong airport also symbolises the importance of connectivity. Thousands of people will move through there every day and being sure to make this as easy and efficient as possible is of the utmost importance.

The second city that inspires our urban utopia is Sydney, Australia. Not only are the docks and beaches of Sydney beautiful, it has a very interesting suburban structure. Sydney has a diaspora split by suburb into different cultures and origins. It has challenges born through conflict between different suburbs (or boroughs), some of which lead to high levels of crime in certain areas. Despite this, the suburban structure has resulted in a diversity of community that we would like our city to represent. One of the main reasons for the increased crime rate is the lack of funding that goes into the areas. Some of the suburbs are simply deprived. It is also the case that the public transport infrastructure doesn’t reach all of the suburbs. We would make sure that each community is directly connected with the inner city and have as many connections as possible between suburbs. Even using the word borough has a tendency to separate the suburbs into certain regions. Although we want people of all different cultures to feel comfortable within their community, we aim to provide little reason to distinguish between different parts of the suburb.

Sydney makes good use of its natural resources with large parks and big open green spaces. Much of this is because the suburbs are slightly further away from the city centre than in other cities. Having the ability to provide distance between residences and work areas stops different regions of the city from suffocating each other. It also allows planners to put parks and marinas in the areas which would normally be built on for manufacturing or residences. By having the suburbs slightly further than usual from the city centre, yet connecting them extremely well using our underground infrastructure, we are able to have the space and continuity, whilst also lowering the level of suburban deprivation.

The constraints

How do we do this as cost efficiently as possible? Already I have chosen some architects that are extremely expensive, yet having the ability to transform old ‘brown-belt��� areas into new urban regions is likely to reduce costs through government subsidies. Having a large, attractive financial district is fundamental for any contemporary city design, and through our explanation I feel that it will draw in lots of trade from all over the world. Singapore has been extremely successful in doing this, with Dyson being one of many companies choosing to move their headquarters there within the past few years.

With the CoVid-19 era not in any rush to end, it would be difficult designing a city based on tourism. For that reason, the Formula One and Casinos of Singapore would not be a good path to follow. This is another reason why we look towards Sydney as a model. There are aspects of old and new within the city, and it functions amongst many of the income sectors. It has huge financial input from the financial district, domestic tourism (which will not be impeded for as long as international tourism) education, marine and financial services. People go to Sydney for so many reasons other than tourism. This is backed up by the fact that Sydney is the largest city in Australia without being the capital.

Another constraint that we have touched upon briefly, is how to develop a cultural identity within the city. It was something that puzzled Lispector about Brasilia, and continues to puzzle urban planners to this day. Our solution is ambitious- we take the international approach, and attempt to make the city a place for everybody. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are great examples of places that have managed to merge an ex-pat culture into their own culture. With the UAE being only 11% Emirati residents, it is fundamental that those that come to live in the country bring with them their own traditions. You would expect this to cause huge levels of cultural conflict within the different communities, yet Abu Dhabi shows that both powerful and rich communities can operate harmoniously with each other. The areas interlinked well by public transport will help set a scene of collaboration and cultural sharing. Reducing rivalry and instead planning on using state resources such as healthcare and education to fortify inter-region communication is one of the main objectives of the city design.

How should the city feel?

I don’t desire for the city to be romanticised by the likes of Lispector or Lefebvre. I want it to be safe and prosperous. The problem with a city such as Brasilia, creating ‘insomnia’ and breathing almost like a human, is that all of this means nothing if people cannot safely inhabit its streets. We want to limit the prejudice caused by women not feeling secure walking the roads in the evening, or people sleeping homeless on the streets due to not being able to afford housing. These will likely always be issues of any city, but prosperity and connectivity are two key ingredients into moving towards resolving them. By creating prosperity (and equal prosperity), it reduces the need for welfare and homelessness. It allows the quality of schools and healthcare to increase, whilst reducing the desperate resort to petty crime. Connectedness forms a sense of community and provides a sense of strength in numbers. Where petty crime is concerned, it has been proven that community watch schemes are surprisingly affective in reducing the number of thefts, muggings and burglaries. Having people looking out for each other is caused by a well-designed suburban area aimed at increasing the incentive to protect the community, whether through shared schooling, public spaces that residents can be proud of, or having high quality public transport affordable to everybody.  

