(Non)fictions

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(non)fictions selected projects guy neil james



They checked into a two-room unit in back with a shake roof—a little run-down maybe, but spacious and comfortable inside, with a fridge, hot plate, air-conditioning, cable TV and two king-size water beds with leopardprint sheets. “Far out,” said Doc, “I wonder if these vibrate.” They didn't. “Bummer.” Inherent Vice Thomas Pynchon



(non)fictions selected projects guy neil james

gnjamesII@gmail.com 817.658.0165 487 Greene Ave, Apt 3 Brooklyn, NY 11216


All drawings, renderings, or models herein are the work of Guy Neil James under the named firm or institution unless otherwise noted. All photography is copyrighted by Alex Severin and used with permission.


“WELL, IT'S ARCHITECTURE, BUT I THINK OF IT AS BEING FICTION. It's a fictional architecture, Though, I suppose I don't mean that as a negative. Hm... Actually... I'm not sure.” A professor whose name I will pretend to have forgotten1 for the sake of withholding it told me the above once in a review years ago, and despite the unsure and passing nature of it, the idea of fictional architecture took a troublesome root in me. The primary question became what such a thing is. From some perspectives, it could be argued that all architecture is fictional at times: imagined plans and sections used to organize ideas of space and program, metaphors in materials, photographed perspectives available only to the lens (and photocorrection tool), some prized ideal form without the complications and headaches of coordination. Then, too, all architecture seems to contain kernels of non-fiction in them: scale sneaking its way into dimensions and plans, the exacting nature or feedback of materials and light, some notion of inhabitants being accommodated or antagonized, forms based on various parameters such as data, program, or even the hermetic experiences of the architect. Architecture itself seems to reside in the moment when we awake from a dream, in and of this world while still tethered to something else. The projects in this portfolio are arranged along the continuum of this tether, beginning with those that found their way out into the real world, those that are still attempting to do so, bless them, and those whose concerns lie elsewhere. But they are all, in their own ways, of one another and inform and reveal aspects in each other—and not necessarily always in a linear fashion. In this sense, architecture seems to me an ongoing, incomplete practice that requires both ends of the continuum to flourish. Further, this conceit allows me to put built work pages away from scans of folded mylar without completely losing my mind, which is an admitted plus. 1. In case this reads rude, it was actually quite a good studio.

resume 6 (non)fictions nyhq primary care astoria · 2012—2014 michielli + wyetzner architects 8 ics brooklyn offices · 2013—2015 michielli + wyetzner architects 18 lehman amphitheater · 2014—present michielli + wyetzner architects 26 ccny firehouse art studios · 2015—present michielli + wyetzner architects 34 mms community library · 2015—2016 michielli + wyetzner architects

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fictions the artist tower · fourth year studio michael trencher + kathy dunne 48 sub_urban housing · third year studio gregory merryweather

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seamen's church institute memorial · fourth year studio fredrick biehle 64 advent · undergraduate thesis eric wong + ron oron

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guy neil james 487 Greene Ave, Apt 3 Brooklyn, NY 11216 817.658.0165 gnjamesII@gmail.com guyneiljames.com

education pratt institute Bachelor of Architecture, graduated with highest honors 2007—2012

experience michielli+wyetzner architects project designer new york, ny 2011—present • engaged partners daily to develop design strategies in projects at multiple scales • aided in the design of projects of various typologies such as healthcare, office space, institutional, residential, and public space • responsible for multiple projects from schematic design through construction administration • coordinated construction documents with mep, structural, landscape, and lighting consultants • worked with government organizations such as DASNY for project and drawing review related to CUNY projects • reviewed and coordinated shop drawings and submittals • produced physical models, renders, schematic and presentation drawings • revised indesign template, page layout, and typeface design for proposals • supervised interns from Winston Prep Transition's since 2015 who aided in digitizing sample library information and reorganizing sample library in office

visiting critic pratt institute brooklyn, ny 2012—present • sit in on midterm and final reviews and provide criticism, direction, and conversation regarding student projects with other critics • juror on technics, representation, 100, 200, 400, and degree project reviews

silver+ong. ny, ny intern designer new york, ny 2010 • built prototype models and created presentation drawings and renderings as part of a team for Sukkah City competition • coordinated design elements with robotics consultant for kinetic portions of design

design 102/201/202 teaching assistant pratt institute brooklyn, ny 2009—2012 • teaching assistant for first and second year design studios on libraries and kindergartens with Professor Evan Tribus • visited second year design studio students twice a week to discuss progress of projects, provide critique, and help with technical issues • worked closely and regularly met with professor to discuss students and ensure own student critiques aided larger pedagogical aims of the studio • taken part in midterm and final reviews as critic

print shop monitor pratt institute brooklyn, ny 2008—2011 • oversaw production of black and white and color prints, both standard sizes and large scale printing • helped students troubleshoot printing workflow errors and fielded questions on graphic and 3d modeling programs • performed basic maintenance on printers and plotters • aided in graphic design of signage for computer labs and creation of workflow guides for print production


selected projects winston prep lic, ny 35,000 sf school for students in 4th through 12th grades with learning disabilities status: in design

ccny firehouse art studios new york, ny 8000 sf renovation and addition gallery and graduate art studios status: in design

mmsc library mmsc, ny 60,000 sf library for multiple hamlets with community and educational spaces status: in design

lehman college amphitheater bronx, ny 17,000 sf exterior seating, stage and backdrop, and ada upgrades status: in design

hauppauge public library hauppauge, ny 18,000 sf community library situated around courtyards status: in design

cardozo law: the benjamin new york, ny 26,000 sf renovation graduate dorm rooms with new kitchens & entrance status: complete 2016

ics brooklyn brooklyn, ny 6000 sf renovation office fit-out for disability home care providers connected to existing office status: complete 2015

nyhq primary care astoria astoria, new york 5000 sf interior and exterior renovation with exam and consult rooms status: complete 2014

nyhq infusion queens, ny 13,500 sf article 28 compliant infusion center, phased to maintain existing treatment status: on hold 2013

phi offices & workshops bronx, new york 42,500 sf Five floor office fitout and wheelchair workshops status: complete 2012

publications

honors

software/skills

nyhq primary care astoria aia academy for architecture for health, case study library entry inprocess

aia/aah national healthcare design award category a: built, less than $25 mil construction cost 2015

digital autocad rhinoceros 3D vray for rhino rhinocam maxwell render photoshop illustrator indesign grasshopper revit sketchup microsoft word microsoft excel html+css processing

masonry design magazine “this satellite facility is a powerful presence in the community” may 2016 american healthcare leader “astoria primary care” apr/may/june 2016 snap architectural news + products “curb appeal” jan/feb 2016 dwell.com “a new york health center embraces modern design” aug 2015 phi offices new york real estate journal, “michielli + wyetzner designs new space for three not for profits” july 2013

LEED green associate 2013 pratt institute circle award for outstanding merit 2012 distinguished degree project presentation of exemplary thesis work, three chosen from each studio. 2012 crossing disciplines: books schaffer gallery exhibition pratt institute 2011 president's list 2007—2012 pratt presidential merit scholarship 2007—2012 junge memorial scholarship

physical model making fabrication photography bookbinding arduino baking

references chi-fan wong adjunct associate professor, pratt institute distinguished teacher 2010-2011 exhibitions director shrine4@gmail.com evan tribus visiting assistant professor, pratt institute senior associate, rockwell group etribus@pratt.edu


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nyhq primary care astoria queens, new york completed 2014 michielli+wyetzner project designer aia/aah 2015 design award New York Hospital Queens commissioned the Primary Care Astoria Clinic as part of a series of new neighborhood practices intended to raise the profile of the hospital in the community and expand their services to areas outside of their main campus. This clinic renovation turns a vacant 5,000 square foot brick building into a vibrant, modern facility open to the increasingly active 30th Avenue. The design began by maximizing the sunlight along the exposed, exterior facades by creating a new storefront facade, balanced by a new ribbon window on the second floor, and situating the circulation along the perimeter. The exam and consult rooms branch off this new corridor, and an employee lounge is accessible on the first floor. Each waiting room provides ample light and space, separate from, yet still visible to, a curved reception wall in order to provide privacy. Between the two, the geometric stair connects both floors, intersecting with the ceiling plane below, which in turn extends outward into a canopy. Along the exterior, a perforated metal screen masks the irregular pattern of existing windows. During the day, the screen filters the daylight entering the space, and at night, it combines with the illuminated ceiling and canopy, spilling light onto the sidewalk, to provide a glowing presence on the street corner.

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nyhq primary care astoria

The eastern elevation shows the new entry and perforated screen facade, a separate employee entrance, and windows behind.

FACING PAGE TOP

FACING PAGE BOTTOM View

from

across 30th avenue. LEFT Details showing new storefront entry, steel, canopy, and corner column. BOTTOM RIGHT View from inside the first floor waiting room.

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nyhq primary care astoria

View of stair slipping through new opening in the second floor, as shown in the adjacent section.

