October 2007 Archives
- noun something of tawdry design, appearance, or content created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating taste.
- Sentimentality or vulgar, often pretentious bad taste, especially in the arts: "When money tries to buy beauty it tends to purchase a kind of courteous kitsch" (William H. Gass).
What is your idea of kitsch? over-ornamentalised? a collage of classical motifs or elements that are disjointed? can a modern adaptation of lets says Meis and Le Corbusier be a kitsch space?
of focusing the manifesto by using and referring to only Italian churches? as the site is in Rome, Italy. These Italian churches would be aggregated into forming a newer plan based on the commercial value of Christianity and reforming it to the new religion of commerce (consumerism) through allocating anchor points and exaggerating the whole idea of pilgrimage by its aisles and end points 'till point', but based on a European standards of shopping?
Your thoughts? please....still confused?
''The estate is a pastiche of historic architectural styles that Hearst admired in his travels around Europe. For example, the main house is modeled after a 16th century Spanish cathedral, while the outdoor pool features an ancient Roman temple front transported wholesale from Europe and reconstructed at the site. Hearst furnished the estate with truckloads of art, antiques, and even whole ceilings that he acquired en masse from Europe and Egypt.'' Extract from Wikipedia.org
Thanks to Adam he actually referred me to this site which is a fun forum to follow and update yourself on whats happening in the world with projects being put forward and ones being built. The Dubai category is particularly funny!!! enjoy :)
Here my manifesto takes a different role, or multiple ones:
- Am I trying to do an adaptation of churches? (almost shopping for churches parts like the Hearst castle) then re-assemble the aggregate to form a newer church? (counter-design)
- Am I doing replicas of the 'best-hit list' of churches world-wide to create a Las Vegas experience but in a shopping mall format? What makes a church enter the best hit-list? which format of a shopping mall do i follow? European or American? shop in Westminster Abbey? taking kitsch to a programmatic extreme?
- Or using the commercial aspect of religions, where the architect should be an aid in trying to create for the priest a plan that acts as a selling device.(pro-product)
Its an in Italian site with listings of all the churches. Monia maybe you can help with the translation... :D
has an english version but apparently not for the churches page?
link
The commercial
religion and the religion of commerce
1. GOD.
Provided
the religion and is an embodiment of it. Religion was to aid an answer to the
reason of the existence of the human condition.
2. SCRIPTURE.
The
Bible, the Koran, the Torah, the Buddha, teachings of the prophets and divine
characters: are used and were elaborated by incorporating cultural and
historical traditions organized in a way to create a set of practice guidelines
governing human behavioural patterns. Hence, liturgy translated into a
lifestyle.
3. ICON.
The
cross of Christianity, the Hilal (crescent) of Islam, the Hebrew letters of the
10 commandments, all represent characters or events of the stories foretold. The
teachings passed down by many generations promoted those icons as holy, so we grew
to perceive and worship them as such and have psychologically redefined their
purpose from their intangible idea. We have
elevated the physical icons to the level of the idea it represents.
4. WORSHIP.
Walking
the aisles of churches, attending the Sunday mass (Eucharist) consuming the
body of Christ (bread), The pilgrimage to Mecca for hajj, gesturing
little wish lists or prayers on top of temple trees, all are symbolic proceedings
and calculated behaviours, but in some way are actions of giving back to the
icon and in so attaining a newer one.
5. COMMERCE.
A simmered
down version of those icons come in the shape of a simple souvenir within the
grasp of our hands. This is not only exclusive to Christianity, from rosaries to
mini ceramic statues of the virgin Mary or the cross of Jesus Christ, but are
also observable in many structured religions such as in representations of the
Buddha, miniatures of Mecca, the David Star for Jews. Is it possible that
deep down inside, some pagan weeds still managed to survive in many of us? I
wonder?
But
nevertheless, I would call that “Commercial Religions”.
Conversely,
there would be no reason that commercialism should be excluded as a religion in
itself.