Yi Fu Tuan talks of making a space a place. And this leads to the question; how malleable do I wish the city to be? The obvious answer is that you want for people to be able to make the city their own, and therefore spaces should be left with ambiguous intent for people to use them as they wish. I enjoy this idea, yet I also understand from my studies that there is always one dominant party. Having a city full of different cultures sadly will invite conflict, as that to a certain extent is the ugly truth. We therefore have to design a city in attempt to limit the opportunity for conflict and rivalry through connecting infrastructure such as tram networks. As a result, providing communities with a public good to share and divide may not at first be a good idea. For that reason, the city will seem less malleable, and each community will be encouraged to culturally interact, but will not be forced to divide resources. There will be shared spaces such as parks, but the utmost precautions will have to be taken in order to ensure people’s safety within those areas. Singapore has been extremely successful in keeping communities of different cultures close to each other. Hosting different cultural events and inviting other communities to share the celebration seems to be a relatively successful means of forming amicable relationships.

How should the city sound?

Kendall, Harmon and Jacobs are some of the authors that have provided us with information on soundscapes of cities. They all have the varying opinions on how we are drawn to different sounds, whether consciously or not, but there is one fundamental aspect that they all agree on. The soundscapes of our modern cities are dramatically different to those of the past. I wish to revitalise some of the sounds of the past. Schafer, in his contributions to the World Soundscape Project noted that the sound of the Vancouver Cathedral travelled only one tenth of what it used to previously. Although I feel like it would be of great benefit to some to have the church bells ring far across the city, I also feel that in our modern day and age it is slightly inappropriate to force a certain religious symbolism upon the whole urban population. For that reason, I will focus on having the birdsongs as the first violin for my city symphony. It is closely associated with many people’s idea of a utopia, and it is offensive to very few, if not nobody. It also links closely to the idea of sustainability and interaction with the environment, which we wish to keep as a common thread throughout the city’s design.

In order to sustain an urban ecosystem suitable for songbirds, pollution and concrete mass must be kept to a minimum. As you can see from cities such as Shanghai and New York, there are rarely any birds besides pigeons as a direct consequence of the over-urbanisation. In Shanghai, it has been rumoured that they shoot the birds in order to prevent them from multiplying. Having songbirds is a great indicator that the city is healthy and environmentally friendly. Once the birds that we associate as pests, such as pigeons or ravens begin to dominate the soundscape, this is a sign that we are losing our way.

There should always be areas for people to move and play. This will generate human sound as well. With only the birdsong, as beautiful as it is, it does not provide a completely representative symphony. People should be welcomed to make noise with bars and restaurants encouraging people to sit outside, like a bustling Parisian rie.Having the marina and trees surrounding the already beautiful buildings should encourage this to happen.

To conclude

In summary, there are certain objectives that take priority in the construction of our urban utopia. Financial constraints can put a serious burden on the creative construction of cities, yet born from its challenges also come innovative solutions. Prioritising integration of the environment, connectivity and cultural collaboration makes for a more rounded and encompassing urban utopia. The aim is to make everybody feel happy and safe whilst also incorporating the lessons that we have learnt from the pandemic. The world has conceded that the CoVid-19 outbreak will change the way we live forever. As a result, it seems only fitting that we equally change the cities we live in.

[jackadeney]

Brasilia- Reading Response

The first piece that I read this week was by Lispector. It took a very abstract approach to describing the city of Brasilia, and left far more to my imagination than it did provide me with factual artefacts of the city. For Lispector, Brasilia is clearly a place of importance, one that can be interpreted in thousands of different ways depending on the person visiting and the experience that they have. I enjoyed the section that references the creation of cities, and in turn a creation of aman that matches the city.

           “when the world was created, a man had to be created especially for that world.”

It focusses very quickly on the interaction between humans and spaces, which immediately allowed me to draw comparisons with our previous studies. The idea that “Brasilia does not yet have the Brasilia man” was intriguing, as it suggests that there is an aspect of incompleteness about the city.

