02/12/13 12:09Reading Response Week 6 Cinema & Architecture
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Reading Response Week 6 Cinema & ArchitectureBy Nikolas /
February 28, 2012 / Reading Response / No Comments
Reading Response Week 6 Architecture and Cinema
I believe that Eisensteins (2009) approach to linking
architecture and cinema offers a fruitful approach tostart the
discussion on cinema and architecture. He refers to film as montage
since moving images areapplied to each other and, thus, links
cinema and architecture. In Site-seeing: Architecture and theMoving
Image Giuliana Bruno (1997) highlights the feature of mobility
which links the moving image cinema and architecture and is a
central theme throughout her article. In this regard she mentions
that[c]inemathe motion pictureinhabits modernitys moving urban
culture. (ibid, p. 11). Cinemafrequently depicts our society and
since it is an audiovisual experience it affects various other
forms ofarts, such as architecture. With the advent of the cinema
architectural forms, such as arcades anddepartment stores have
originated, but especially transportation is of particular
significance influencingnot only architecture and the urban space,
but urban culture in general. Bruno emphasizes architecturesstrong
influence on cinema. According to her architectures of transit
prepared the ground for theinvention of the moving imagean outcome
of the age of travel culture and the very epitome ofmodernity
(ibid, p. 11). Bruno also refers to the significance that the movie
house possesses for urbanareas and highlights that film is a
manifestation of the metropolis. In this regard she refers to
SigfriedKracauer who outlines films material attraction for the
street, the pavement, feet walking over stones.(p. 12). Therefore,
the strong link between architecture and film results in the fact
that both are heavilydependent on mobility. With reference to Le
Corbusier as well as Eisenstein and Choisy, Bruno points outthat
architecture is mostly perceived while moving. Moreover, urban
areas are strongly influenced byarchitecture which manifests itself
in part in a citys character. Since film often deals with society
andculture, urban areas are often an integral part in film and
therefore architecture cannot be ignored. Brunorelates to the movie
house which is a core feature of Sigfried Kracauers essay Cult of
Distraction: OnBerlins Picture Palaces. Kracauer depicts the
picture houses in Berlin as palaces of distraction revealingthe
total artwork (Gesamtkunstwerk) of effects (p. 92). Ockmans essay
Architecture in a Mode ofDistraction: Eight Takes on Jacques Tatis
Playtime gave me a chance to actually receive a greater
understanding of the connection between architecture and film.
In this regard Ockman quotes WalterBenjamin who highlights that
both cinema and architecture are received by a collectivity in a
mode ofdistraction (p. 171) in line with Kracauer as mentioned
previously. However, film in contrast toarchitecture is limited
insofar as the viewer stays in one location and cannot actually
dive into theexperience; at least not physically although mentally.
In contrast architecture can not only be perceivedbut it also
offers a haptic experience. Ockman highlights that during the
advent of film, this medium notonly visually but also technically
symbolized the industrialized age, urban metropolitan areas as well
asmodernity; [m]etonymically, as well as metaphorically, the
cinematic medium translated the impact ofindustrialization into the
realm of aesthetic reception (p. 172). In this regard Ockman
repeatedly refers toWalter Benjamin who suggests that the highly
technical, abstract aesthetic of modern architecture hasthe
potential to educate the masses for the changes wrought by the
contemporary epoch (p. 174).
I was especially intrigued by the way in which Ockman refers to
Tatis film Playtime which highlights onthe one hand how strongly
American Culture influenced Europe after WW2 and on the other hand
alsoreveals the bureaucratic and consumerist nature of modern
society.
This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under
a Creative Commons
02/12/13 12:09Reading Response Week 6 Cinema & Architecture
| Media and Architecture 2012
Pgina 2 de
2http://www.wordsinspace.net/media-architecture/2012-spring/?p=526
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