FACING PAGE TOP

FACING PAGE BOTTOM Detail

section through stair and second floor railing.

LEFT View from inside stair, looking out at waiting rooms on both floors.

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Axon of curved reception wall and desk, highlighting different finishes.

BOTTOM

FACING PAGE LEFT Detail section through reception desk at checkout and check-in. FACING PAGE TOP RIGHT

Typical exam

room. The colored forms of the reception desk, stair, and elevator meet.

FACING PAGE BOTTOM RIGHT

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nyhq primary care astoria

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nyhq primary care astoria

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ics brooklyn offices brooklyn, new york completed 2015 michielli+wyetzner project designer + joel stewart This new 6,000 square foot office fit-out for Independence Care System (ICS), a not-for-profit advocate organization providing community center functions, counseling, workshops, and wheelchair maintenance services for the disabled, is an expansion adjacent to an existing outreach and office center in downtown Brooklyn. This is one of three centers located in Manhattan, the Bronx and Brooklyn. Located on the 5th floor of what was the JW Mays Department Store, the new office retains many of the existing decorative features and remnants of past construction that were a part of the original store construction from the early 20th Century. Readapting original pressed tin ceilings and ornate wood moldings, the space is a collageof old and new. Many of the employees are disabled and broad central corridor allows ample maneuverability for wheelchairs. An illuminated fascia runs parallel for the space's entire length. With natural light at only the shorter, west end of the space, this glowing surface extends light from the cafĂŠ area at the windows along the entire 150 foot length of the office. The illuminated wall intersects a new opening in an existing brick bearing wall, leading to the call center at the rear of the space. In addition, a neighboring tenant space's required fire corridor bifurcates the offices as a tunnel that does not reach the ceiling, allowing the space of the office to flow above it. Each of these distinct elements remain independent as they intersect, allowing the old and new to sit side by side.

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(non)fictions

TOP

Plan of new space.

BOTTOM LEFT Detail through existing ornament and reused tin ceiling. BOTTOM RIGHT Work area with remnants of removed stair remaining around the painted tin wall.

Cut out joining the two adjacent buildings and looking into the call center and two smaller conference rooms.

FACING PAGE

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ics brooklyn

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ics brooklyn

Axon illustrating the light wall's continuity throughout the space and details of its construction.

FACING PAGE

Light wall running along reused tin ceiling and sliding above fire corridor.

BOTTOM

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View of and into employee lounge and pantry.

BOTTOM

View from call center looking towards the employee lounge.

FACING PAGE

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ics brooklyn

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lehman amphitheater bronx, new york in design 2014-present michielli+wyetzner project designer

The design of a new amphitheater for Lehman College converts an under utilized plaza at the college's south entrance into a fully-supported multi-use outdoor theater for 120 spectators. The design integrates spectator seating into a sloping extension of three different zones of campus landscaping, which in turn focuses on a stage backdrop that fills out under the existing architecture. By providing an accessible route to the adjacent Speech & Theater building, the landscape is divided into three areas which are then increasingly articulated as they approach the building. From the extents of the stage and seating, two arrays of intersecting lines provide the locations for a ten foot deep field of 3" steel columns, provides a porous and sculptural stage backdrop in which the simple geometry of the diagram provides both enough spacing for actors moving in the column field and creates a denser column field as they move to the center of the stage. Scenery can be attached and hung on expansion columns in both the front and back and select columns which attach to the overhead structure. The cantilevered steel tubes above contain power and piping for attaching overhead lights. Two platforms framing the seating provide locations for light fixtures positioned in front of the stage. During the day, the new landscape creates an inviting space for students and professors to informally gather and relax, providing a usable space even when not hosting a performance.

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lehman amphitheater

1/8" scale model of amphitheater

FACING PAGE TOP

FACING PAGE BOTTOM Axon highlighting the landscapes further articulation as it moves towards the stage, new accessible route, light structures, and column backdrop. BOTTOM

Plan.

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Elevation looking towards column field and stage.

TOP

Section through Speech and Theater Building and amphitheater.

BOTTOM

Details of various foundation wall conditions, including seating and steps.

FACING PAGE TOP LEFT

FACING PAGE TOP RIGHT Plan and section details of typical freestanding column connection.

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lehman amphitheater

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lehman amphitheater

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ccny firehouse art studios harlem, new york in design 2015-present michielli+wyetzner project designer

The renovation of an 1880's firehouse in Harlem transforms the existing building into a fine art workshop for the Graduate School of Arts at CCNY. Intended to engage the surrounding community, the ground floor contains a gallery space open to the public and a small sculpture garden in the rear yard. The remaining floors of the three-story building will contain individual art studios, fabrication shops, and a classroom. A new addition, with additional studios, crit spaces, and a mezzanine, floats above the existing building, pulled back to respect the existing facade. Similarly, the entrance recedes to create a covered entryway and privilege the original construction. A new structural brick core and interior steel framing brings the egress and seismic up to code, and a new elevator provides vertical circulation to each floor. Painted existing joists act as lighting baffles for the studio spaces below. Each studio is constructed out of 8' tall unistrut partitions and provides storage, a lot line window, and ample pin-up space. In the new addition, the mezzanine and front lounge space give students space for presentations and group critiques as well as access to a new roof terrace. Above the terrace, the zinc-clad facade leans forward, an oversized mirroring of the neighboring cornices. An equipment platform behind the large picture window allows the users to display sculpture, art, and signage or use a rear-projector to display videos created by resident artists or students.

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ccny firehouse art studios

Plan of ground floor, with recessed entry, gallery, classroom, and rear patio.

FACING PAGE TOP

FACING PAGE BOTTOM

Ground floor

gallery. TOP

Second and third floor plans.

BOTTOM

View of typical studio

floor.

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Lounge space, roof terrace, and equipment platform above.

TOP

Fourth floor and fourth floor mezzanine floor plans.

BOTTOM

View from exterior into fourth floor and mezzanine critique space.

FACING PAGE TOP

FACING PAGE BOTTOM Building section looking towards the east.

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ccny firehouse art studios

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ccny firehouse art studios

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mms community library shirley, new york in design 2015-present michielli+wyetzner project designer +debbie balters The Mastics, Moriches, Shirley community’s design need was to craft a new 60,000 square foot library that does not overwhelm its natural, park setting. The site is located within a former 100 acre golf course that will be developed as a community park with active and passive uses. To reduce the impact of the building, MWA proposed a single-story structure made up of five smaller, programmatically specific “wings” and used earth embankments to permit the surrounding meadow to rise over the roof of the building, providing continuity to the park. The result is a solution that is both informed by and in communication with the site around it. Patrons cross through a wooded buffer of remnant pine barrens, which separates the parking area from the building’s three entry courtyards: one for the main adult library entrance, a second dedicated to the teen/children’s library, and a third for the multi-use community spaces. The community rooms are grouped in a zone separated from the secure area of the library for access after-hours. The reading areas for each constituent group line the glazed southern perimeter of the structure. This edge follows the shoreline of an expansive lake, providing views of the water and distant landscape, connecting it in spirit to the community’s unique natural resources, namely the Smith Point County Park Beach and the Werthheim National Wildlife Refuge. The building’s layout supports the Library’s mission is to be a place of growth, discovery and life-long learning.

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Perspective of library without and with the embankment.

TOP

BOTTOM

Plan.

Sections through library at main entrance, admin wing, children's wing, and children's amphitheater.

FACING PAGE TOP LEFT

FACING PAGE TOP RIGHT Interior views of children and adult libraries. FACING PAGE BOTTOM Approaching the library from the east.

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mms community library

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mms community library

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artist tower at lincoln center manhattan, new york completed 2010 pratt institute 4th year studio + shannon hayes This studio proposes the construction of a new 100+ storey tower near Lincoln Center to act as a beacon of art in an attempt to address the shortcomings of Lincoln Center as a truly open cultural center. Born from narrative studies of its users as various archetypes, the tower exists of a single triangular core of more typical commercial and residential programs, surrounded by three “artists cores” of increasing height: the Performance Core, the Display Core, and the Studio Core. Different programs laminate onto one another, creating a continuity of program types in section and a mixture of different studio types in plan. Interaction with the public begins on the ground, where amphitheaters and public art spaces invite people of the city up to any of its various public spaces and programs or to the viewing deck at the tower's apex. The building itself allows art to actively engage the urban environment at multiple scales, from studio spaces adjoining offices to large scale video displays broadcasting to the city. The building also underwent numerous structural and service investigations, including core circulation and distribution, the creation of multiple belt trusses and structural “packages,” and the implementation of two curtain wall types with varying plenum spaces. The specifics of these curtain wall types changes with the program in order to provide a more granular, human scale to offset the supertower's monumentality.

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fictions

Part of a series of formal games used in tandem with physical models to explore sectional forms.

TOP

Massing model of adjacent Round 3.