The author shies away from providing physical descriptions of the city, and instead uses ambiguous emotional metaphors as a substitute. Suggesting that Brasilia is like her insomnia is both provocative and confusing to me. I think with this she again attempts to imply that the experience is mixed and assorted depending on the person. It is an experience that cannot be classified as either good or bad, but rather something in between. At first it struck me as quite cold symbolism, which interestingly is a theme that persists throughout the piece. She goes on to talk about her crimes, and how Brasilia is choosing to imprison her in freedom. This oxymoronic statement begs the question of whether there is a level of limitation within freedom. A sense that you are forced to be completely free. Or in her words, they are ‘ordering her to be free’. This continues as she says that Brasilia doesn’t let her get tired, but rather pursues her. Again as if it is forcing her to have fun and seek fulfilment. Which of course would be exhausting to any of us. She talks as if it’s too good, and then finishes by saying that the level of excitement and pleasure that Brasilia gives her is dangerous for her addictive personality.

My favourite line of the piece comes at the end;

           “Fear has always guided me toward what I desire. And because I desire, I fear. Often it was fear that took me by the hand and led me. Fear leads me to danger. And everything I love is risky.”

It’s interesting to once again have reference to desire. It links to what we read about Constant and his understanding of the relationship between design and desire. I acknowledge what the author says about seeking risk, and it resonates with me quite forcefully.

Reading  Mystics, Modernists and Construction of Brasilia was a nice compliment to Lispector. My favourite section was the visions of the city, as I feel it spoke much to the motivations behind Brasilia’s creation.  I like the idea of developing a city that speaks to the ambitions of the nation because it sets a picture of a strong and pro-active governing body. Additionally, having classified itself as an ‘emerging’ city gives Brazil such opportunity to be creative with the design and planning. I also found the section on the favelas interesting because it speaks to how even a considerable amount of planning is sometimes unable to prevent from either unwelcomed guests or a change of circumstances. One thing that I didn’t realise is that many of the favela spaces in and around Brasilia actually originated from construction worker residences. It is ironic that the favelas designed in order to house the construction workers ends up encroaching upon the finished construction. The relationship between population, space and religion is always one that should be considered because it can cause such harm if one of those is not taken into account. I was grateful to see that New Age Spiritism was mentioned in the piece, and highlighting the traditional Brazilian beliefs in question gives a greater ideas of how the space within the city is used by the people.  

[jackadeney]

New Babylon- Constant Repsonse

New Babylon was a really exciting project for me to experience. The project challenges our understanding of architecture and art in a way that no other reading has done so far. In the film, an artist mentions how the piece clearly depicts an artist that is not afraid. I completely agree. I was also grateful in the documentary that the curator of the exhibition takes the time to select pieces that were created prior to the creation of New Babylon by the same artist. In doing so, you can relate a little more to the artistic journey that led to the creation of New Babylon. This links closely to what we had been discussing in class about the process of production as well as the final piece.  It was also interesting to see how Constant was inspired by the post war optimism. Although so many of the pieces are so abstract, it is nice to see symbols of significance aiming to depict the turn from pain and disaster to optimism and looming prosperity.

           It is also exciting how Constant attempts to inspire creativity through his own understanding of New Babylon. The introduction of robots and machinery into the design of New Babylon allows people to interpret for themselves what life would be like interacting in this new world. Leaving humans free to ‘play’ whilst the robots work could still be what the world in many regions is tending towards, yet modern life could also be seen as complete contradiction to Constant’s image.

           In addition to finding the actual production of New Babylon interesting, I also found the development of Constant’s other works interesting. His relationship with the Situationist Internationale gave his art a new perspective, and as he delved deeper into philosophy alongside his art it provides a greater depth to his work. In the text, we hear that “Constant rejects any distinction between design and desire”. Although this is a great foundation for a piece of art, and you can see it quite literally amongst the different facets of New Babylon, I also feel like that was a great motto for other aspects of his life. He truly used art as a medium to express himself, not so much how he feels, but what he wants to see in the world. Taking the Situationist Internationale and wondering how it would be signified in architecture, it is interesting to see how closely it related to the work of Constant. In the reading, there is a line that I found quite provocative:

“Architecture must advance by taking emotionally moving situations, rather than emotionally moving forms, as the material it works with.”

           For me this is the exact movement of architecture towards the Situationist Internationale. Constant definitely managed to pursue this mantra in his artwork, whether intentionally or not.

