The Book, the Body and Architectural History in Peter Greenaway's Cinematography
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE BOOK, THE BODY AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY IN PETER GREENAWAY'S CINEMATOGRAPHY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY SEMRA HORUZ IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE SEPTEMBER 2010 Approval of the Graduate School of Social Sciences Prof. Dr. Meliha Altunışık Benli Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Güven Arif Sargın Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Master of Arts. Assist. Prof. Dr. A. Sevil Enginsoy Ekinci Supervisor Examining Committee Members Asst. Prof. Dr. A. Sevil Enginsoy Ekinci (METU, AH) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Ozkaya (METU, AH) Instructor, Dr. M. Haluk Zelef (METU, ARCH) I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as requiredby these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last Name: Semra HORUZ Signature : iii ABSTRACT THE BOOK, THE BODY AND ARCHITECTURAL HISTORY IN PETER GREENAWAY'S CINEMATOGRAPHY HORUZ, Semra M.A. Department of History of Architecture Supervisor: Assist. Prof. Dr. A. Sevil ENGİNSOY EKİNCİ September 2010, 237 pages This thesis is an attempt to explore the “axis of innumerable relationships” of the book which Jorge Luis Borges touches upon. In doing this, it deals with the questions of “whats”, “whos”, “whens” and “wheres” of the reading activity. While scrutinizing these aspects of reading, the main concern is to reach the “whys” and “hows” of it. Referring to Roger Chartier’s definition of reading, there are three main components of this activity, as the content of the book, the material form of the book and the practice itself and they are aimed to be analyzed in detail. In this context, the questions of “wheres” and “whens” and their various answers create an intertwined area of history of reading and history of architecture. Within this theoretical framework, the scope of the thesis is shaped by Peter Greenaway’s cinematography. The questions of “who reads/writes what book”, “where and when” are searched in the director’s three films; The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover (1989), Prospero's Books (1991) and The Pillow Book (1996) by devoting one chapter to each film. Accordingly, the question of “who” orients the study to the bodies of the books/readers/writers, and those of “where” iv and “when” to architectural history. In connection to the director’s multidisciplinary interests, the thesis seeks to trace how this topic is intertwined not only with history of architecture but also with the history of art and literature. Hence, it is an attempt to utilize Greenaway’s cinematography as a tool to juxtapose the two/three dimensional representations of the book, the body and the spaces onto each other. Key Words: Architecture and Cinema, Peter Greenaway, History of Reading, The Space, The Book and The Body v ÖZ PETER GREENAWAY SİNEMATOGRAFİSİNDE KiTAP, BEDEN VE MiMARLIK TARiHi HORUZ, Semra Yüksek Lisans, Mimarlık Tarihi Bölümü Tez Yöneticisi: Yar. Doç. Doktor A. Sevil ENGİNSOY EKİNCİ Eylül 2010, 237 sayfa Bu tez okuma faaliyetinin, Jorge Luis Borges’ in deyimiyle, “sayısız ilişkiler eksenini” incelemeyi amaçlar. Bu edimle ilişkili olarak “kim”, “ne”, ne zaman” ve “nerede” sorularıyla ilgilenir. Okumayı bu açılardan irdelerken, konunun “neden” ve “nasıl” larına ulaşmayı hedefler. Roger Chartier’nin okuma tanımına göre, bu faaliyetin üç temel bileşeni olan kitabın içeriği, kitabın formu ve malzemesi ve son olarak, okuma edimini kendisi bu tezde detaylı olarak araştırılır. Bu bağlamda, çalışmadaki “nerede” ve “ne zaman” soruları ve bunların çeşitli yanıtları okumanın tarihi ve mimarlık tarihinin içiçe geçtiği bir alan oluşturur. Bu kuramsal çerçevede, tezin sınırlarını Peter Greenaway’in sinematografisi çizer. “Kim”, “hangi kitabı”, “nerede” ve “ne zaman” okur/yazar soruları Greenaway’in Aşçı, Hırsız, Karısı ve Sevgilisi (The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover, 1989), Prospero’ nun Kitapları (Prospero's Books, 1991) ve Tuval Bedenler (The Pillow Book, 1996) filmlerinde, her film ayrı bölümlerde ele alınarak tartışılır. Bu bakış açısıyla, “kim” sorusu çalışmayı kitapların/okurların/yazarların bedenlerine yönlendirirken, “nerede” ve “ne zaman” soruları da mimarlık tarihiyle ilişkilendirir. Tez, yönetmenin disiplinlerarası ilgilerine dayanarak, söz konusu kavramların sadece mimarlık tarihiyle değil, edebiyat ve sanat tarihiyle de nasıl vi kesiştiğinin izini sürer. Bu nedenle, çalışmanın hedefi, Greenaway