Merging the commercial religions to the religion of commerce, could be by cross-referencing the new pilgrimage hot-spots, the ‘’shopping malls’’ from its aisles, method of organisation, construction detailing in contrast to the iconic churches of the world and extracting their best-hit lists of new methods of construction technology (at the time), use, scale, aisles, would probably amalgamate in creating a collage of this new religion of commerce building.
Oddly enough the plan for the West Edmonton
Mall in Alberta, USA is a cross. The image above is Europa Blvd. and is one of three “retail theme streets” at the mall. The mall has 800
stores, eight theme park-style attractions and spans the equivalent of
48 city blocks in Edmonton, Alberta.
The commercial
religion and the religion of commerce
a constructed space that is always in
construction
God
– script – worship – icons – commerce (product)
A
set of beliefs held by a specific group of believers can be branded as a
“religion” if those shared convictions define the communal rituals and the
personal practices of the group members. While the purpose of structured religions
seem to be the provision of an answer to the reason of the existence of the
human condition, the practice of religions tends to elaborate on the purpose by
incorporating cultural and historical traditions organized in a way to create a
set of practice guidelines to govern the human behavioural patterns. From those
elements, icons are drawn such as, in Christianity, the characters in the
stories foretold (Jesus, Mary, the saints …etc) and equivalently elements
translate into icons (the cross, the dove representing the holly spirit, the
lamb representing Jesus….etc).
In
the age when literacy was scarce, icons were almost imperative to set reference
points with which one can understand and interpret the teachings. However, in a
contemporary setting such requirement, rationally, should diminish. Yet it did
not. It is possible that the teaching passed down by many generations promoted
those icons as holly, so we are programmed to perceive them as such and we have
psychologically redefined their purpose. It is also possible that the human
obsession of the physical subconsciously prevents us from letting go of the
tangible representation to the favour of the intangible idea. Either way, we
have elevated the physical icons to the level of the idea it represents. Is it
possible that deep down inside, some pagan weeds still managed to survive in
many of us? I wonder. But an interesting observation is that this fact has not
gone unnoticed, and commercialism has crept onto this fact by giving us a
variety of those icons in different shapes, sizes and colours. Such
phenomena is not exclusive to Christianity, but is also observed in many
structured religions (the Buddha, the picture and miniatures of the Kabb’a and
the dome of the rock for Muslims, the David Star for Jews…etc).
I would call that “Commercial Religions”.
Commerce
(product) – icons – worship – scripture - God
Commercialism
is the new world’s religion. With its own icons (Prada, BMW, Starbucks, Ipod),
sacred rituals (consumerism, plastic surgery, latest trends), space of
worship(Selfridges, Harrods), scriptures (vogue, wallpaper), God (Money, Social
Status, beauty). Keeping the definition of religion as “A set of beliefs held
by a specific group of believers can be branded as a “religion” if those shared
convictions define the communal rituals and the personal practices of the group
members” there is no reason that commercialism should be excluded as a religion
in itself.
The
world we live in is not isolated. With a globalized world and multicultural
cities the modern sacred space should be democratic and should not be devoted
to a single religion. Multi religions spaces do exist in airports, some public
buildings …etc. but, unlike churches, mosques, synagogues or temples, multi
faith prayer rooms are minor and consequential in nature. Hardly an icon but a
good candidate to become one. As a preliminary idea for the purpose of this
manifesto, I propose that the new structure should have a primary pure form to
avoid attachment of historical stigmatism and not to be associated with any
established religion. Building on the idea of a democratic space, I propose the
shape of a circle or preferably a sphere as it has no beginning or end, devoid
of any hierarchy. The structure should benefit from an open plan where function
can be defined and redefined using movable elements. The open plan can be
extended to an open section whereby floors can also be tailor-made with movable
constructible elements. The flexibility does not only make the space adaptable
to existing structured religions, but also to the new religion of Commerce
(exhibition space).