RIGHT

Diagram of structural strategy: packages in which columns supporting intermediate floors feed into a belt truss, from which hangers hold up the floors below, tied into mega columns running the vertical length of the building. When packages stack vertically, the floors in between them can be double height due to relying on the columns below.

LEFT

Unrolled programmatic diagram indicating specific and indeterminate programs for the main core and each of the artists cores.

FACING PAGE LEFT

FACING PAGE RIGHT Diagrams of different core elements and elevator distribution diagram.

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artist tower at lincoln center

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LEFT

Viewing deck floor plans.

Floor plans of typical apartments, office spaces, and retail spaces.

RIGHT

FACING PAGE TOP

Ground floor

lobby plan. FACING PAGE BOTTOM

study model.

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Lower floors


artist tower at lincoln center

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Detail sections and elevations of curtain wall conditions on central core and artist cores with render of lighting display panels.

TOP

BOTTOM

View from the Hudson

River. Detail photograph of 1/32"=1' scale model.

FACING PAGE LEFT

FACING PAGE RIGHT

core.

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Section through


artist tower at lincoln center

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sub_urban pratt dorms brooklyn, new york completed 2009 pratt institute 3rd year studio + hiram rodriguez Driven by the desire to deconstruct the typology of urban housing, this dorm project seeks to create a “(Sub)urban” building: one which contains both the interaction and density of an urban project while recreating the individual unit and the “lawn” of a suburban community, born out of precedent studies of Habitat'67. The lawn becomes an intervening space, an exterior condition in an interior shell. This extensive space is framed only by the columns and the extending lawn above it, and as it weaves around the various dwelling unit, it hosts smaller scale public programs and terrace spaces. As the lawn extends and the building moves upwards, larger public programs form at the intersection of this in-between space. A parallel study of packaging led to the development of paneling systems and the living unit itself is a series of these panels around once component of the "lawn." These can be adapted for the living unit, as well as the other programs such as study lounges, auditorium, laundry, or cafeteria. Concrete slabs and columns create a matrix that forms the extents of the dorm. A paneling system designed to contain embedded program fills the spaces in between these columns. These panels can be moved and edited, allowing a variety of different programs in different places despite the repetition of units. A secondary skin panel fills in the public spaces, optimized via Grasshopper to catch wind for ventilation and frame the exterior spaces.

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sub_urban dorms

Active furniture panel diagrams.

FACING PAGE TOP LEFT

FACING PAGE TOP RIGHT Geometric studies for secondary skin system. FACING PAGE BOTTOM LEFT Typical living unit showing two singles, double room, bathroom, with the floor's laundry room adjacent. FACING PAGE BOTTOM RIGHT

Partial

aggregation model. Floor plans, each showing a unique floor due to position of the unit and the indeterminate pathways in between.

LEFT

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sub_urban dorms

Exploded axon of building elements.

FACING PAGE

TOP

Section.

BOTTOM

View out onto green roof.

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sub_urban dorms

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PAGE, CLOCKWISE

"Loomings"—Ishmael "The Spouter Inn"—Queequeg "The Quarter-Deck"—Ahab FACING PAGE, FROM TOP

"The Whiteness of the Whale"— Moby-Dick "The Candles"—Starbuck "The Chase"—the Pequod

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sci memorial manhattan, new york completed 2011 pratt institute 4th year studio

“Call me Ishmael. Some years ago- never mind how long precisely- having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world.” The Seamen's Church Institute was founded in 1834 and served the mariners of New York City until 2010 when it permanently left Manhattan for Newark, New Jersey. This project has two aims: a memorial and archive in Battery City Park to highlight the SCI's long history in NYC and an exploration of narrative in architecture. Launched from a reading of Moby-Dick and John Hejduk's "The Flatness of Depth," the project is broken apart into five discreet programs— each representative of a moment within Melville's novel and a function of the SCI—situated throughout Battery City Park. Developed initially as abstract paintings in response to chapters in Moby-Dick, these programs developed into "Piers" made of structural brick, painted white to peak through the foliage and age with the city. Arranged in relation with nearby existing memorials, the harbor, and the adjacent streets, these five Piers turn the park into their own narrative, allowing individuals to engage them from a distance as a whole or inhabit them one at a time, each Pier linking to the next one in the distance. A revised plan for the park ties the Piers further together in a spacial relationship that exists at multiple scales.

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fictions

BOTH PAGES

Piers.

The Gate ["Loomings"/Direction]

The Chapel ["The Spouter Inn"/Oscillation]

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seamen's church institute memorial

The Tower ["The Quarter-Deck"/Transformation]

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The Public and Private Archives ["The Whiteness of the Whale"/Revelation; "The Candles"/Destabilization]

The Museum ["The Chase"/Destruction]

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seamen's church institute memorial

FACING PAGE

Piers.

Siting plans showing the relation of the Piers to the Statue of Liberty, adjacent memorials in the park, and one another. These sight lines delineate the borders of the site and help define the new park paths.

LEFT

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seamen's church institute memorial

Axon of piers, adjacent structures, and site.

FACING PAGE LEFT

TOP

Site section.

BOTTOM

Model shots as situated

in site.

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BELOW, FACING, FOLLOWING PAGES

Moments within the project narrative, entering from the north of Battery Park at The Gate. As one moves through, each piece points the user through to the next. From The Gate, they pass into the park, headed towards The Chapel, the reconciliation between its two planes forming shelter overhead, pointing both to the water and on to The Tower. Here they enter into fixed obsession and follow it downward, letting it illuminate the darkness. The Public and Private Archives stand intertwined with one another, one of the two unfolding and the other on the edge of falling, coming

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seamen's church institute memorial

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unteatherd at its seams. Below in the stacks, they are connected, the rational twisting as they move through knowledge, the information itself becoming more specific. In The Museum, collapse is imminent. They wander the gallery floors until the structure itself breaks, propping itself up, and rushes them outward towards the water. As they move closer to the water, they submerge, drowning and are subsumed by the structure itself. They pass through these spaces, lit from light somewhere above, until suddenly, they find themselves at the edge of Battery Park, on land once more.

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seamen's church institute memorial

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advent

cleburne, texas completed 2012 pratt institute undergraduate thesis distinguished degree project We are not born into origin. Meanings and history is not merely given to us. We are born into constructors of origin. Our eyes open in machines that create for us biases, cultures, and memories, erecting a perspective around us that is much more fragile than we first realize. If that perspective is sufficiently challenged or questioned, origin might even be lost. The Village is such a constructor, and the research of this project beings with the Protestant church as a modern village for the self. Intertwined with writings on Nietzsche, Kierkegaard, and Borges, this narrative opens with two parallel explorations: prime, a search for language, and the ritual, a search for function. Through the definitions of archi, tecton, archi-tecton, and archi-tectonic, six foundational forms arise as one potential development. Simultaneously, six rituals are extracted from a memoir on my own experiences in the church, and are diagramed both as construction and as effect. As the Cornerstones of the new language are broken and tested, my hometown of Cleburne, Texas, strewn with multiple churches per square mile, is analyzed for points of frictions where these different centers of belief overlap, creating points where the new forms might intervene. At these points, a series of Churchings— structures born out of a recontextualization of each ritual—challenge and attempt to reconcile with their adjacent forebears. But the Churchings represent not a fixed idea but an idea of becoming. They, too, will someday be broken....


fictions

Prime. Archi is action; it is the deliberate move—a cut. Tecton is the implicit edge, a border, the fold. Archi-tecton is the initial action both inside and against the frame, specificity causing a lack of determidness. Archi-tectonic is the hidden effect revealed through light. Below, these moves begin to create a series of direct cause and effect.

RIGHT

The Ritual. An assemblage of moments which themselves create the space of the Church, the Rituals self-construct their own meaning through repetition and accumulation.

FACING PAGE

FOLLOWING PAGE The Rituals flattened effects reveal the image of the ritual: the self-creating idea that enacts the ritual assemblage.

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advent

Acolytes

Offering

Morning Greeting

Baptism

Children's Time

Procession for Communion

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advent

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advent

Cornerstones. A study of hybridizing the forms found in Prime results in six examples of unique mixtures, which are in turn translated from mylar into a new form: concrete. In them, the line becomes light.

FACING PAGE

Sharpening. A new archi and tecton occur as the Cornerstones are turned and cut in order to explore their scale, sectional qualities, and effects.

TOP

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Returning Home. Nine maps documenting the regions encapsulated by each denomination in Cleburne, Texas.

RIGHT

BOTTOM LEFT Every church and denominational region overlaid onto one another, revealing degrees of overlap.

Baptist

CCCS

Church of Christ

Evangelical

Methodist

Misc

Nondenominational

Pentecostal

7th Day Adventist

BOTTOM RIGHT Six churches adjacent to other structures in these regions of friction are chosen throughout the town as sites for intervention.

At each of these sites, a shift occurs, a break in elevation in preparation for an intervention, splitting and breaking the church nearby.

