25 September 2011
Larnaca under Shadow _For a shaded urban terrace
The project is about the new building of the municipal market of Larnaca, to be placed at the site of the old, now demolished, market, at the heart of the city,
In our proposal we introduced the idea of the ‘shaded urban terrace’. We acknowledge that the creation of shaded spaces has become an important urban condition in Larnaca, both due to the harsh sunlight during a large part of the year, and the need for outdoors life of the residents. There are at least three different conditions of shaded spaces that we found in the city: the spots of shadow created by the umbrellas along the sea-side promenade, the temporary shaded areas on platforms and recreational spaces and the semi-open shaded spaces in the interior of blocks and workshops. These different versions of shaded city space that manage to enhance public life in many different ways have become the motivation for our proposal.
In our proposal we introduce the shadowed terrace of the city into the new Markets’ building by covering it up with a canopy. This canopy becomes the agent that multiplies the existing shaded city space from the ground of the marketplace up to the highest level of the parking space. At the same time a new cityscape is formed by the creation of an uninterrupted ground level. With these two design tools, the canopy and the ground, the commercial surface of the city is enforced and becomes uniform while the market is placed at its center, a nodal point in the entire commercial centre of Larnaca.
Competition entry by
AA & U (Socrates Stratis, Riccardo Urbano)
And DraftWorks (Christos Papastergiou,
Christiana Ioannou, Christiana Karagiorgi)
City spaces - Interpreting the Event
The value of the contemporary city lies upon its ability to broaden experience either by hiding or revealing its qualities in space and time. Thus an evaluation, analysis and new interpretation are attempted through an experimental approach.
To attempt a definition of empty spaces, possible design practices are proposed without "occupying" existing settlements. The architecture proposals being light opaque layers of new space structures, suggest a new experience of the same – in a space of existing notion – now enriched through architecture design. therefore, one can participate in - rather than merely observe the city, thus experiencing an interactive reality.
A reference on Art towards contemporary new media
Essay in new media Arts
Though there is no linear historical process in the audiovisual Arts, there have been efforts of ordering them into fields of expression. The boundaries between these fields are usually indistinguishable. Each field tangles to another in times where their categorization only projects to reassess the objective of arts, and its creational process. Conceptual Arts refers to non traditional forms of cultural production, flux’s movement [at the end of the 50s] criticizes on the elitism of exclusion of arts at its times, performance art borrows itself to actuation of event and not its mere objectification, arte povera puts questions to form relatively to the medium...
Since the beginnings of the 20th century artists of modern times give a new notion in artistic creation - that lays beyond any interpretation – the power to judgment on the present in a completely revolutionary way. At those times, art has been expressed in many new and non conventional ways. Their common contemplation has been the relating of tangible representation to an abstract reality through new, inventive expressions. Art of the first decades criticizes on traditional painting and its weakness to endure in modern times’ new notions. Experimentations of creation have already started from the ends of 19th century through invention of photography thus expanding to fields of science and technological progress.
This new artistic reality aims to overcome its traditional limitations. Artists like Braque or Picasso struggle with canvas not for an exterior representation but for sake of their very personal expression. Such experiments are inspired from the artists’ everyday life together with possibilities of new technological achievements.
Nietzsche’s and Froyd’s theories put the subject to the centre of history thus pushing art towards personal perquisites. Marcel Duchamp as a pioneer of the early 20th century places artist on the trajectory of a modern expression as A. Danto speaks of “…the end of art as we have known it….”
Cultural production embraces the technological revolution while its point of departure is already out of conventional limits – from experimentation with photography and cinema to expanding on video and virtual reality while moving in between.
This new direction in other fields or disciplines, suggests an art of time – an art whose basic component is condense of past, present and future. Artists of the 50s yearn to involve into the process of change in a widening and absolutely critical way.
Since the ends of 19th century scientific and art researchers like E. Muybridge and E. J. Marey are exploring movement in snap – shots. These experiments are to influence surrealists and futurists like M. Duchamp later on. Photographic or filmic material [still image] recommends a new way of time representation. What interests the cultural production of that period is the meaning of time and memory [historical or personal] not only as a spectacle but also as a basic component of notion in artistic work.
