4.2 Literature

As introduced in Chapter 2, this aesthetic framework draws from landscape architecture literature about melancholy and contemplation (shown in Table 4-1). I choose to study literature instead of actual projects because an intervention in a glacial landscape differs greatly from most spaces considered to be melancholic or contemplative. For this framework, it is preferable to draw properties from empirical research and expert opinion. The works chosen are introduced in Sections 2.2.1 (Melancholy) and 2.2.2 (Contemplation), but I reiterate them here.

Bowring explores conditions in the landscape that contribute to melancholy. Her list of conditions is reminiscent of Edmund Burke’s Philosophical Inquiry into the Sublime and the Beautiful. She draws from many sources to explain the conditions in depth and describes where they can found. In Krinke’s book, five authors present their understanding of contemplative spaces and offer strategies to create them. Their research overlaps, but it is presented through a range of themes and examples. Olszewska et al. are the first to conduct empirical research into what makes a landscape contemplative (2018). They combine Krinke’s work with their own research and another landscape quality model to produce a framework that is relevant here. 4.2.1 OVERLAPS, GAPS & DIFFERENCES

It is apparent from the literature that the associations with melancholy and contemplation overlap and intertwine, so it is not surprising that many conditions conducive to melancholy overlap with those of contemplation. There are also conditions for melancholy that are not mentioned in the literature about contemplation, although they seem appropriate and not necessarily limited to melancholy.

Important differences between the literature is that Bowring starts with the conditions themselves, where-as the essays on contemplation start from the desired mental state and from there describe the necessary conditions to reach it (Bowring, 2016; Krinke, 2005b). Olszewska et al. have already extracted conditions (‘landscape characteristics’) from the essays in Krinke’s book. However, their definition of contemplation is oriented to mental health and urban parks and does not acknowledge the process of reaching a contemplative state.

These three sources were comprehensive and sufficiently exhaustive to extract aesthetic conditions conducive to reaching a state of melancholic contemplation. With the same argument I used when I chose not to use coding software in Section 3.1.2, I also chose not to use coding software to extract aesthetic conditions, so the findings are based on subjective selection. I hope that the results are interesting enough to challenge another researcher to improve them.

CONCEPT LITERATURE #

Melancholy Bowring, J. (2016). Melancholy and the landscape: locating sadness, memory and reflection in the landscape. Routledge. 1

Contemplation Treib, M. (2005). Attending. In R. Krinke (Ed.) Contemporary landscapes of contemplation. (pp. 13-35). London: Routledge. Hermann, H. (2005). On the transcendent in landscapes of contemplation. In R. Krinke (Ed.) Contemporary landscapes of contemplation. (pp. 36-72). London: Routledge. Singer, M. & Krinke R. (2005). Map of memory: an interview. In R. Krinke (Ed.) Contemporary landscapes of contemplation. (pp. 73- 106). London: Routledge. Krinke R. (2005). Contemplative landscapes, restorative landscapes. In R. Krinke (Ed.) Contemporary landscapes of contemplation. (pp. 107-138). London: Routledge. Beardsley, J. (2005). Filling a void: creating contemporary spaces for contemplation. In R. Krinke (Ed.) Contemporary landscapes of contemplation. (pp. 174-196). London: Routledge. Olszewska, A. A., Marques, P. F., Ryan, R. L., & Barbosa, F. (2018). What makes a landscape contemplative?. Environment and Planning B: Urban Analytics and City Science, 45(1), 7-25. 2

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