FACING PAGE

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Churchings. The crossroads of all the previous studies, the Churchings intervene throughout Cleburne as one possible outcome of this narrative. Born out of the rituals, each Churching is given its own function which seeks to extract the instinctual needs that generated the ritual in the first place. The Churchings, then, are spaces of becoming, transitional structures for removing oneself from one's origin and reconstructing a new one that both reconciles one's facticity yet points elsewhere to dimly lit horizons.

RIGHT

Reconstructing. Each churching attempts to redefine a ritual towards a new end, providing effect through experience rather than spiritual repetitions.

BELOW

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The Lighthouse

The Salons

The Meeting Place


advent

The Labyrinth

The Reflecting Pool

The Summit

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advent

FACING PAGE AND LEFT Advent. Though scattered across Cleburne, the placement, orientation, and articulation of each Churching points to the next. While each one contains its own reconstructed ritual, it is together that their presence recontextualizes the place of Cleburne itself and suggests alternate origins outside those established. Ultimately, the Churchings do not seek to antagonize the Church but instead reconcile with it as a Village and provide the means for others to move beyond it. It is through this confrontation of past that a future may some day be seen. As one moves from Churching to Churching, again and again, they too, will need to be confronted with new definitions and new rituals of one's own. Despite the heaviness of their form, they are still line and light. One day, after they have become their own plane, a new cut and line will find them and began anew.

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of overgrown, scratchy grass and running across scorching pavement in

ded made frequent references to the change in our hearts moments before we saluted the

order to enter the doors of the narthex. Once inside the familiar walls,

sunlight glared off the opulent stained glass. Crowds of all sorts of char-

within A’s own experiences which he then subsequently attempts to af-

the aesthete from seeing a world he fundamentally can not comprehend,

States flag, the Christian flag, and the Bible. On Sundays, the old women in the halls with

I looked for my father’s parents, who were typically working as either

acters milled about us—on one end, a gypsy woman begging for money,

firm. For A, his “sorrow is [his] knight’s castle...no one may take it by

thus, upon its removal, he despairs. Of course, one may somehow

acks bending them to my eyes assured me the change was coming. As a child, I found myself

greeters—standing in front of the door to the narthex and welcoming

on another, a Frenchman discussed philosophy, and on yet another, an

storm” (Kierkegaard 56), and he openly states “I love my sorrow” (Ki-

never experience this, but in the aesthetic life it is always a constant

hing my eyes tight, splotches of color dancing across the underside of my eyelids, waiting. I

people with a shake and smile as they walk into the large hallway—or

old man with a fanny pack strapped across his waist, snapping photos—

erkegaard 51). Nothing if not resourceful, A attempts to wield--much like

and large probability for “the person who says that he wants to enjoy

thing. The thought agonized me daily. For others my age, it was an event and celebration: a

ushers—my grandfather’s primary occupation within the church where

and we weaved through them, manuevering our way as a group towards

he did with the initial problem of reflection--this sorrow that has resulted

life always posits a condition which is either outside the individual or

rming moment of overcoming emotions that both the Sunday school teachers and students

in he helped those who require it to find their seats and, later in the ser-

the three portals that marked the entry to the Notre Dame. As the school-

from the alienation of self. Because a way out of A’s sorrow does not read-

in the individual but not posited by the individual himself” (Kierkegaard

ly discussed in hushed tones, some sharing their experiences and others knowing similar

vice, aided in the collecting the offering. After I found them and sprung

appointed tour guide rambled something off I was unable to hear—for

ily present itself, it appears his only course of action is to bask in it. In

493). The aesthete fails to claim the self. It would seem to me then, that

aited just around the corner. Pastor McCoy brought it up in chapel every Wednesday, stress-

into one or both of their arms, people began to come bustling out of

the entire trip, she had an unfortunate habit of letting her voiced be

“The Unhappiest One,” A shows remarkable self-insight when discuss-

MacIntyre--who seems very much interested in a philosophical project

e importance of setting aside time to ask Jesus into your heart and allowing Him to save

various hallways as the adult Sunday School services ended. Amongst

drowned out by even the smallest of crowds—I looked at the intricate

ing the unhappy man as having “his real nature in some way or other

that will deliver us from the crisis of modernity that is alienation--should

om your sins. The alternative was not brushed aside. To ignore this great Mercy, all adults

them were my father and mother—this was before mother fell ill and

carvings on the facade of the cathedral: the stories of Christianity embed-

outside himself... [and he] is always absent from himself, never present

be championing Kierkegaard as a possible means for locating the self in

ded me, was to doom myself to an eternity spent in the fires of hell, looking upwards towards

the frequency of our trips to church as a family began to decline—both

ded into the wall and giving it a distinct narrative and character. After

to himself” (Kierkegaard 214). Clearly, A himself--before any interjection

a specific and correct way--and not the fragmented, subjective heavy way

ppointed God with fire on the tip of my tongue making even speech, making the cries of

dressed up fairly well, smiles cutting across their faces as they see me.

standing at the edge of the entrance for some time, we finally stepped

from the Judge is read--has realized the limitations of his life-view, and

in which many postmodernists claim--but has simply read him wrong.

I would surely shout, tortuous and terrible. This future awaited for those who felt nothing,

Soon, my younger brother found his way to us as well, and there was

inside. It took my eyes sometime to adjust to the drastic change in light,

how he constantly validates himself through external means, never mak-

Kierkegaard’s dialectic is not so greatly opposed but simply a path along

needed to act quickly. As I was often reminded, I knew not God’s plan, and at any moment,

equal joy given as we began to walk into the sanctuary together, situat-

and while my view of the world started to to slowly come into focus, I

ing a true claim for himself. Instead, he merely exists as an unhappy

which the individual moves and only through the individual can he move

ght snatch me away as one idly removes a blade of grass.

ing ourselves in one of the back rows: spots in the church tended to be

noticed a large beam of light flowing down from somewhere up above,

observer for whom “what he hopes for lies behind him, and what he

on this path. The failure of the transcendent norm is not only a Kierkeg-

home, church, and school, this seemed the primary lesson. God’s love was eternal and for-

occupied by familiar bodies and generations of families would stake out

causing me to look up. I froze. Pouring in from the massive window I

remembers lies before him” (Kierkegaard 216). A longs for knowledge of

aardian thought either. In The Gay Science, Nietzsche, another philoso-

and to shrug it off--as children are often interest in more concrete things attractive to the

their place within the pews.

had seen from the exterior, the light illuminated columns and ceilings

himself beyond just the fatalistic, alienated and finite self that he knows,

pher MacIntyre appears to interpret incorrectly, writes on the origin of

mounted to not only an irresponsible decision but a dangerous one. Often, as if to make sure

Not long after the six of us sat down—though, occasionally this

that seemed to defiantely sweep upward: dwarfing my, now, seemingly

but because his conception of the world as he sees it does not account

religion that “the positing of “another world” in primeval times was not

nder their vigilant eyes no sheep had strayed, the teachers passed out little slips of paper with

number would vary due to my parents and grandparents other duties

insignificant body upon which my mouth hung agape. Moving over to-

for such and fails to find any external element that accounts for such, A

some impulse or need but an error in the interpretation of certain natural

humble lines printed on them. Each time, I turned it over in my hand, looking at the faded

within the church—Mildred made her way over to the organ, beginning

wards a number of candles crawling down the horizontal length of the

can do nothing but despair which, it seems to him, is the highest realm

events, a failure of the intellect” (Nietzsche 196). Despite their divergent

It looked no different than a fortune I might puzzle over after one of the late, hastily eaten

whatever invocation had been prescribed in the program. As the organ

church—their light casting dancing shadows that twisted and fluttered

of the aesthete: he has “realized” the futility of a fatalistic life and now

thoughts on religion, for both Kierkegaard and Nietzsche the transcen-

sits disengaged from it, falling further back into his own reflections.

dent norm, whatever it may be, is destined to fall away and leave us with a

s my family were frequently forced to endure. Once all the students had these Christian

music began to play, the congregation rose to its feet, starting to sing

along the vaulted ceilings—I found myself under a lower ceiling that,

es, the teacher walked down the narrow aisle between desks, asking us to bow our heads.

along as the acolytes entered. In a year or so, I would be one of them,

while still tall in its own right, felt suddenly intimate and quite in com-

It would appear that A, completely by his own means--through both

worldview that posses no foundation. The means of locating the self and

ayer was always short. We read in unison, twenty or so children evoking both our love and

walking down the aisle with my eyes fixed on the candles perched on the

parison to the massive decadence of the nave. Slowly, as I moved along

the language and mechanisms of his own aesthetic world view--has

claiming the self without the means of an external object but through the

eness towards God, asking that his son, Jesus, enter into us and save us from an endless fire

alter in front of me. I will carry the little flame I’ve been told makes the

the nave of Notre Dame, alternating between the massive center and the

exhausted all the aesthetic life has to offer. While he can certainly still

internal of the self itself is of Kierkegaard’s primary concern. MacIntyre appears to want Kierkegaard to create the very system he critiques in A.

