Ahmed Mohtaseb "Earth is an Abyss, Light is a mirage "
Commentary on "The Abyss"
What is an abyss? metaphorically, it is the unknown. It is a place human beings know little about. A place that is filled with information and expression. To Robert Smithson, the earth is an abyss. He fears the the structural soundness of the ground that confines an individual in a 'container,' and yet desires badly to be part of the 'inside' he believes humans are not.
The idea of the container is obviously a motif in the shining which Kubrick translates architecturally. One example is manifested in the scene where Wendy locks her husband Jack in the kitchen cabinet to contain the danger he has increasingly become to her and her son Danny. In this scene, Kubric plays with the paradox of containing danger while simultaneously being contained from danger. The audience's understanding of the person contained once Wendy securely locked Jack in the cabinet is suddenly switched when Jack reveals to Wendy what he has done to the snow cat and the radio. From that moment on, the crushing feeling of claustrophobia that is caused by the monstrous architecture of the Overlook hotel is only intensified.
In the 'Sixth Mirror Displacement,' the unknown is what we are contained from, the mirrors help us escape by bringing the endless sky to the ground, but for Robert smithson, the mirrors are simply teasing mirages.
Experientially, the difference between an architectural space and a sculptural object is being surrounded by the object one is perceiving and surrounding the object on is perceiving. this is true in both "the Shining" and "Sixth Mirror Displacement" and in both cases, literally or metaphorically, the observer is contained.
quote from "present tense of space" page 182 "in perceiving an object, one occupies a separate space- ones own space. in perceiving an architectural space, ones own space is not seperate, but coexistent with what is perveived. in the first case one surrouinds; in the second one is surrouided. this has been an enduring plarity between scultural an architectural expereince.
In my Film "The Abyss," The camera puts to use foreground close-ups to capture what is otherwise 'overlooked.' Implications of a further reality and of non human experssivity is also captured in mid-ground and back-gound shots within those close-ups. light is a mirage, it creates space that isn't really there. Light fools a lost hiker into thinking there is a way out. It may also fool an observer into thinking something may be seen better in light. Nature's language affords a walker the opportunity to create shelter as in the tent which is supported by the fallen tree. vision is constantly interrupted by thought, which is made up of Human Language.
I'd like to talk a little about an idea Dan and Marc began discussing during my first showing of the film two weeks ago. "spider webs as organized systems, forests as not." This comment is one that I don't necessarily understand and think I disagree with. I realize the sentence is taken out of the context of the original discussion, but I think it can be a turning point.
James Gibson's idea of Affordance claims that the world exists out side of the human mind, and that it will continue to organize it self even if humans cease to exist. It's organization affords other systems (such as a spider's ability to create webs) opportunities to react. When a cat is dropped with its back facing the ground, it readjusts itself because the ground's surface affords it the opportunity to avoid danger. I bring this up for two reasons; one, in disagreeance with the notion of an unorganized forest, and two, to think of opportunities as a method of thinking, and doing ( and in an architects case, designing... very literally) I am afforded with The Shining, Rtobert Smithson, and Gilles Deleuze, and i am reacting to these precedends in the form of an idea, which will eventually take the form of an object.
As far as program goes, I've made a few considerations, all of which correlate to the idea of prayer, which is seen as an act of escaping the body, or communicating with the non-human world. Islam is of interest in its request of a particular place and direction for prayer.
An individuals ability to escape through prayer in islam does not necessitate an architecture. Prayer can be preformed anywhere including outdoors. however conditions apply, the prayer must be pointed towards the home of Allah, the Kaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaba reflects the horizontal path of the prayer to a vertical path directed upwards towards Allah. In addition to direction, obstacles maybe seen as interruptions of the path to Allah. For example, one must not face a bathroom, a graveyard, or a group of people etc.
Although architecture is not needed for prayer, it is encouraged to perform prayer in a house and even more in a mosque. This implies different levels of escaping.
