Backstages, Sideshows & Undergrounds
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Arch 442: UG4 / Winter 2009 / Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning / The University of Michigan BACKSTAGES, SIDESHOWS & UNDERGROUNDS The 2009 Wallenberg Competition Studios INSTRUCTORS: Mireille Roddier (coordinator) The Detroit Unreal Estate Agency Britt Eversole Studio Title Nataly Gattegno Studio Title Jason Johnson SEED BANK Coleman Jordan Studio Title Steven Mankouche 1,200 Feet Below Detroit; the Other White City Tsz Yan Ng Studio Title Anca Trandafirescu Alternateaccess OVERVIEW: The Wallenberg studios are named after the Michigan alumnus Raul Wallenberg and are conceived around a common theme to be explored collectively and individually, through diverse methods, agendas and interests of the faculty team. The studios are coordinated as a competition to be juried at the completion of the term by a panel of invited guest jurors. As the final undergraduate studio, it is expected that students will develop individual design proposals within the parameters of the respective studio frameworks. The studios are intended to bridge the more prescriptive studios already taken with the type of interest-driven work one may expect to undertake at the graduate level. In this sense, a high value is placed upon the formulation and execution of personally determined ideas and their means of development and presentation. Each of the eight studios will explore the theme of “Backstages, Sideshows & Undergrounds”. While responses will vary from one studio to the next, the aim is to create a framework for lively debate and exchange across all eight studios. Towards this ends, the semester will be structured around several events in which all of the studios will come together to share work and discuss ideas. Three guest speakers who will lecture on some aspect of the theme, as it pertains to their own work. The mid and final reviews will be coordinated in unison as well as the final exhibit to be presented at the end for the judging and awarding of the Wallenberg prizes and as a means for presenting the studio work to the school and visitors. RAOUL WALLENBERG ’35: “One person can make a difference” The national Raoul Wallenberg Committee of the United States bestows one of several of this nation’s various Wallenberg Awards. The committee’s selection criteria list the annual honoree’s reflection of “Raoul Wallenberg’s humanitarian spirit, personal courage and nonviolent action in the face of enormous odds.” The University of Michigan’s annually awarded Raoul Wallenberg Medal is given out yearly to individuals for outstanding humanitarian efforts. On October 29th of this year, Archbishop Desmond Tutu received the medal and gave the Wallenberg Lecture at the Hill Auditorium. The lecture can be viewed via iTunes at: http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/umich- public.1781520266 Throughout the world, lectures, medals, awards, parks, memorials, statues, stamps, streets, are named in honor of Raoul Wallenberg, commemorating his name and actions. All UG4 students currently enrolled in a Wallenberg studio should be knowledgeable about this remarkable man’s life. Research it, and reflect upon it. Raoul Wallenberg could have been one of you. In fact, he was. He graduated from our college in February of 1935, at age 22, with an architecture degree. BACKSTAGES, SIDESHOWS & UNDERGROUNDS: The Raoul Wallenberg studios are annually organized around a critical theme that reflects some aspect of his humanitarianism. This year, the theme “Backstages, Sideshows and Undergrounds”, promotes the inventive and critical interrogation of spectacular processes, while questioning the legality and morality of alternative non- spectacular scripts. This theme emerges from the intersection of three converging paths, to be kept in mind: I. The spectacle’s support system How do we explore the meaning of “resistance” in the context of architectural education? Is the main purpose of a resistance to annihilate the occupation, or, in this society of spectacles, does it begin with making it visible? Can architecture play a role in unmasking current ideologies? Are these ideologies imbedded in programming architecture / zoning the city, or are they equally present in forms? Can the incongruous juxtaposition of familiar programs lead to something entirely new? And when the meaning of forms is continuously being hijacked, where does the margin for subversion exist? The stage (the city, the country: that small and well illuminated zone referred to as the spectacle) isn’t the whole show. The audience represents its primary sponsor; the captivity of this audience, its primary cost. Stage and audience are subject to an exponentially growing interdependency. Is backstage the space hiding the puppeteers, or