I had a tough time coming up with a public sphere of influence that would compare to the examples already posted (a mall, sports stadiums, DVDs, suburbia). One idea that kept returning to my thoughts was Times Square. I believe the myriad meanings associated with the area can provide a rich discourse on the subject of human-built environments.
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| Times Square image from Wikipedia |
My opinion changed for the worse after living in Manhattan for a few months.
I began to see the dazzling ads displayed on billboards as gaudy representations of a city fueled by consumerism to the detriment of compassionate human relationships. It is well known that no self-respecting native New Yorker would choose to spend time in Times Square. The irony of this can be seen in the massive Target advertisements perched on multiple building in the area for more than 7 years before a branch opened in Manhattan.
The media has had a defining hand in shaping the area and its experience. It’s named after the New York Times building (the founder of which asked the city to rename the vicinity after moving in). Theater and other (seedier) entertainments flourish(ed) in Times Square; it’s home to Broadway, after all. Even the neon lights and advertisements that sprout like weeks from surrounding buildings are popular tourist photo backdrops. The crushing crowds stream in from all sides, eager to take pictures and experience the area.
But what does the area have to actually experience? Avant-garde theater no longer exists, after being pushed out by revivals of popular performances guaranteed to make money instead of sparking controversy. Nor do any commercial establishments exist that cannot be found in a suburban mall—FAO Schwartz is now a Toys R Us, and the only Red Lobster and Applebees in the city are located on 42nd Street.
bell hooks stressed the importance of space as defining the activities and people that inhabit it in Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice. Perhaps Times Square is meant to be a shrine to consumerism with oversized ads serving as icons of capitalism.
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| Me (left) in Time Square with a friend in 2007 |
For more information its history and on what others think of Times Square, check out the following links:
http://www.timessquarenyc.org/then_now/then_now.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Times_Square
http://gothamist.com/2010/12/04/times_says_times_squares_disneyfica.php
http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2010/08/12/tasteful-in-times-square-theres-a-law-against-that/
Works cited
hooks, b. (1995). Black Vernacular: Architecture as cultural practice. In Art on my mind: Visual politics (145-151). New York: The New Press.
Assignment
Introduce self by locating and describing a public sphere of influence in the human-built environment (e.g., mall, Internet site, television show, listserv, news broadcast, advertisement, artwork, built-environment).
March,
ReplyDeleteThis post really hits home with me. I was just in New York on Monday and had lunch a few blocks from the Flat Iron building. I stopped in Madison Square Park to take some photos of the building. I now have a photo of the building on my Facebook page and next to it is Edward Steichen's shot from the same vantage point. (He did a supremely better job.)
One of the ladies with whom I was traveling had not been to Times Square since she was eight, so after lunch, we wandered in that direction. We took a few photos and went into the Toys R Us (formerly FAO Schwarz) to warm up. What a travesty that it's changed from a moderatley-unique and dynamic kid store to something that's found in any mall in America. But I agree with you that there is nothing to do in Times Square except for stare at the lights. We were quickly bored, and found our way back to our ride.
Was there anything you liked about living in the city? I have two friends who moved from Alabama to Brooklyn to open a coffee shop. I have thought it would be an adventure to live there for a year.
- James
Hi James,
ReplyDeleteNo, NYC wasn't all bad--I had some great times! I especially miss my friends, who all seemed to migrate to the city after college. Also, the food--there really isn't any good Mexican food near PSU, not to mention Ethiopian! But I travel back-and-forth about once or twice a month (we now have a Megabus from State College to Manhattan) and get my fix.
If you need any recommendations for your next visit, let me know!
-March
Hey Laura- love your take on new york and can completely can relate. The times that I have visited the city a day or two of seeing popular points of interest dominated by consumerism is usual long enough (though I could probably spend weeks at a time in the public parks and squares, and little Italy).Surrounded by advertisements and billboards like in time square is exhausting after awhile, and I think it can really take away from the true genius loci or essence of the city. The issue you raise also makes me think about a topic I did a paper on for landscape arch, which was privatization of public spaces in New York city. Great places such as Bryant park are also being threatened by an overwhelming and arguably inappropriate amount of commercialization and advertisement. It is sad to see how consumerism has gotten out of control is some places and has lead to not so pleasant effects.
ReplyDeleteI only ever went to the city to visit friends at NYU. I was in love with the city, and really wanted to move there after college. Times Square overwhelmed me at first. I remember having no idea where to look first.
ReplyDeleteMarch,
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing your thoughts about Times Square. Maybe I will get there one day, but unlike you, I came back to "dodge". I moved back to my hometown after teaching out of state and in another county in PA for 6 years. I honestly don't know if i could live in such a crowded place again. I lived in Baltimore for 2 years and it was just too busy for me. I used to drive the Bay Bridge to the Eastern Shore of MD everyday to work. (Again, my reference to architecture is a vivid memory. Though I hated the travel and the traffic jams and the height of that bridge, it was a spectacular view from up there.) I found it interesting that there is a lack of food chains there (Applebee's).
I remember being let down the first time I went to Times Square. I thought "what's the big deal about this place? It's just a bunch of advertisements!" But I love the city (in general), and The City (NYC, in particular). Kutztown had a monthly bus trip sponsored by the Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts. $10 roundtrip. I'd go up to the galleries, the musuems, the local shops, neighborhoods, performances, and the libraries.
ReplyDeleteI love your take on Times Square. Having visited some native NYC friends, they have never taken me there, but rather to local, neighborhood spots that many would consider holes in the wall. Like you said, T.S. is marketed to represent NYC to feed consumerism for the most part.
ReplyDeleteJenny Holzer’s art in Times Square uses the medium of neon moving billboards to create what she calls “Truisms”. There is 25 second video from SFMOMA at http://www.sfmoma.org/multimedia/videos/138 in which Holzer describes her art as we see some of the truisms that intervened in the Times Square landscape in 1982. She says she gets at the big issues. The poignancy of the truisms is still relevant today 30 years later, and as she says are enough different that it can make an impact. Public pedagogy is her art medium. Laura if you could place a “truism” in Times Square that identifies a significant problem or issue today for the audience of Times Square, what would it say?
ReplyDeleteWow, I'm really impressed by Jenny Holzer's work! I think instead of broadcasting a truism, I would want to ask a question to the people standing in Times Square to get them to think about why they are there. Something along the lines of "What are you looking for?" but maybe in a nicer, more introspective manner. What would yours say, Karen?
ReplyDelete