With respect to the last post, which agreeingly strays from the focus of this blog, this post might be able to put the pieces back together. After some reasearch I have done with the guidance from Richard Goodwin, I have read up on some interesting designers from the last century or so, who have brought to my attention some concepts which help to expand my understanding of my own concept.
The first is Astrid Constant, who has an article on a Hotel in Cambodia which was designed in a similar layout and with decorations much like that of traditional Cambodian architecture. Creating the illusion of staying in traditional buildings. Another article spoke about some holiday bungalows which were designed to "blur the limits of the inside and outside world, lying somwhere inbetween". These two ideas both created for me the idea of illusionary abstraction. Abstracting a public or private space, with respect to Porosity, in such a way that the literal labels of the two spaces are removed. This removal of the distinction betwen the two spaces, does not remove their separation, but allows for an illusion of shared space. Installation architecture is a good example of what might be used to create this illusion. This illusion will then serve to create new and interesting forms of public space, because the boderline between the private and public environment is now not as explicit.
Relating this back to my previous post, music and it's effects on humans has been a primary focus of my thoughts for the last two and a half years. With my shift into the architectural world and how we perceive it, it was only natural for me to apply these abstract forms of architectural abstraction to my ideas that I am now exploring.
Music is not an easy element to use to manipulate an environment that is not enclosed, however it is still a consideration, and will remain one of my focuses for a while.
There are many forms of abstraction, and it is my aim to consider them all throughout my research and studies.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Parasentinel Evocation 2 - Elements of Emotion
Why do we listen to music? How do we choose what music we listen to? What clothes we wear? How our living space is organised?
Does the music we listen to define how we feel? Or does the way we feel define the music we listen to? And in turn how does this affect the rest of our personal decisions?
Many people claim that the clothing they wear and the music they listen to defines and expresses them as a person. It is representative of their beliefs and lifestyle.
Is this true or does the music they listen to and the clothing they wear have the first shot at them? Does their personality reflect the music they listen to and the clothing they wear?
When we listen to music we are reminded of something. Our brain responds to the stimulative element(the music) and initiates a reaction(our emotional output).
Say for instance we listen to a happy tune, it will evoke an emotion that relates to whatever association we have with that particular happy tune. Most of us would say a happy feeling, but what if that song was played at a loved ones funeral?
Would the emotion evoked be a happy memory of the person, or a sad output of the pain it is to miss that person?
If music has that power then why not utilise it to manipulate our emotionsnot only to create emotion, as one does when they go to a club to feel good because of the upbeat music, but to polarise our emotions?
If we are able to create a happy emotion from neutrality, why not happy from unhappy?
In our emotional bank we have Primary and secondary emotions. Primary being angst, failure, rejection, success etc. Secondary being happy, sad, indifferent etc. The secondary emotions being results of the primary of course.
There is no doubt that our emotions can be controlled by the music we listen to, or the clothing we wear. However I feel music is the stronger, easier to utilise and achieving faster results than the others.
The question is do we properly consider how the music and clothing we indulge ourselves in affects us, and shapes us? Or do we continue to claim that we are who we are prior to this engagement with the music and clothing?
Does the music we listen to define how we feel? Or does the way we feel define the music we listen to? And in turn how does this affect the rest of our personal decisions?
Many people claim that the clothing they wear and the music they listen to defines and expresses them as a person. It is representative of their beliefs and lifestyle.
Is this true or does the music they listen to and the clothing they wear have the first shot at them? Does their personality reflect the music they listen to and the clothing they wear?
When we listen to music we are reminded of something. Our brain responds to the stimulative element(the music) and initiates a reaction(our emotional output).
Say for instance we listen to a happy tune, it will evoke an emotion that relates to whatever association we have with that particular happy tune. Most of us would say a happy feeling, but what if that song was played at a loved ones funeral?
Would the emotion evoked be a happy memory of the person, or a sad output of the pain it is to miss that person?
If music has that power then why not utilise it to manipulate our emotionsnot only to create emotion, as one does when they go to a club to feel good because of the upbeat music, but to polarise our emotions?
If we are able to create a happy emotion from neutrality, why not happy from unhappy?
In our emotional bank we have Primary and secondary emotions. Primary being angst, failure, rejection, success etc. Secondary being happy, sad, indifferent etc. The secondary emotions being results of the primary of course.
There is no doubt that our emotions can be controlled by the music we listen to, or the clothing we wear. However I feel music is the stronger, easier to utilise and achieving faster results than the others.
The question is do we properly consider how the music and clothing we indulge ourselves in affects us, and shapes us? Or do we continue to claim that we are who we are prior to this engagement with the music and clothing?
Capitalism in Our Spaces
How is capitalism effecting our spaces?
"Who the fuck wants to see big gold M's everywhere?!" - Richard Goodwin
I like capitalism. In fact I love it. As humans I firmly believe that we need the continuous fluctuating economic climate in order to stimulate ourlives.