An art of time is thus born through which creators and spectators are experimenting with event.
During the same period, philosopher H. Bergson [1859 – 1941] influences in great extend photographers, painters, writers chorographers and videografists. For Bergson time is the center of metaphysic thinking for reality is nothing else but flux – movement in time. Notion of the present time as the in-between field of past and future suggests an intuition – conception interactivity. Bodies in space interests artists mostly in terms of such a philosophical thinking.
In 1878 E. Muybridge prints a photographic sequence of a horse’s movement as an effort of capturing the distinctive physiology alterations of movement on time. Multiple horse portraits are captures from a series of snap – shots through the distance covered. The photography is set to be taken at the exact moment of the horses touching a string attached to the machine and crossing the line. A series of images of 1/200second is produced. Time is thus deconstructed – cut in pieces of still images of the event. The project affects the whole scientific community for it brings new and factual material for biology studies.
Furthermore it is the first automated sequence taken on film! Later on cinematography is going to advance this idea into filmic machine.
A few years later, M. Duchamp will use the idea of time in his work “Nude Descending a Staircase” [1912] parallel to another influence of Maybridge’s work “ascending and descending stairs” [1884 – 85]
C. Greeberg – a protagonist of postmodern critic – establishes a new movement – abstract expressionism. In his theoretical aspect work of art must have the ability to exist by their selves – to constitute unique objects as ready mades. He supports the dept for new art – of criticizing on its own application towards enforcement of its competitiveness. Art has to differentiate from social life or politics so that to search for the obsolete – thus founding an idea for its own. The meaning must be totally annulled in art image or form so that the art piece cannot be undertaken into anything else but its objectiveness.
Abstract expressionism abandons the traditional notion of representation. The abstract is an important aspect of the two dimensional image while even a quite fragmental silhouette could lead in forbidden relations to illusionism. Furthermore, the reality – actuality of the modern painting is found at its relation to its medium. Painting or sculpture is self referential – adequate. Abstract expressionism effort is to overcome the symbolism of exterior reality trying to achieve the inner – primitive experience of an abstract artistic gesture. Canvas is not the framing of an image but the representation of an open area of freedom in which the root is foraged. Work of art is thus an unexpected locus of hypothesis – conception – a non transparent space that acts as a metaphor. It is in this way a notional object. After all, the absolute image is not evaluated for what it prescribes, explains or represent but only for what it is in its own objectivity.
Duchamp’s searches are to exceed representation. Soon he will experiment in a mixture of media to create sculptures in space [the Bride stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even 1915 – 23], films [Anemic cinema 1926] and installations [etant donnes 1946 – 66]. His work is outside every preconditioned aesthetic thus cannot be consolidated into any artistic movement of its times. His notion of the ready – made as the non replica - the unique piece of art that can only exist in it for it self autonomously puts in question again the meaning of art. Through an emancipated approach of the medium, the work of art is detached from its commercial purpose. According to Duchamp, the new value of any promotion is assigned to its concept.
Duchamp’s controversial ideas affect most of the young artists of the 50s. Not only Europe but also United States are facing great changes in that period that relates to the cultural production. Students demonstrate their opposition to Vietnam’s war, social right are in crisis, political activists are greatly motivated and commercialization of every commodity indicate a world in which the role of an artist is crucial.
More specifically, art in United States tends to overcome the abstract expressionism. This consternation is spread everywhere. Movements such as Pop or Minimal Art come up parallel to multimedia experiments of John Cage [1912 – 92] whilst R. Motherwell prints dada documents [including Duchamp’s]. Abstract Expressionism has already made place for new art. Pop Art, Minimal and Post minimal Art, Happenings and Fluxus fix a completely new cultural scene. Video originated from the media acts independently as a medium of reassigning aesthetics in its every form of expression. J. Pollock, W. Kooning, F. Kline, M. Rothko, B. Nauman etc represent the power of new artistic creation.
John Cage’s project of experimental music following by philosophy of Zen relates to his research on chance. His music include abstract noises of the street, sounds of raw material such as wood or the chords of a piano or even silence [mute concert titled 4΄:33΄΄ of 1952] His colleague M. Cunningham [dancer and chorographer] assigns his sounds in special expressions creating provocative performances – non linear fragmental expressions of movement in space.