we not only live forever but experience a love otherwise unknown; through the little lines we

church Holy. The lighting of the candle invites God in, and the acolyte is

lower perimeters, the manner in which my body was engaged with the

enjoy things, they only seem to be momentary distractions A props up to

sly crumpled and folded between our fingers, we begged for meaning; we begged for feeling;

the one responsible. When the service is over—after I have sat all morn-

building began to manifest itself to me: I was moving in relation with the

distract himself from the seemingly cynical worldview to which he sub-

Kierkegaard does not create a dialectic in Either/Or in which choices

ged to experience the Good News every adult so consistently shared and sang; we begged for

ing with my eyes still fixed on the object of my duty—I am tasked again

majesty and yet the personal affinity of God.

scribes. Once despair has been reached, aesthetic enjoyment of any kind

have no criteria. The criteria for the choice merely comes from inside

ge in understanding, perspective, and life. Everyone read. Everyone begged. Heads raising

but this time with taking the Spirit out into the world: the Church exists

If possible, I would attempt to account for this in some way that

seems less like a normative goal in and of itself and more akin to an opi-

the self, and the self comes to that choice through his own movement

st soft silence, the teacher floated back towards to the chalkboard framed by both flags. An

with me. For now, though, I stood still between my brother and mother,

seemed less mystical, less fuzzy, yet as I explored this ancient mas-

ate with which one finds a momentary reprieve from the otherwise emp-

along the continuum. From an immediate aesthete to a reflective aes-

cough might be heard in a corner. A giggle muffled in the other. A sniffle somewhere else as

standing on the tip of my toes so I can make out the lyrics on the hymnal.

terpiece, it occurred to me that which I was experiencing was not the

tiness of life. Judge Vilhelm aptly critiques A as one who in the “place of

thete, from a reflective aesthete to an aesthete in despair, and from a

nt wiped the freshly formed tears from his eyes.

The preacher walked out in front of the alter, casting his hands outward

prescence of God. The prescence of the cathedral—of the building

sorrow [chooses] a joy which is sorrow’s changeling... a laughter of de-

despairing aesthete into an ethicist, the self is always moving along

e teacher encouraged us to take the paper home in case we needed to remind ourselves of

in welcoming motion, and began to speak. This was a weekly routine,

itself—moved me; I stood in relation to it, not something else. The

spair” (Kierkegaard 508). While it is conceivable that one might continue

this line of growth--both backwards and forwards. The Judge does not

ve, and some strips disappeared into pockets, some onto the floor, others lost in the desks,

and the preacher would mix in several jokes with his announcements,

emotional reacton that stirred within me (while perhaps, in some part,

to live such a life--possibly to disastrous results as seems to be Judge

attempt to give A some criteria for choose or show him the means by

e or two shamefully and secretly stuffed into the waste bin. I collected my own in a small

creating the occasional (possibly forced) chuckle here and there. After

certainly because of my impressionable, young age) was generated by

Vilhelm’s worry--one would be hard pressed to call such a life of deep

which he can do so. Rather, the Judge simply wants to make A aware

n box above my bed bought for me by my parents on a vacation somewhere South to store

all the announcements had been shared, we were invited to take part

the physical object within which I stood, and the building’s intention was

cynicism and despair ideal or even, really, bearable. Kierkegaard wants to

of the choice in despair and encourage A to take that leap. He cannot be

ntos. I hoarded these strips in the hopes that someday their power would unlock for me, and

in the morning greeting. Everyone around me stood up, and they began

to simoultaneously mask that effect as something religious. Something

illustrate that even the aesthetic life lived to its maximum extent cannot

forced. The choice does not have the external criteria MacIntyre desire

ht while my brother slept on the other end of the room, I flipped through them, reading a

to excitedly shake hands and greet one another at the pastor’s behest;

awoke in the back of my head. What I had felt within the walls of Notre

sustain itself; what at first blush appears passable, preferable even, later

because it can not be directed: the person must, himself, arrive at the

t here or there. The words occasionally differed but their meaning always ran from me. I saw

I did the same. I would greet ten people, counting up to my quota in

Dame, and the recognition of the source of that feeling, resonated with

reveals itself to not only be problematic but possibly self-destructive. The

choice by his own means--as A clearly has--and make the choice through

distance the structure of love promised to save me, but no matter what movement I made, a

my head—where this number came from I am not certain, but possibly

me even after I stepped from its walls. We spent some time within it, the

problem, though, is that for the aesthete there remains nothing left to

himself--to do otherwise would be to simply despair greater and frag-

retched between it and I. I read the words again and again, paper worn between my fingers,

due to my introspective nature as a child, outwardly associating with ten

tour guide taking us around and pointing out the referential significance

which to turn: the transcendent norm--i.e., the external object or third-

ment the self again through some other external means. Man alone, not

udged from nervously running my thumbs across it, yet they never pointed me in any direc-

people was more than strenuous enough—recognizing old faces and be-

of statues and edifices while one or two of the parents took photos of

party through which the self tries to inscribe meaning--of enjoyment,

enjoyment or God or some other thing outside him, can claim himself,

never moved closer to that transformation.

ing surprised by new ones. As I grew older and started sitting where the

various parts. When we at last left, the sun hung low in the corner of

of all kinds, has failed and left the aesthete with no means for creating

and it must be through himself that he does so. To make a choice in the

Wednesday’s we had no paper. Instead, I collected the sights and sounds of those around me

acolytes sat or where the youth group gathered, I met people I had yet to

the sky, casting a final warm glow upon the large public square, and we

or instilling value. Judge Vilhelm’s solution is simple: “I have only one

manner and system MacIntyre desires would only further plunge the

the morning chapel. One subject was taught those mornings, the scraping of metal chairs

see before. Around them, though, I still looked for the people I already

all decended the stairs together, and though I did not fully know it, my

answer: Despair!” (Kierkegaard 511). Rather than attempt to retreat from

self into the alienation of modernity. What Kierkegaard reveals is that

knew. I sought out those with whom I was comfortable conversing.

future had irrevocably changed.

it or turn it into something else, A must head straight on into it. He

we can escape this alienation, can rise back to the surface, not through

must “choose despair, since despair is itself a choice, for one can doubt

someone or something helping us or extending a hand but through our

e as teachers attempted to keep students focused. When the bell rang and the sound of doors

g could be heard, we spilled out onto the gym floor the classrooms orbited. It was a shed of a

I struggled with my own feelings towards the service: despite not

ng. Corrugated metal wrapping a two story box that left space only for rooms to run along the

understanding half of what was discussed and finding it somewhat dull,

Søren Kierkegaard’s Either/Or is the deliberation of a choice never

without choosing to, but despair one cannot without choosing to do so,”

own means and spirit. Only through the self can the self itself truly be

nd eastern sides and a hard, grey basketball court in the center. The school rented the place

its rhythms were incredibly comforting to me. Within the service, the

depicted: the existence in either the aesthetic sphere of life--a worldview

and when one does so one “chooses oneself, not in one’s immediacy...

found, and only through self can one sincerely present him in the world to interact with others.

church across the street--a structure known only to us for its roof, which had a frustrating

children’s time managed to help me find a sense of connection and ca-

dominated by the seeking of immediate self-enjoyment--or that of the

one chooses oneself in one’s eternal validity” (Kierkegaard 513). To truly

f accepting kick balls but deciding not to return them--and were it not for the blazing yellow

maraderie amongst those of a similar age. Adults would tower over and

ethical--a view of responsibility and relationships. Unlike the work of

despair, to step up to the abyss, is, ultimately, to find the eternal being

Friedrich Nietzsche’s The Gay Science contains perhaps his most

the front, no one might have the gall to suggest it could be a school. Despite it’s starkness,

surround me, making me feel alone with the little pamphlet and crayons

G.W.F. Hegel, Kierkegaard presents both the movement into this choice

and be given a chance to know the eternal self; through despair, one has

famous, or infamous depending on the nature of the discussion, pas-

me out of those rooms into a lively and changed space. Foldable chairs marched up towards

they hand out to the children before the service. When I saw Mrs. White,

and the action of the choice as not the result of a discoverable system but

an opportunity to come to understand himself without the baggage of ex-

sage: “the madman” in which the titular character makes the paradigm

rth wall, stopping short so as to form an apron, a single aisle cutting them in two. A small

however, I knew to squeeze out between the columns of adults and to

rather as an experiential process that privileges the individual; the choice

ternal modifiers--know himself as he is--and break from his conception

shattering claim that “God is dead.” The ramifications of such a state-

n cross was hung on the felt wall up front, outsized by the basketball hoop above it. Off to

run towards the front of the altar. As if out of nowhere, other children,

is arrived at not systematically but from the inside. This, however, poses

of the finite self. The aesthete can free himself from facticity--i.e., a finite,

ment challenge the the fundamental framework on which most, if not

e, various equipment for that day’s PE activity had already been dragged out. Students picked

like me, popped out of the forest of grown ups, and I was again certain I

problems for some. In the chapter “Kierkegaard to Nietzsche” in A Short

fatal understanding of the world--and come to understand himself in a

all, society is based--both at the time of Nietzsche’s writing and now--and

eats and judged the ones next to them and shushed the ones talking too loudly and tore their

was not alone. For many years during my youth this was the main attrac-

History of Ethics, Alasdair MacIntyre writes that “choices made by the

different manner: one that has contemporaneity and is eternal. It when

on the surface at least, it would seem to offer up only a dark pessimism

hted Bibles open and flipped to earmarked pages and sat erect and, bored, began talking

tion for me on Sunday mornings: to sit amongst my peers and listen to

individual confronting the alternatives of the ethical and the aesthetic, or

the aesthete chooses to move through that despair into a world he does

in a world of meaninglessness for its readers. The death of God makes

simpler stories lifted from the Scriptures.

