DRAWING THROUGH THE LENS OF ETHNOGRAPHY

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Marietta Koeberle, Dustin Klinger

Gregory Delaney

Spring 2022

ARC551

MArch

How can we represent an “everyday environment” through drawing?

Drawing what we see is a routine practice for architects and artists alike. Documenting our surroundings provides person-specific perspectives marked by individuality. "Ethnographic lens," in this course, was understood to be a deliberately constructed framework to learn about and accurately describe the customs of individuals and communities.

Using buildings and spaces in Niagara Falls, NY, as inspiration, students engaged in acute observations and honest reflections on patterns of inhabitation at various scales. The drawings aimed to capture socioeconomic conditions, building histories, everyday use of spaces, and the human response to these factors. Students studied, for example, where precisely a chair should be placed in a room, wall decor selections, and lighting conditions. Through analog and digital processes, the work led to compelling representations of as-is conditions and carefully chronicled the human inhabitation condition concerning architecture, landscape, and urbanism.

Field trips to Niagara Falls played a crucial role in understanding the neighborhood better. Multiple trips allowed students to better understand how a neighborhood operated on a day-to-day basis: Street activity on a Tuesday afternoon could be significantly different from a Sunday morning, painting an entirely different picture to the observer.

The seminar also provided space to question the mainstream architectural representation and documentation conventions, which often elevate static spatial depiction over lived experiences. Student drawings were instead intended to capture the unintentional or “out-of-place” elements of everyday living as seen through their eyes

Convenience

Koeberle’s drawing studies the checkout register at Mario’s Market. It shows all the candy and gum in the foreground, and all the cigarettes lining the shelf in the background. Plexiglass separates the cashier from the customer, a measure introduced by many businesses due to the pandemic. Nuances like this humanize the drawing as material embodiments of social contexts and value systems are displayed.

Waiting For A Cut

Klinger’s drawing shows the primary waiting area for guests entering Nelson’s Hair Studio. He takes appointments and has a sign-up sheet for the particularly busy days, but most often, customers wait only a few minutes before being served. This perspective shows the mess of ordinary living environments in use, a facet rarely seen through the lens of typical architectural representation.