In such perspective, artists of that period embrace the notion of a conceptual art in which the meaning is formed through the event, an abstract situation of common life that simply happens.
The movement called Fluxus appears in 1961 when Georg Macinnas [1939 – 78] a provocative artist organizes the first artistic “events” in AG Gallery in New York. Later on, it is established as an international movement of artists, cinematographers and musicians who expose their work in Europe [1962]. Thus, flux acts as a regenerator of great importance in performance, cinema and experimentation upon video art. Alike Dada, Fluxus formed the neo-dada in music, theatre, poetry and art. In a historical time in which modernism reaches the zenith of self reference having excluded art from the masses, fluxus as an anti – art movement aims to bind new artistic creation to the common everyday life objective world. Artistic ideals of Fluxus are thus accessed to public through performances – events that embrace chance as a new aspect of artistic creation in real time.
For the G. Brecht, performance is the reality’s minimum unit. A performance example is “open event” of Mieco Shiomi, a challenge for the opening of an enclosure. During this event, the audience was invited to write about the exact reality of their own event. This artistic action opposes to the elitism of the museum defending the communicative process of art.
Another similar but yet different event of minimal music composition is John Cage’s “scores” – based on the idea of covering a piano so that to produce no sound. During the event, everything as a result of sounds by chance could happen.
Fluxus idea of art piece is the possibility to be finalized through the correspondence of the audience. The viewer thus becomes very important for the event. This participation of the subject determines the current notion of art while differentiating its parameters and deciding its idea in real time.
Fluxus manifest expands in moving image thus forming the bases for the upcoming media art. From the early 60s “fluxusflims” [a series of 40 short films] are projected in Canal Street New York. One of them belongs to Nam June Paik [“Zen for film” 1962 – 64] as a 30 minutes projection of 1000f film on television screen. The projection surface is placed next to an upturned piano and a double bass. The project criticizes on commercial film as it captures every element of film production [lighting, visual effects, scene, even image itself]. Such a subtraction aims to expose the work of cinematography naked of its common context – as an object of pure 16mm film sequence – opened in any artistic substance. This non imaged projection constitutes the minimal actions of what is going to follow – the beginning of alternative cinema. Production of fluxusfilms’ experiments by Mieco Shiomi, Yioko Ono, Peter Moore, Gregiry Marcopoulos, Andy Worholl, Robert Beavers and more is to be continued in the following years. The boundaries of cinematography are now broken, for a new and pure artistic approach on moving image. Video art activates something new creating an open and charming field of playing.
Audiovisual form relates to a notional procedure. Nevertheless, it has not lost touch with natural material and interpretation even to the limits of invisible or hidden. The audiovisual art introduces a new notional and aesthetic criteria – it reverses the classical thesis of image on natural to distinctive – thus digital world. The reality of the planets augmented promptitude of electronic inter link is reflected into the new trajectory of art – an attempt for reappointing from scratch the notion of space ant time.
Notes
Henri Marcel Duchamp was born in 1887 in France. From 1904 to 1905 he studied painting in Academe Julian together with Jacques Villon and Raymond Duchamp – Villon in Paris His early works are post impressionistic. His first exhibition took place in Salon des Independents and Salon d’ Automne. His paintings of 1911 refer to cubism but emphasize on forms in motion. He finalizes his subject on movement in “Nude Descending a Staircase” [1912] a painting quite controversial in New York. His drastic iconoclastic ideas prepared the way to Zurich’s Dada movement in 1916. He had given up classic painting already from 1913 to experiment in alternative artistic forms [mechanical drawings, surveys and notes] which he would combine later on to another work of great importance [“the Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even” 19115-23 also known as “The Large Glass]. In the 1914 he introduced the idea of readymade – the common object of everyday life which he alters to transform into a piece of art. This point of view, is to be adopted by
Bibliography
Rorimer Anny “New Art in 60-70 Redefining reality” Thames & Hudson 2001
R. Michael “New Media in Late century Art” Thames & Hudson world of Arts 2001
Willem De Kooning, Woman V, 1952–1953. De Kooning's series of Woman paintings in the early 1950s caused a stir in the New York City avant-garde circle.
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