Today we can rest because our business is doing well, and we feel good about our achievements. But tomorrow, we have to work hard because there has been a sudden fall in trade.
Without that stimulation our world would be dreary, monotonous and dull.
If there was a world vote on whether we should all turn to socialism or all turn to capitalism. I'd vote capitalism with a capital ISM!
However, how far are we going to allow capitalism to affect our spaces? In a lecture Richard Goodwin gave a my university the other day he made the point that capitalism is a friend of ours that we've let crash too many of our parties. The increasing rate we see logos appearing on buildings leaves us in a situation where we aren't able to walk down the street anymore without being offered something to go spend our money on. Two seven-11s less than 50metres from eachother(Cavill Avenue, Gold coast), two Hungry Jacks 100metres from eachother (George Street, Sydney) and so on and so forth.
I'll admit it is extremely convenient walking down the road with a hole in our stomach, and seeing the big golden M off in the distance, but where do we draw the line?
When does convenience become a shrouding of choice? Will it ever get to the point where instead of seeing buildings as they evolve around us, to all us seeing is a shopping list of impulse buying?
How can we avoid our architecture becoming the host cell to the parasitic advert symbolism of capitalism?
How is capitalism affecting our spaces?
"Who the fuck wants to see big gold M's everywhere?!" - Richard Goodwin
I like capitalism. In fact I love it. As humans I firmly believe that we need the continuous fluctuating economic climate in order to stimulate ourlives.
Today we can rest because our business is doing well, and we feel good about our achievements. But tomorrow, we have to work hard because there has been a sudden fall in trade.
Without that stimulation our world would be dreary, monotonous and dull.
If there was a world vote on whether we should all turn to socialism or all turn to capitalism. I'd vote capitalism with a capital ISM!
However, how far are we going to allow capitalism to affect our spaces? In a lecture Richard Goodwin gave a my university the other day he made the point that capitalism is a friend of ours that we've let crash too many of our parties. The increasing rate we see logos appearing on buildings leaves us in a situation where we aren't able to walk down the street anymore without being offered something to go spend our money on. Two seven-11s less than 50metres from eachother(Cavill Avenue, Gold coast), two Hungry Jacks 100metres from eachother (George Street, Sydney) and so on and so forth.
I'll admit it is extremely convenient walking down the road with a hole in our stomach, and seeing the big golden M off in the distance, but where do we draw the line?
When does convenience become a shrouding of choice? Will it ever get to the point where instead of seeing buildings as they evolve around us, to all us seeing is a shopping list of impulse buying?
How can we avoid our architecture becoming the host cell to the parasitic advert symbolism of capitalism?
How is capitalism affecting our spaces?
Parasentinel Evocation
As humans we have strayed from the beaten path of our animalistic ancestors and rather than adjusting ourselves to our environment, we've adjusted our environment to fit ourselves.
Over time we've continued to develop architecture in ways that could never be foreseen. We've made leaps and bounds in sciences creating the most amazing structures. However somewhere along the line there was a sidestep made and according to chaos theory we are slowly beginning to see it's effects.
Architecture has become the vehicle for the artistic and structural pioneers through the ages. The time and thought that has gone into the spaces they've created is greater than you think.
But do we really consider the spaces we live in? In our everyday lives do we think about the windflow through our house and how it works in our favour? Do we ever consider the difference a slightly higher ceiling will make to our mood on a bad day? Do we consider the extra metre of space we have to walk across a hallway when arriving home after a long day of work?
Are we aware of the spaces we live in? Or has the developing world of specialised careers and mind conditioning lead us to simply exist in our space rather than live in it? Has our focus been drawn away from things, so that we take for granted an essential element in our lives such as the spaces we live in?
Do we take advantage of the complexities of our spaces?
Parasentinel evocation is an idea I would like to explore where a parasitic element can be added to a space to evoke us to be more aware of the spaces we live in. Through experimentation I hope to evoke that sense of people and place in the general population.
Over time we've continued to develop architecture in ways that could never be foreseen. We've made leaps and bounds in sciences creating the most amazing structures. However somewhere along the line there was a sidestep made and according to chaos theory we are slowly beginning to see it's effects.
Architecture has become the vehicle for the artistic and structural pioneers through the ages. The time and thought that has gone into the spaces they've created is greater than you think.
But do we really consider the spaces we live in? In our everyday lives do we think about the windflow through our house and how it works in our favour? Do we ever consider the difference a slightly higher ceiling will make to our mood on a bad day? Do we consider the extra metre of space we have to walk across a hallway when arriving home after a long day of work?
Are we aware of the spaces we live in? Or has the developing world of specialised careers and mind conditioning lead us to simply exist in our space rather than live in it? Has our focus been drawn away from things, so that we take for granted an essential element in our lives such as the spaces we live in?
Do we take advantage of the complexities of our spaces?
Parasentinel evocation is an idea I would like to explore where a parasitic element can be added to a space to evoke us to be more aware of the spaces we live in. Through experimentation I hope to evoke that sense of people and place in the general population.
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