i agree with most of what you say, and add the following:
the proceedings have been consistent with the current (pathology) "cult of
personality" which won the day in the wtc process. libeskind's "getting a
charge" when he touched bedrock is, i agree, pathetic, but plays right into
our worshiping of his personality, as conveyed by our latter day
evangelists, the media. the individual, the self, the ego, these are the
sacred in our society, it seems.
i recall also eric owen moss describing architects as the priests of "our"
society, another arrogant, presumptuous pretension which libeskind's
selection and character represent.
and interesting to hear on npr this morning a discussion about eurabia, and
the decline of christianity, the rise of islam, the clash of cultures, all
of which got me to thinking about religious faith, and how our society, in
its secularism, doesn't seem to have anything approaching the radical
islamist's faith/zeal/passion. what would i sacrifice my life for? patrick
henry would do it for "liberty." would any of us?
but at lunch now and work awaits....
RONALD EVITTS ARCHITECT
1201 Broadway, Room 503
New York, NY 10001-5405
212-679-7050 tel
212-679-7058 fax
revitts@xxxxxxxxxxx
www.revitts.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Basic and applied design (Art and Architecture)
[mailto:DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of brian carroll
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 12:40 PM
To: DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: iconodules
hi Ron, thank drudge as he located it online.
it was an interesting essay in many ways, to
me what was remarkable was the issue of a
reassertion of chronology and structure into
analyses and education- to go towards more
in-depth understandings and studies, or that
is how i read it in some parts, that is, getting
into the richness (reclaiming language, too).
though, in a particular architectural sense it
was to me an indication of how far off today's
approach to the WTC & 9/11 memorializations
has been, when 'icons' are banned from being
considered critical to the basic visual literacy
(and comprehension) of events. as if a PoMo
wordview talibanned literal representations, in
exchange for visualizing the church as the state.
in this case, the lack of iconography and being
pursued by 'iconoclasts' (Linn, Libeskind, Arad)
who replaced the images of 9/11 with their own
proprietary privatized images which are meant
to replace the profane with a divine sacredness
of abstraction, freedom of individual expression
(not collective, in the sense of literacy beyond
an image which is to be media wallpaper, their
own, thus, iconoclasts are the icon makers of the
order of a misguided modernist avant-garde that
serves the corrupted states of affairs instead of
challenging its interpretations to erase evidence
of what has occurred, becoming a helping hand.)
the artifacts need not be religious, but hearing of
Libeskind saying he touched the bedrock in the
tub and ~got some spark or feeling~ makes this
religiosity even more absurd. as if the prophet is
in direct-connect with the higher-powers while
serving the most destitute of agendas now in
existence. the icon is the architect, instead of
an architectural symbolism rich in meaning for all
without the need for architectural spiritual leaders.
it just does not fit the cultural reality as it exists.
that is, outside the control of total interpretations.
and, as such, is an engineered final solution to
any questions about the questioning the events.
it's hard to believe things have become so craven.
brian
--
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The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html
the proceedings have been consistent with the current (pathology) "cult of
personality" which won the day in the wtc process. libeskind's "getting a
charge" when he touched bedrock is, i agree, pathetic, but plays right into
our worshiping of his personality, as conveyed by our latter day
evangelists, the media. the individual, the self, the ego, these are the
sacred in our society, it seems.
i recall also eric owen moss describing architects as the priests of "our"
society, another arrogant, presumptuous pretension which libeskind's
selection and character represent.
and interesting to hear on npr this morning a discussion about eurabia, and
the decline of christianity, the rise of islam, the clash of cultures, all
of which got me to thinking about religious faith, and how our society, in
its secularism, doesn't seem to have anything approaching the radical
islamist's faith/zeal/passion. what would i sacrifice my life for? patrick
henry would do it for "liberty." would any of us?
but at lunch now and work awaits....
RONALD EVITTS ARCHITECT
1201 Broadway, Room 503
New York, NY 10001-5405
212-679-7050 tel
212-679-7058 fax
revitts@xxxxxxxxxxx
www.revitts.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Basic and applied design (Art and Architecture)
[mailto:DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of brian carroll
Sent: Wednesday, April 07, 2004 12:40 PM
To: DESIGN-L@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: iconodules
hi Ron, thank drudge as he located it online.
it was an interesting essay in many ways, to
me what was remarkable was the issue of a
reassertion of chronology and structure into
analyses and education- to go towards more
in-depth understandings and studies, or that
is how i read it in some parts, that is, getting
into the richness (reclaiming language, too).
though, in a particular architectural sense it
was to me an indication of how far off today's
approach to the WTC & 9/11 memorializations
has been, when 'icons' are banned from being
considered critical to the basic visual literacy
(and comprehension) of events. as if a PoMo
wordview talibanned literal representations, in
exchange for visualizing the church as the state.
in this case, the lack of iconography and being
pursued by 'iconoclasts' (Linn, Libeskind, Arad)
who replaced the images of 9/11 with their own
proprietary privatized images which are meant
to replace the profane with a divine sacredness
of abstraction, freedom of individual expression
(not collective, in the sense of literacy beyond
an image which is to be media wallpaper, their
own, thus, iconoclasts are the icon makers of the
order of a misguided modernist avant-garde that
serves the corrupted states of affairs instead of
challenging its interpretations to erase evidence
of what has occurred, becoming a helping hand.)
the artifacts need not be religious, but hearing of
Libeskind saying he touched the bedrock in the
tub and ~got some spark or feeling~ makes this
religiosity even more absurd. as if the prophet is
in direct-connect with the higher-powers while
serving the most destitute of agendas now in
existence. the icon is the architect, instead of
an architectural symbolism rich in meaning for all
without the need for architectural spiritual leaders.
it just does not fit the cultural reality as it exists.
that is, outside the control of total interpretations.
and, as such, is an engineered final solution to
any questions about the questioning the events.
it's hard to believe things have become so craven.
brian
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html
--
The Design-L list for art and architecture, since 1992...
To subscribe, send mailto:design-l-subscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
To signoff, send mailto:design-l-unsubscribe-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx.
Visit archives: http://lists.psu.edu/archives/design-l.html