Repurposing the City – Cultural Representation and the death of Post-Modernism.
“Post-modernism is dead and buried. In its place comes a new paradigm of authority and knowledge formed under the pressure of new technologies and contemporary social forces.”
The Death of Postmodernism And Beyond
Alan Kirby. 2006.
Repurposing the City.
This year Unit 4 are interested in cultural expression in Art, Architecture and the Urban Environment. We are interested in the role the built environment plays in both reflecting and influencing society, its relationship to both ‘high’ and ‘low’ cultural expression, and its ability to transform people’s perception of the world and themselves.
Students will be asked to repurpose and transform an existing urban environment as a Cultural Exchange (of expression) that reflects the manifest needs of its inhabitants. Central themes will be empowerment, renewal and sustainability. The project will be part urban, part landscape, part community, part art.
Critical thinking – The Death of Post Modernism
This year we will draw upon one of the central themes of last year’s Unit 2 – ‘The fears of Generation Z’, exploring in greater detail the role that Technology, Communication and Media has played in changing the way people perceive politics, cultural values and society. A good example of this are the concepts of ‘Collaborative Consumption’ – sharing resource and possessions, ‘Collective Intelligence’ – group knowledge arising from collaboration and a rejection of Post-Modernist values in the New Generation – supporting instead experience based or time related values. The Unit will not dwell on the Modernist tenet of solving the ‘fears’ of a Generation, but will look towards the future – questioning the continuum of architecture, the public realm, individual ownership, permanence, authorship and geography.
Group Research – Art Movements & Cultural Exchange
Central to our theme empowerment through culture is an interest in the role that Art Movements and Artist Collectives have played in influencing Architecture and Politics since the turn of the 20th Century. The Unit will research Modernist, Post-modernist and Contemporary Artist and Collectives, formally presenting individual research to the Group. Research will place each Art Movement within its original social political context, but also posit its relevance to today’s society. The work undertaken will be used as a mechanism to explore appropriate cultural responses to the repurposing of the city.
Repurposing the City.
This year Unit 4 are interested in cultural expression in Art, Architecture and the Urban Environment. We are interested in the role the built environment plays in both reflecting and influencing society, its relationship to both ‘high’ and ‘low’ cultural expression, and its ability to transform people’s perception of the world and themselves.
Students will be asked to repurpose and transform an existing urban environment as a Cultural Exchange (of expression) that reflects the manifest needs of its inhabitants. Central themes will be empowerment, renewal and sustainability. The project will be part urban, part landscape, part community, part art.
Critical thinking – The Death of Post Modernism
This year we will draw upon one of the central themes of last year’s Unit 2 – ‘The fears of Generation Z’, exploring in greater detail the role that Technology, Communication and Media has played in changing the way people perceive politics, cultural values and society. A good example of this are the concepts of ‘Collaborative Consumption’ – sharing resource and possessions, ‘Collective Intelligence’ – group knowledge arising from collaboration and a rejection of Post-Modernist values in the New Generation – supporting instead experience based or time related values. The Unit will not dwell on the Modernist tenet of solving the ‘fears’ of a Generation, but will look towards the future – questioning the continuum of architecture, the public realm, individual ownership, permanence, authorship and geography.
Group Research – Art Movements & Cultural Exchange
Central to our theme empowerment through culture is an interest in the role that Art Movements and Artist Collectives have played in influencing Architecture and Politics since the turn of the 20th Century. The Unit will research Modernist, Post-modernist and Contemporary Artist and Collectives, formally presenting individual research to the Group. Research will place each Art Movement within its original social political context, but also posit its relevance to today’s society. The work undertaken will be used as a mechanism to explore appropriate cultural responses to the repurposing of the city.