At one point in the documentary you hear an artist talking about how the networks that can be observed in his models quite accurately represent the connectivity caused by the world wide web. To that extent his predictions can be viewed as quite accurate.

           There was another nice quote in the chapter, which stated; “we hear the sounds of a life we cannot see, a life we are forced to imagine. Our fantasies are made possible by sophisticated models.” I think this speaks broadly to what Constant was trying to achieve with his models. Once again using his skills to create objects that bring our imagination closer to a more tangible interpretation, rather than just leaving it to not exist physically. All of the models are thought provoking, and reach just on the boundary of what I would consider architecture and what I would consider a counter physical figment of imagination.

[jackadeney]

Under Surveillance

For my project I have chosen to tackle the issue of surveillance on campus. What does it look like, how can we perceive it and what is it here for?

Surveillance is already a contentious debate, we are told that it is provided for our safety and our safety alone. Yet occasions have occurred in which surveillance has been used against us as a means of control.

When the established authority have the right to survielle our lives as much as they wish, who holds the right to set the boundary on what is surveillance, and what is a breach of our right to personal private living?

A number of artists have continuously attempted to tackle the issue of privacy and surveillance. Banksy for example has created graffiti all over the world in attempt to bring to our attention the government control under which we live. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-31539767

Above is one of his lesser known pieces, found in Cheltenham, UK- before it was ‘vandalized’ by graffiti artists. It was designed to depict government officials tapping into our conversations, listening in disguise without our knowledge or consent. Banksy is commonly known for providing anti establishment artwork all over the globe. 

Below is a picture of the inside of his famous “Walled -Off Hotel” in Bethlehem. On the wall you can see multiple different CCTV cameras mounted on the wall, as if claimed as a prize by the hunter. If you look closely you can see that the screens on the cameras have been covered with graffiti paint, again, a nod to the resistance. 

Many other installations have been created on the topic of surveillance, and each one attempts to bring to the forefront of our understanding something that by its very construction we cannot see. 

Jakub Geltner, a Cezch artist has made a number of istallations that attempt to combine the hard metal of the security infrastructure with nature. The picture below represents the security cameras intended to look like a flock of birds. Bringing the cameras to life almost makes the act of using the for surveillance more sinister. The rate at which they multiply around cities and urban infrastructures suggests that they could almost be breeding like pests. 

https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/wnpzgy/a-flock-of-surveillance-cameras-nests-on-the-beach

My installation takes the understanding of surveillance on campus and brings it into clear view. I would use the location of the Baraha, as it is one of the places on campus with greatest footfall, and I would project the live feed security footage of the campus onto the wall. Rod Dickinson uses the MI5 database in order to depict the terror threat level around the UK, and in doing so brings something that is intangible (the threat level) into a realm through which it can be physically interpreted. We attempt to do the same. 

The setup is simple, and naturally I am not physically able to get the footage of the campus CCTV. Tracing images below attempt to interpret how it would look. 

I would have the projector shoot from waist height. Having people walk between the projector and the wall will encourage them to look at the screen and engage with the installation. Having someone sitting opposite the wall, just watching attempts to represent the human aspect of the surveillance. One of the reasons we find surveillance so confusing is because all we can see is the eyes of the cameras. Remembering that there are people on the other end of the camera is what reminds us that there are people watching our every move, almost in a transcendent fashion. 

The installation would be clean and simple. It is a passive installation that is designed to do nothing but trigger a thought in the mind of the passer-by. It challenges the subject to define their comfort level with this form of system. Is it what they understood it to be, and was it what they signed up for? 

Written on the blackboard will be; “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” The CCTV images will then be projected over those words. 

Is this an attempt of those watching us to justify their actions? Is it true? 

[jackadeney]

Place- Art 21 Response

This week I watched art in the 21 century- San Francisco Bay Area. I liked the introduction, the idea that the first thing they ask is “what are you thinking about? What would you like to do?” I can imagine that would be very freeing when embarking on an artistic project. The counterfeit crochet project is something that I also found quite interesting. It challenges the idea of fashion and privilege in a light-hearted manor. Despite it being described as light hearted, they also mention the sort of discussions that it prompted, on issues such as “the hierarchy of the fashion system to global counterfeiting schemes.” It must be quite a skill to channel these discussions through an art project revolving around the medium of crocheting. I did however feel that the experience of buying items from commercial stores, using them and then returning them in an attempt to explore “purchasing and denying” generic consumerism is a little abstract for me!

