Sunday, May 10, 2009

rumination...

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/85

So, a link to a video of Brian Ladd giving a presentation at MIT on the 6 month anniversary of Sept 11th- somewhat repetitive with loads of material from Ghosts, but there are some insightful additions also. There is a theme about rebuilding and monumentalizing- the discussions/controversies about how to commemorate the attacks of Sept 11th, but the presentation is mostly about Berlin. Caution: 1hr30min long. Oh, and he gets harshed on a little by some architects/urban planners at the end.

Also, I was thinking about the sense of catharsis that Ladd seems to be describing throughout the book that is produced by commemorating an ugly/shamed era or moment in history. I'm interested in this cathartic effect, and how it is created not only through monumentalizing/museumizing/commemorating, but also through the creation of new spaces (would Ladd consider this 'forgetting'?) specifically houses for contemporary artistic expression. 

Also, I like that Ladd uses remarks made by visitors to exhibitions in comment books in his pondering of public opinions of the time about the decisions to do with demolition/rebuilding/building and overall organizational evolution of urban space... hopefully I can peek in some of these kinds of books...

No comments:

Post a Comment