the ethical and the religious, are according to Kierkegaard criterionless”

not yet know that, it seems the Judge says, he can enter the realm of the

such waves, or should, because it does not claim to simply be the end

only to be hushed by some other student. This was our place of worship.

e early portions of chapel were filled with songs spelling out C-h-r-i-s-t-i-a-n to the point of

As the years began to pass behind me, I found myself more aware of

(MacIntyre 218) and thus, the choice made to move between the two is

ethical, and only in despair can the perceived norms--the value system

of the Christian religion but foretell the entire destruction of the Judeo-

ity or likely non ASL-approved signing or the occasional choreographed tambourine and

the other events within the Service. Though I had grown older, the struc-

arbitrary and meaningless, implying, if not creating, the existence of

upon which all components of the world view is based--be so fundamen-

Christian value system that informs the definitions of all our modern

er dance number. Amongst these songs, an adult reminded us of that week’s current pop

ture of the Sunday service remained mostly unchanged—even when

multiple subjective world views that are radically incommensurable. The

tally altered. All but the self must fall away and the self must be claimed.

concepts such as “morality” and “purpose.” The primary concern, then,

temptation or challenged us to a “Bible Draw” where a verse would be given and the first

mother went into the hospital, resulting in father frequently spending

question is if one is so truly ingrained in a particular life view, is it even

Finally, one arrives at the choice that appears to be so problem-

becomes how man continues to function in such a world. When read in

t to locate it received the distinct honor of reading it outloud. The ones who took the time to

his nights there as well, my brother and I sat in the same spot, framed on

possible for that person to comprehend or engage the opposed life-view,

atic for MacIntyre: with no outside criteria to make or qualify that

conjunction with other passages concerning Nietzsche’s project of nihil-

cky notes and demarcate the books of their Bible always won, but I could never be bothered.

either side by my grandparents—allowing me to realize the particulars

let alone be moved into it, without the aid of some external norm--what I

choice, it appears to him impossible to make. MacIntyre writes, quite

ism in both the Gay Science and The Will to Power, however, it becomes

portions, however, I generally enjoyed, and being apart of this group of singing, uniformed

of our Sundays service that had previously slipped past my perception.

will come to clarify as a transcendent norm--to qualify and give purpose

reductively,“The argument of each depends upon a prior choice, and

clear that the claim here is not one of a chaos, meaningless world; it

n passed the time in a far more enjoyable manner than long multiplication tables. Inevitably,

Indeed, one such moment, the offering, became a stressful and slow

to that engagement. The aim of this paper is to rebuke MacIntyre’s claim

the prior choice settles what the conclusion of each argument will

is the dawn of a discourse in mankind’s nature. The aim of this paper

r McCoy walked underneath the basketball hoop and quieted the small crowd. His mustache

event as soon as I became capable of recognizing it. Originally, I had not

as a possible but incorrect reading of Kierkegaard and to suggest that

be,” (216) and this view seems to stem from an understanding of the

is to critically explain and evaluate Nietzsche’s concept of the ‘death of

in protruding as far out as they could, Bible slung casually into large hands, his words rolled

understood why bronze plates where being passed about or why anyone

such a view may actually be counterproductive. Specifically, I will do this

aesthetic and ethical spheres in which they exist totally removed from

God,’ its relation to nihilism, and to illustrate that this event is not one

he sermon topics varied as holidays came and departed, as national events surprised us.

cared to toss various amounts of money into them, and by this point in

by analyzing the continuum on which the aesthete moves--both within

one another as radically incommensurable views. They can both speak

of a negative nature but rather an turning point in the constant strive for

less of whatever he spoke over us, the vectors of his message returned to the same prayer

the morning, I had often found something of much more interest on the

his sphere and as he leaves it--and observing how such a choice can be

about similar terms, but the concepts behind them are fundamentally

excellence in man that ought to be celebrated and affirmed. Specifically, I

e little pieces of paper. As it did, I felt the full burden of my Wednesday come down on me,

floor of the pew or the interior of my eyelids. However, one day I became

made from the inside sans criteria, ultimately addressing the catalyst for

colored by their world-view, so they remain unable to translate what the

will do this by detailing Nietzsche’s argument for the advent of nihilism-

losed my eyes as I always did, weaving fingers together and squeezing until the skin became

aware of the ordered dance around me and watched the old men pass

choice, according to Kierkegaard, as result of the search for the transcen-

other individual is saying--the aesthetic understanding the ethical qua

-being sure to clarify the ambiguous term’s different forms--and how this

d raw and hurt, repeating every word I could, and searching the inside of myself for any hint

the bronze plates, one leapfrogging over the other down the aisles. I slid

dent norm MacIntyre desires.

ethical or vice versa. For MacIntyre, A and Judge Vilhelm are talking

creates the foundation for Nietzsche to claim that God is dead. Further, I

ange, any spark or recognition of a moment that might direct me towards a different light

my hand into my pocket and wrapped my fingers around the crumpled

To understand how the aesthetic moves from one sphere of existence

at one another not with each other. This issue extends to Kierkegaard

will make the case that the affirmation of such a claim is not grounds for

h away the lonely kid sitting in a sea of faces all finding that light. But inside I found only

bills my father had given me before I left hospital; I had been instructed

to another, one must first perceive the modes of existence within the

himself, whom MacIntyre implies is fraudulent in his attempt to appear

a deep despair but, rather, based on Nietzsche’s own writing, the begin-

ness. I berated it. I kicked at it. I wanted to shatter this empty feeling like everyone else had.

specifically to use them for tithing though, to someone in my position

aesthetic sphere itself. A, the metropolitan writer of Either/Or’s first half

impartial to either of the two writers for “the very disclaimer of partisan-

ning of a new age of responsibility.

ustration took me, and at the end of every Wednesday, a headache troubled my parents, who

and age at that time, even a few dollars seemed like a small fortune.

which champions the aesthete, describes the aesthetic life as being made

ship by Kierkegaard itself has a partisan effect--in favor of the ethical”

In order to understand the death of God, one must first begin with

send me to lie down until I felt up to doing my homework.

As the plates drew near to me, passed down hand to hand, I began to

up of two fragments that one must individually master: the immediate

(MacIntyre) 216. How can Kierkegaard truly provide a neutral account

the philosophical issue and concept that is directly tied to it and is, for Ni-

Sunday school, the prayer would return. The little classrooms walls dotted with finger paint-

see someone drop money onto the felt lining of the plate. Then another.

and the reflective. Of these two, the immediate is the most primitive-

of both positions, he wonders if Kierkegaard seems to privilege one as

etzsche, the fundamental problem of philosophy: nihilism. Nietzsche’s

nd verses, we gathered around the rooms table, print outs scattered on the plastic surface.

And yet, another. By the time the plate had made it to me, I can not but

-the basis of the aesthetic life--and A describes the immediate aesthete

the “correct” choice. This problem is further compounded by the fact that

notes in The Will to Power illuminate precisely what nihilism is. In

r was always small. There were four of us: three other girls and I, all fat faces and scabbed

donate—simply seeing others had convinced me of the right thing to

par excellence as the titular character of Amadeus’s Don Giovanni. Don

“the notion of revelation as progressive, as always suited to--but always

his words, “it is ambiguous” (Will to Power 17), but it could simply be

In other rooms all lined up next to one another, younger kids sat on vinyl floors and dragged

do. I tossed the few dollars down into the plate, and my grandmothers

Giovanni’s life is not one of contemplation but unbridled desire and “is

slightly above the moral level of--those to whom it is addressed, is alien to

defined as meaning “that the highest values devaluate themselves” (Will

y colored cars across the floor, and older students, so grown and adult to me then, cast

miles at me. Later in the service, a family gathered towards the front with

the sum of mutually repellent moments that lack any coherence; his life

Kierkegaard” (MacIntyre 218). It seems that MacIntyre desires an almost

to Power 9): a closer inspection of values will reveal them as being mean-

s glances at one another, confused first crushes growing out of proximity. But at our age,

the pastor, holding a small child in their arms and dwarfed by the blue

is as moment the sum of moments, as sum of moments the moment”