can it be a space whose lack of spotlight enables a certain freedom of action, or reception? backstage |ˈbakˈstāj| adjective of, relating to, or situated in the area behind the stage in a theater : a backstage tour of the opera house. figurative kept from public scrutiny; secret : backstage deals. II. Creative acts of legal navigation and subversive non-violent direct action In 1944, Raoul Wallenberg challenged the law to follow his conscience: -He bribed German, Hungarian and Russian officers and authorities; -He faked signatures and distributed thousands of fake Swedish passports to Hungarian and German Jews, identifying them as Swedish citizens and protecting them from inevitable deportation to concentration camps; -He rented dozens of buildings throughout Budapest and disguised them as Swedish public institutions benefiting from diplomatic immunity. Transformed into safe-houses, these buildings hosted and protected thousands of Jewish lives. Wallenberg’s actions combined saved over a hundred thousand lives. Questions arise. Wallenberg used what could be termed deception, bluffs and lies. We’ll choose to call them Creative acts of Fiction: the telling of stories. Is story telling deceptive? Where do the impacts of fiction affect reality? When does reality hinder the possibility for fiction? When is a story a distraction from the reality of nightmares (Roberto Benigni’s 1997 film “Life is Beautiful”) and when is it a tactic of diversion? sideshow |ˈsīdˈ sh ō| noun a small show or stall at an exhibition, fair, or circus. Figurative: a minor or diverting incident or issue, esp. one that distracts attention from something more important. III. Resistance vs Occupation How much can the definitions of the term "resistance" encompass? Raoul Wallenberg was what is still today termed 'a hero of the resistance'. Resistance however is a term whose connotations have been rapidly changing. Questions addressing classical and contemporary, social and political notions of "resistance" are encouraged — right about now. What falls under different tactics of resistance? The most overt? The minimal gesture? If the dominant order so clearly reinforces an artificially manufactured reality, one that benefits only a selected few, then what are the methods and tactics necessary to operate in the margins? When breaking rules is the only viable option, how do we practice from within? Resistances only exist dualistically with defined Occupations. How much can the definitions of the term "occupation" encompass? Resistances have, in the past, also existed dualistically with defined Collaborations. During times of urgency, neutral stances are considered collaborative with dominant forces. Underground |ˈəndərˈground| adverb beneath the surface of the ground : miners working underground. Figurative: in or into secrecy or hiding, esp. as a result of carrying out subversive political activities : many were forced to go underground by the government. TRAPS: Backstage does not aspire to become stage. (Unless stage takes on backstage's obligations.) TAGS: resistance, surplus, spectacle, social sustainability, Detroit, anarchitecture, TAZ, play, public space, ecosophy (3 ecologies), industrialization, post-capitalism, public space again, urban farming, urbicide, situated resistances, revolutions. COORDINATED SCHEDULE: TH 01.08 3:30 – 6pm: Wallenberg Studio Presentations & Lottery A + A Auditorium 2104 T 01.13 First day of Studio T 01.13 Wallenberg Studio Lecture #1: Laura Kurgan TH 01.22 X1: Coordinated Review TH 01.22 Wallenberg Studio Lecture #2: Marie Sester T 02.17 Studio Cross-Check (Instructors), 12:30 pm, A+A 2104 SA 02.21 Spring Break Begins M 03.02 Classes Resume T 03.10 UG4 MID REVIEWS (Coordinated & Revolving Critics) TH 03.12 UG4 MID REVIEWS (Coordinated & Revolving Critics) TH 03.26 Studio Cross-Check (Students), 12:30 pm, A+A 2104 TH 04.23 UG4 FINAL REVIEWS (Coordinated & Revolving Critics) F 04.24 UG4 FINAL REVIEWS (Coordinated & Revolving Critics) F 04.24 6pm: Wallenberg Finalists Announced SU 04.26 Midnight: Wallenberg Exhibition Set-Up Deadline M 04.27 > Su 05.03 WALLENBERG FINALISTS’ EXHIBITION TH 04.30 4:00pm: Wallenberg Studio jurors’ public panel discussion, followed by competition results announcement. 5:30pm: TCAUP Year End Celebration SA 05.02 University of Michigan Commencement SU 05.03 Taubman College Commencement WALLENBERG STUDIO LECTURES: Attendance is required of all UG4 students. Lectures will take place at 6:30pm in the A + A Auditorium 2104, at the end of studio days. T 01.13 Laura Kurgan LOOK | Laura Kurgan Design http://www.l00k.org TH 01.22 Marie Sester http://www.sester.net T 02.10 Nicola Delon & Julien Choppin Encore Heureux http://encoreheureux.org OTHER RELATED LECTURES: TBA Julie Bargmann D.I.R.T. http://www.dirtstudio.com TBA Christian Ernsten & Joost