Once again the artist featured attempts to bring political discussions to the forefront of her art. She takes a banner from protests that she has witnessed and recreates it in a way that is only visible from a certain angle. The words say “become ungovernable”. I hugely appreciated this piece as she claims that is breeches the border between analogue and digital. Taking something clear and distorting it to me signifies quite well the border between analogue and digital.

This artist also claims that she has come across something called the 80/20 ratio. Which in her words means that “80 per cent of what I make is kind of crap, but somehow I have to produce it to get to the 20 per cent, which is successful”. This comes as a relief to me!

Place from art 21 starts with an introduction of an artist, Laurie Anderson, “living in a billboard” because the streets down below are too crowded. I hugely appreciate the description of an artist’s train of thought that has led them to their projects. The idea of when we fall “in love with a place, it stays with us forever.” Focussing once again on the relationship between emotions and places resembles the thoughts of Yi Fu Tuan in personifying the emotional-physical interaction.

I very much liked the work of Sally Mann and her old-fashioned photography. In the age where ‘candidness’ is often what is most sought after, it is nice to use technology that requires a great amount of preparation. I enjoyed the art by Barry McGee but it didn’t strike me like that of Sally Mann. Looking at graffiti artists, no matter how talented, always strikes me as problematic form of expression. They reference it as looking like ‘folk law’, but they claim themselves that they don’t know why they do it. It makes me wonder how important purpose is to the depth of art.

[jackadeney]

The (un)sitings of community response

I enjoyed reading the unsitings of community, by xxx. It highlighted a number of issues that I had with the Foster reading and developed a number of points that previously resulted in my confusion.

The story of Renee Green’s encounter with Sculpture Chicago was one that analogised the partition between artists and ethnographers. Although green was interested in studying the archaeological history of the city, she was instead typecast and promoted based on her African American heritage. Although it is not clear whether this is a common happening for artists of a marginalised background, the story shows in an opposite manor how one’s background can be restrictive on their artistic studies.

Additionally, the suggestion that many of the artist’s actions are driven by the objectives of the curators and art institutions is also worth noting. It is not hard to believe, but what is hard to believe is that this is any different from any other form of performer and institution. To a large extent, the footballer plays the way in which the club prefers. The writer writes in the style suitable to the publisher and the synchronised swimmer performs with the intention of pleasing the judges. Maybe the problem is most exacerbated in the realm of the artist because the artist is often portrayed as being the freest of constraints.

Another point raised that I found compelling was that of the community artist, and its likeness to aesthetic evangelism. I mentioned the point before in class that artists can often be accused of profiting from other people’s ill circumstance. An example that immediately rings to mind is the singer Paul Simon and his album Graceland.

This leads to the question of self-distancing in anthropology. Who is most capable of studying a marginalised background? The person with experience of looking from afar at different cultures, or the person that originated from the community in which they study? Or maybe the more relevant question- who has the right?

I wondered if there has ever been any discussion on the profiteering of anthropological studies, which then led me on to the question of self-distancing before studying. There is a well-known satire associated with social distancing in anthropology known as Nacirema (which you may notice is American spelt backwards.) Nacirema is related to the experience of American anthropologists distancing themselves from North American culture in order to study it. It has been noticed that when north American anthropologists study foreign cultures, such as those of the Amazonians and projecting it onto American culture. Following is an extract by author Neil Thompson as an example of this satire, taken from wikipedia;

“The high esteem of the cult is demonstrated by the fact that near every population center, when not disturbed by the accumulation of debris, archaeologists have found large and orderly collections of the Elibomotua cult symbol. The vast number of these collections has given us the opportunity to reconstruct with considerable confidence the principal ideas of the cult. The newest symbols seem to have nearly approached the ultimate of the Nacirema's cultural ideal. Their colors, material, and size suggest an enclosed mobile device that corresponds to no color or shape found in nature, although some authorities suggest that, at some early time in the development, the egg may have been the model. The device was provided with its own climate control system as well as a system that screened out many of the shorter rays of the light spectrum.”

Bonus points for guessing what ‘Elibomotua’ means.

[jackadeney]

testing 1212

heh