Hegalian teleology--a philosophical system in which the end result can

ingless in and of themselves, resulting in a loss of structure in one’s

was no time for childish or worldly distractions. The prayer was this room’s purpose. It never

stained glass cross behind them. Both the family and the congregation

(Kierkegaard 102). He exists only instantaneously. Even within the op-

be achieved in the rational world--with quantifiable stages that have pro-

world view. A closer inspection of the value “charity,” for example, will

sted itself here as a script but instead hung on every word. Only a few times we were directly

are invited to take part in the baptism together. Because I was an infant

era, his history is held by another character and consists only of a list of

gressive criteria: a checklist for the ideal life, essentially. For MacIntyre,

reveal no reason for why one ought to be charitable or that the reasons for

ded to make the personal confession, but nevertheless, whether we read Bible verses or drew

at the time, I cannot recall my own baptism. Instead, I saw others take

seductive conquests with no adjoining thread other than being instant

Kierkegaard presents a criterionless system in which the choices are

this normative value are in and of themselves false. These beliefs--which

n interpretations of Biblical events, the ultimate message was clear.

part in a ritual of which I have no memory. I, now, witnessed my coming

moments of seduction. Don Giovanni, however, is not a realist ideal aes-

already made and are impossible to critique--being inside one’s personal

may be defined as “considering-something-true” (Will to Power 14)--de-

always, the weight of it came back to me when I laid alone before sleep. Whether I was

into the church through this child. The pastor walked his parents down

thete. Anyone who attempts such a life of only immediacy--even, A, sug-

sphere, the original choice reinforces the life-view which reinforces the

scribe the values of a world that, to the nihilist, is not true. Nihilism,

g the creased papers or turning over each memorized variation of the prayer, I laid there after

to the Holy Water, and as the child was sprinkled on the head with water,

gests other fictitious representations--will find himself “[ fallen] into the

choice, creating a self-sustaining loop--thus resulting in an inconsistent

generally, is the view that our own values are inherently and ultimately

ents had turned off all but the hallway’s light, leaving a long sliver of luminance to lopsidedly

we prayed and recited aloud. In that instant, he was born into the church.

category of comedy” (Kierkegaard 113). Man cannot always reside in the

framework in which it is seemingly impossible to determine if its even

valueless, resulting in both a series of beliefs that are not true and a world

rough the bedroom, and returned to the deep darkness of my closed eyes where I whispered

Through baptism, the door was opened for him to take the church out

immediate pleasure and to even attempt to do so as Don Giovanni does

possible to move from one sphere to the next.

in which they are not true.

yer softly to myself. Significant stretches of the night passed in this way. I repeated different

into the world, and through him, it was reopened for me as well. Every

would result only in the comical. We are, by nature, reflective beings and

Such a reading to me, however, seems fundamentally flawed.

This nihilism can take on several forms. The first, and perhaps

etations, even being so bold as to make up my own, and after everyone, I let silence linger

time someone was baptized, I would witness this again: my own experi-

that “reflection kills the immediate” (Kierkegaard 80) if left unchecked.

Through showing how the aesthete arrives at despair--how he arrives at

most common of which is an incomplete or preliminary nihilism: often

I searched myself for something new. All that came to me, though, was the same, small

ence of the ritual building upon its reoccurrence.

The immediate desire of Don Giovanni is absolute, a single entity, yet my

the apex of that choice--by his own volition and without any push from

revealed in pessimism, religion, morality, etc. This form of nihilism is

at laid in bed before, so I clenched my eyes, clasped my fingers, and closed my mouth as I

After the baptism, if its the first Sunday of the month, we were all in-

own desire, through reflection, exists separate of the thing I desire--a gap

the exterior, I have attempted to suggest that the transformation from

implicit in our beliefs, particularly of those in the religious, in which

ately made another plea. Perhaps this time, it would be the correct one. Muttering something

vited up towards the front to take part in communion. The choir rose and

between the subject who desires and the object that is desired is created.

aesthete to ethical is not such a binary and static situation. Rather, the

man is “incapable of laying his will into things, lacking will and strength,

hile my brother tussled in his sleep, I waited to feel any of the emotions I were told would

took communion first, pausing along the alter to say their prayers before

I can contemplate my desire to desire, removing myself from the im-

aesthetic is always moving along on a continuum of change, and through

[so he] at least lays some meaning into them, i.e., the faith there there

they filed back into the choir seats and started to sing. As their voices

mediate and thus from enjoyment. The aesthete, then, must mastery his

despair he seems to pass a threshold where “nothing is destroyed, [and]

is a will in them already” (Will to Power 318). Incomplete nihilism is

om what I could tell, other children never seemed to have the same problem. In that small

reverberated against the wooden panels crawling across the ceiling, the

memory, i.e. his ability to reflect, so that reflection exists not simply as a

all a person’s aesthetic qualities remain, it is just that they become ancil-

the use of this system for value-judging--the specificity of which system matters little--to give just

In the darkness, I continued to wait. where I would spend my entire elementary years, and the church in which I spent the

ushers walked down along the pews, leading people out into the proces-

blow to the immediate but as a tool from which enjoyment can be culled.

lary and are preserved for that very reason” (Kierkegaard 527). Instead

nder, my peers possessed the ability to summon Jesus and his salvation. For some, it was

sion for communion. After some time, the ushers stood before my pew,

This understanding then fractures the aesthetic sphere, pushing it

of becoming something drastically new, the text in Either/Or seems

admission; they acted as if it carried no weight and as if it had always been a given. Other

and we all slid out of it into the main aisle. We moved forward: two aisles

into a constant state of flux as the aesthete alternates between the en-

to suggest that the transformation into the ethical only appears to be

were more grand: narratives of how the overwhelming love of Christ sprang up in them like

in single lines, walking and stopping. Walking and stopping. At each

joyment of the immediate and using reflection to enjoy past immediate

something radically foreign from the perspective of the aesthete. Once

t spark of a fresh fire, overcoming them to the point of tears, spreading the news as they are

stop, I saw fellow church members kneel and pray to Christ. Drawing

moments and to remove oneself from the immediate. The aesthete must

the transformation has happened, though, it appears very different:

ped into the arms of family, all ecstatic about the redirection in life and eternal salvation that

nearer to the stain-glass cross breaking through the brick wall, the rest

shift his world-view; the method of which A attempts to outline in the

indeed absolutely drastic, wherein the concepts behind the terms used

mportant to even little children. Other students and friends felt the prayer during one of the

of the church fell away. There was only the cross and praying before it. I,

essay “Crop Rotation:” an attempt at creating an ethics meant to make

are rewritten, but rather an expanding of the self, an adding of breadth,

gs in class or chapel and break down as they moved to the front to accept Christ amongst fel-

too, followed the footsteps of those immediately before me—and those

possible the avoidance of boredom--the aesthete’s greatest enemy. In it,

is what allows one to change. The aesthetic qualities remain; the defini-

olytes, laying hands on each other and bowing heads into prayer amongst envious sobs. I only

who would walk after—and submitted in the same manner. For years, I

A details the importance of both remembering and forgetting, stating

tions used to define those qualities, however, do not. This continuum

bserved as only silence ever answered me back. These stories never came to me to free me

would rotate through these actions, ending before the cross on my knees,

“every life-situation must possess no more importance than that one

along which the self moves does not even appear to be one-directional.

he growing illness of doubt that began to occupy my mind. Nights were spent rolling about

only to return again in the near future; again and again I would perform

can forget it whenever one wants to; each single life-situation should

The self can fall backward, but “even when he gives rein to the aesthetic

ring why the words refused to work for me, worried I had done something wrong; days were

these actions until they became so commonplace that, despite their odd

have enough importance, however, for one to be able to remember it”

in him (which for him means something else than for the one who lives

iving the life of someone who claimed to have a story of his own. No other choice presented

rhythms and structures, to not take part in them became much more ab-

(Kierkegaard 234). One must take control over the fluctuations so that he

merely aesthetically), it has nevertheless been removed from its throne”

o me. In order to keep up the appearance of salvation, I lied.

normal than to do so. Ultimately, they became so normal to me, so seem-

might use it to his advantage. In this way, A claims, he is able to prevent

(Kierkegaard 526). Once one becomes ethical, the aesthetic can still be

some point in these formatives years--neither at the beginning or the end but simply at some

ingly necessary to my every day actions, that I could not conceive of a

boredom without lapsing into the comical nature of he who tries to live

indulged. The outcome, however, will simply be judged in ethical terms.

location somewhere in between--while I laid restlessly awake in my bed, the other end of

future in which I did not help others enact them. I had fled so far into the

always in the immediate. Indeed, the common man who lives always

The transformation from the aesthetic to the ethical, then, is not such a

on occurred to me. As a child alone in bed, unable to feel the presence of a God I convinced

church that I was prepared—greatly willing, even—to make it my future.

in the immediate is not only comical but “the most boring, the most

wholly totalizing transformation that requires some exterior condition

insufferable, of all” (Kierkegaard 230) who bores others. The refined

by which to judge it. The aesthetic comes to that point of the choice by

aesthete, then, is the one capable of reflection; he who retreats into the

his own nature--through the movement from an immediate aesthete, to

past when the present threatens to overwhelm him. He knows that when

a reflective aesthete, and to in an aesthete in despair--and Kierkegaard

was there, I discovered death. I can recall not the specific moment or what triggered it but

eping feeling of it rising in my mind. The thought started as something small. Finally, as

III

d up at the six remaining glowing, plastic stars on the ceiling, remnants of a much larger

lation and their light even now beginning to fade, my own spark lit in the back of my mind.