sinematografisindeki beden, kitap ve mekânların temsilleri aracılığıyla okumanın tarihinden mimarlık tarihine ulaşmaktır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Mimarlık ve Sinema, Peter Greenaway, Okumanın Tarihi, Mekan, Kitap ve Beden vii To my family viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First of all I want to express my profound appreciation to Assist. Prof. Dr. A. Sevil Enginsoy Ekinci, my supervisor, for her guidance, encouragements and thought-stimulating critics. She is the boost of all the innovative ideas in my thesis, if there is one. I would also like to thank the jury members, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Belgin Turan Ozkaya and Instructor, Dr. M. Haluk Zelef for their insightful suggestions and inspring comments. I owe to special thanks to my big family for believing in me and for their encouragements not only throghout the thesis but also through all my studies. I am indebted to my father, my mother; our Nebiş, my sisters Selma and Selda. Gökhan, Emre and Mete, my well favored boys, deserve also special thanks for their love and moral boosts. I am also greatful to Armağan Yardım who has always been with me. She is more than a friend and “there is no doubt that this process will not be that easy without her.” I also want to express my sincere thanks to my friends; firstly Melodi Öz, Sema Öz, and Özüm İtez for their interest and suggestions. My flatmates, Yunus Çetin, Can Eyüp Çekiç and the “archive guys” Deniz Özden and Murat Kenan Şentürk also deserve special thanks for their contirubutions. And my heartfelts thanks go to particularly Çağlayan Efendioğlu Öz and Ümit Efendiğolu. It is difficult to express my gratitude to them for their motivation, continous support and good will in every aspect of my life. Finally, I would like to extend my dearest thanks to my parents and sisters for their infinite support and constant believe in me. ix TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM .......................................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iv ÖZ ............................................................................................................................. vi DEDICATION ......................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ........................................................................................ ix TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................................... x LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................................. ..xiii CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................... 1 1.1 AIM AND SCOPE OF THE STUDY ................................................................. 2 1.2 METHODOLOGY AND STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY ............................ 14 2. THE COOK, THE THIEF, HIS WIFE AND HER LOVER (1989) ........................ 17 2.1 TEXTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE FILM ...................................................... 19 2.2 VISUAL STRUCTURE OF THE FILM .......................................................... 22 2.3 RESTAURANT & BOOK DEPOSITORY: TWO SEPARATE ZONES FOR EATING AND READING .................................................................... 33 2.3.1 Restaurant: From Mouth to Anus.......................................................... 34 2.3.1.1 The Car Park/Service Area ............................................................ 34 2.3.1.2 The Kitchen ................................................................................... 41 2.3.1.3 The Dining Hall ............................................................................. 46 2.3.1.3.1 The Lavatory................................................................... 55 2.3.2 Book Depository: “Food for Thought” ................................................. 61 2.4 THE BOOK, THE BODY, THEIR SPACES AND THEIR DIRECTOR ........ 80 3. PROSPERO'S BOOKS (1991) ............................................................................... 83 3.1 TEXTUAL STRUCTURE OF THE FILM ...................................................... 91 3.2 VISUAL STRUCTURE OF THE FILM ........................................................ 102 x 3.3 ARCHITECTURE OF/ IN PROSPERO'S BOOKS...................................... 107 3.3.1 Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana : Prospero’s Library ....................... 115 3.3.1.1 Prospero’s Study ...................................................................... 126 3.4 BODIES OF THE BOOKS AND THE READERS/ WRITERS ................