The programs I've considered are: 1.Mosque and Park 2.Mosque and Dance club 3.Mosque and Jail 4.Mosque and Synagogue 5.Mosque and Theatre 6.Mosque and Airport
3 comments:
Ahmed Mohtaseb
"Earth is an Abyss, Light is a mirage "
Commentary on "The Abyss"
What is an abyss? metaphorically, it is the unknown. It is a place human beings know little about. A place that is filled with information and expression. To Robert Smithson, the earth is an abyss. He fears the the structural soundness of the ground that confines an individual in a 'container,' and yet desires badly to be part of the 'inside' he believes humans are not.
The idea of the container is obviously a motif in the shining which Kubrick translates architecturally. One example is manifested in the scene where Wendy locks her husband Jack in the kitchen cabinet to contain the danger he has increasingly become to her and her son Danny. In this scene, Kubric plays with the paradox of containing danger while simultaneously being contained from danger. The audience's understanding of the person contained once Wendy securely locked Jack in the cabinet is suddenly switched when Jack reveals to Wendy what he has done to the snow cat and the radio. From that moment on, the crushing feeling of claustrophobia that is caused by the monstrous architecture of the Overlook hotel is only intensified.
In the 'Sixth Mirror Displacement,' the unknown is what we are contained from, the mirrors help us escape by bringing the endless sky to the ground, but for Robert smithson, the mirrors are simply teasing mirages.
Experientially, the difference between an architectural space and a sculptural object is being surrounded by the object one is perceiving and surrounding the object on is perceiving. this is true in both "the Shining" and "Sixth Mirror Displacement" and in both cases, literally or metaphorically, the observer is contained.
quote from "present tense of space" page 182
"in perceiving an object, one occupies a separate space- ones own space. in perceiving an architectural space, ones own space is not seperate, but coexistent with what is perveived. in the first case one surrouinds; in the second one is surrouided. this has been an enduring plarity between scultural an architectural expereince.
In my Film "The Abyss," The camera puts to use foreground close-ups to capture what is otherwise 'overlooked.' Implications of a further reality and of non human experssivity is also captured in mid-ground and back-gound shots within those close-ups. light is a mirage, it creates space that isn't really there. Light fools a lost hiker into thinking there is a way out. It may also fool an observer into thinking something may be seen better in light. Nature's language affords a walker the opportunity to create shelter as in the tent which is supported by the fallen tree. vision is constantly interrupted by thought, which is made up of Human Language.
I'd like to talk a little about an idea Dan and Marc began discussing during my first showing of the film two weeks ago. "spider webs as organized systems, forests as not." This comment is one that I don't necessarily understand and think I disagree with. I realize the sentence is taken out of the context of the original discussion, but I think it can be a turning point.
James Gibson's idea of Affordance claims that the world exists out side of the human mind, and that it will continue to organize it self even if humans cease to exist. It's organization affords other systems (such as a spider's ability to create webs) opportunities to react. When a cat is dropped with its back facing the ground, it readjusts itself because the ground's surface affords it the opportunity to avoid danger. I bring this up for two reasons; one, in disagreeance with the notion of an unorganized forest, and two, to think of opportunities as a method of thinking, and doing ( and in an architects case, designing... very literally) I am afforded with The Shining, Rtobert Smithson, and Gilles Deleuze, and i am reacting to these precedends in the form of an idea, which will eventually take the form of an object.
Program
As far as program goes, I've made a few considerations, all of which correlate to the idea of prayer, which is seen as an act of escaping the body, or communicating with the non-human world. Islam is of interest in its request of a particular place and direction for prayer.
An individuals ability to escape through prayer in islam does not necessitate an architecture. Prayer can be preformed anywhere including outdoors. however conditions apply, the prayer must be pointed towards the home of Allah, the Kaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaba reflects the horizontal path of the prayer to a vertical path directed upwards towards Allah. In addition to direction, obstacles maybe seen as interruptions of the path to Allah. For example, one must not face a bathroom, a graveyard, or a group of people etc.
Although architecture is not needed for prayer, it is encouraged to perform prayer in a house and even more in a mosque. This implies different levels of escaping.
The programs I've considered are:
1.Mosque and Park
2.Mosque and Dance club
3.Mosque and Jail
4.Mosque and Synagogue
5.Mosque and Theatre
6.Mosque and Airport
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