Respond to Boyer’s critique of spectacular urban space.
In what ways is history constructed as a spectacle
in urban space? How should spaces be produced to achieve a deeper, more
meaningful connection to the past? Respond with reference to Boyer’s arguments
and detailed examples of 1 or 2 urban spaces (distillery
district, neighborhoods, buildings, sites etc).
Essay on Architecture: Response to Boyer's Critique of Spectacular Urban Space
For many urban
dwellers, the city is simply a place where they live and work. More often than
not, the buildings and streets are ignored and are simply passed by. However,
every space within the space offers a peek in history. This is primarily
because the architectural and structural aspect of the city is a reflection of
its rich history as well as the culture of its people. But over the course of
time, these urban places have become saturated with images which drown the
city’s historical aspect. As such, the city has been reduced and reconstructed
to fit the modern aspirations of its new dwellers (Auge 24).
Society as a concept
was introduced during the early part of the nineteenth century. According to
scholar, the architecture and the structures within the city were primarily
constructed to strengthen the community. This means that the city itself links
and unites the people while providing them with a sense of identity. Public
places such as parks, public gardens, playgrounds, and promenades are not seen
as mere public facilities. Rather, they function as a ceremonial structure that
fosters unity and cultural oneness. Apart from relaxing and unwinding, people
gather in these spaces to connect and communicate with other residents. These
places then become an area where people meet and socialize with one another. In
addition to this, such recreational spaces along with the buildings and
monuments fulfil the community’s needs for beauty and aesthetics (Boyer 45).
The arrival of technology
however, changed the urban spaces into a “computer-simulated” environment. What
was once a panoramic space filled with areas that unite people now feature a
different space in which no “distinction exists between the built and the
natural environment” (Boyer 47). This is because new urbanism calls for a
“paradoxical juxtapositions and mesmerizing allusions of cinemas and
televisions” (Boyer 47). The contemporary
city is now dominated by a montage of effects through its blown-up
billboards, electronic advertisements as well as blinding lights that
criss-cross the highways. This has disrupted the unity that has pulled the
society together for many years. And what we have now is but a city of
spectacles (De Bord 25).
According to Boyer, the
City of Spectacle is a space in which the meaning of representational images
within a city becomes eroded. For instance, a historical building in a city if
often transformed in a modern bar. The author similarly asserts that twentieth
century artists promote the concept and aesthetic of temporality. Boyer
expresses this by writing that: “the City of Spectacle is a city reduced to the
play of pure imagery, has developed intimate tie-ins with the logic of
consumption and the selling of leisure time lifestyles. More than this, the
author argued that the urbanism strips a city of its lyrical and poetic value.
Boyer believes that the new setting has similarly resulted into the
privatization of greenery as most of the spaces in the city are now covered in
concrete and is surrounded by billboards. At the same time, the new environment
has emptied the city of historical aspect as old and historical structures are
now replaced with modern architectures (Boyer 55).
The arrival of
modernity has offered the society useful technologies and advancements.
However, it has also taken over the city and has created a space in which unity
and history is trumped with a spectacle of images. The once public space has
been transformed into a private view of one’s room because of the montage of
various billboards and technological advancements.
Works Cited
Auge, M. From places to
non-places.
Boyer, C. City Images and
Representational Forms.
De Bord, Guy. The Theory of
Derive., 1956
No comments:
Post a Comment