At the age of sixteen, I had the great fortune to take part in a trip

he is “being carried away by enjoyment or a life-situation too strongly,

merely wants to help people along this path, not provide a system which

ire body plunged into murky water, and I found myself unable to surface. I was submerged

to Europe: we were to stop at several cities within Germany, France,

[he ought to] stop for a moment and remember” (Kierkegaard 234), and

details every nature of it. It must be arrived at through the internal nature

hought. If salvation did not wait for me on the other end of this life, then a cold nothingness

and Spain over the course of several weeks. Three of my friends and I

he becomes capable of either saving that enjoyment for later or capable

of the self, and if one is aesthetic, it seems likely that such a choice will ul-

ly did, existing beyond the limits of my consciousness as some vague thing I could barely

would travel with a few parents, teachers, and fellow students with the

of circumventing boredom with the enjoyment of a past event. Selfishly,

timately present itself for “all the ethicist does is to carry to its conclusion

tand, something I certainly did not want to understand, yet now clawing at my thoughts and

intention of seeing an old world that, to me at that time, existed only in

A also exonerates himself from responsibilities and commitments that

the doubt which the higher aesthete had already set in motion but which

ding attention. In the end, there is no thought: no moment lying in the wooden box, like I

photos and film. As we walked through the twisting streets of Germany,

might tie him to some notion of time and order, preferring to float on

he broke off arbitrarily” (Kierkegaard 526). The ethical is not a totally

that moment on my wooden bed, thinking “Well, here I am. Dead.” Instead I simply cease

casting our eyes over old bricks and stones, I slowly became aware of

the outside as an observer. In all situations, the reflective aesthete moves

separate sphere in which, in order to enter, the aesthete must give up all

Without this salvation, I faced an expansive wall of nothing that loomed over me with neither

some faint excitement over the ancient structures that stretched across

from extensive enjoyment to intensive enjoyment yet that moment on

his previous claims and understandings. Rather it is an evolution of the

nor malice. It, matter-of-factly, is. It is, and it was all that I could see that night. Under that

the landscapes. The source of that excitement was unclear to me—I had

which he reflects is still posited by something outside of him. At the

self, in which those claims and understandings are brought to a natural

I opened my mouth and tried to cry. I tried to feel. I tried to flee. I felt nothing, and nothing

always had an interest in history that led to its fair share of mockery when

same time, A cuts himself off from contemporaneity. He is constantly

conclusion and reevaluated in the light of a new understanding of self

e end. The next morning, I turned back to the domain of the church. In the face of an all

I was younger—and it was easy to chalk up to the almost naive fascina-

fracturing himself. While the maturation into a reflective aesthete ap-

not as a fatalistic being but as an infinite self always free--all of which

passing nothing, the church had a specificity in which I could reside. Through it, I might

tion of visiting a new place, seeing an assortment of sites that were, in

pears to be natural, it also seems to be problematic. While it solves the

happens internally and not through an external catalyst.

defense of meaning against that which I had felt. In my bed, I made a decision. When I sat

practically every manner to a teenager from central Texas, new, alien,

issues of immediacy, it raises an entirely new set of problems involving

Such external catalysts--such transcendent norms--seem to me the

e low sun patterned the walls through the window blinds, a car engine stirred somewhere

and foreign. Certainly, this accounted for a fair portion of my reaction: I

the intensive nature of reflection: it can fold in on itself. As one reflects,

domain of the aesthetic and, as such, seem absolutely complicit in the

e, and I hoped that, given enough time, salvation would find me.

had grown up around open fields, Wal-marts, and football stadiums and

he separates himself from that on which he is reflecting. The subject

ultimate movement into despair. As stated, A comes to despair through

in a culture where older structures were more likely to be torn down

and object relationship that troubled immediacy appears again, but here

the fragmentation of self and through the failure of any external means-

and replaced than left intact. This simple explanation, however, can not

it multiplies on itself as one begins to reflect on the inward reflection,

-those that are outside himself--to make his life sustainable. When those

account for the series of events that occured during and after visiting

potentially infinitely.

transcendent norms of enjoyment vanish, A is left with nothing but de-

e walls into which I fled rested not very far from my own bed. When I stepped out of my

—a modest little three bedroom built sometime in the 1960’s and nestled amongst a row

the Notre Dame de Paris.

Through this exponential reflection, it begins to appear that A re-

spair because “the condition for enjoyment is external and not within the

ilar houses, only the colors of brick providing any noticeable differentiation—which sat

We approached it from behind, flying buttresses vaulting into the sky

moves himself, intentionally it would seem, from relationships with all

individual’s control” (Kierkegaard 500). A is a cypher, a Rorschach test of

ve houses down from an intersection, a large wooden cross, fashioned by two old telephone

and against its stone walls; from where we were, it gave the appearance of

other objects he interacts with, but this deep reflection begets a growing

a person, who is constantly defined by the exterior and seeks enjoyment

loomed over the street. This cross marked the end of my church’s property; it demarcated

some ancient machine made from rock—complex, heavy, and solid. This

sense of alienation from the world in which he resides. This sense of

not from within the self but from outside the self, and when this external

impression confused the group, and several among us remarked upon it

alienation--which Judge Vilhelm expands on in length in the second

criteria has inevitably vanished--because A has attached importance to a


nd how one might achieve it. In this

What largely prevents this from happening is, plainly, the terrifying

(MO 3), "the higher meaning of our planet, the nerve that connects this

is possible; and as the sun's ray shrivels very plants of earth that it has

an action] occur; each one is a point of departure for other forkings.”1 The

language and society: Barthes with the total, true existence of writing through the reader, Fo

s self-referential: man now creates a

meaningless that seems to present itself in a world without God, yet it

part of it with the upper world, the eye it raises to heaven" (LFII 8), and

brought to bloom, so man kills the sweet flowers that flourish in his

book, then, clearly eradicates the notion of authorial intent. Rather than

with genealogies of the author and using the information cleaned from the author-funct

t be one yet he feels there must be a

is specifically in this meaningless that the death of God becomes such a

"an infinitely large, diverse, interesting person--a mysterious person of

heart, the joys of kinship and love" (Hölderlin 10) as he travels from place

create a narrative in the traditional sense with a clear series of distinct

liberate ourselves from them, De Certeau with the embedded histories and narratives of a

od portion of recent history creating

freeing event with good cause for celebration. While, the death of God

infinite worth--the actual absolute stimulus of the artist" (LFII 34), but

to place, seeking out whatever he can find to quench the restlessness that

causality, the book merely shows, it does not tell. The individual reading

that we activate through experience, and Borges with the unfolding of all these elements th

mes the initial falsehood and from it

brings us into a radical nihilism and “the universe seems to have lost

one must act as an active component of this totality and affirm his own

stirs within him. The restless throw themselves into project after project,

it is responsible for the sequence of events, and thus the text itself “is

space and time, peeling off one another infinitely and creating a structure which holds all p

laws that have also begun to burrow

value, seems “meaningless...” that is only a transitional stage” (Will

position within it without simply ceding to it. Like the transcendental

abating their own displeasure through distraction. In this, too, Hyperion

eternally written here and now” and “designates exactly what linguists,

outcomes. The creation of this hidden structure is the new task of the author. This, it sho

noted, is not the task of Ts’ui Pen--whose dedication to attempting the definition of all possi

of our culture. Christianity is only

to Power 11), and we only feel this onset of nihilistic despair because

idealist he studied, Novalis believed one must take an active, creative role

shows impressive insight and realizes his own flaws: "as a bleeding stag

referring to Oxford philosophy, call a performative.”2 It is constantly

rget. From it’s purpose--summarized

“extreme positions are not succeeded by moderate ones but by extreme

in life, but he also realized one must acknowledge that he creates not in

plunges into the stream, so I often plunged into the whirlpool of plea-

reshuffling, changing. Rather than exist physically, as Albert notes, this

d”--stems an entire, entrenched sys-

positions of the opposite kind” (Will to Power 35). We move from one end

a vacuum but in reaction to society.

sures, to cool my burning breast and bathe away the raging, glorious

labyrinth is one of time; by removing his own narrative agenda, Ts’ui

his work is the ritual of fas. This ritual is “a foundation. It “provides space” for the actions th

flirts with the corners of authorial intent. Rather, the author must become like the ancient Ro

of the spectrum to the other naturally, but we are not meant to remain

This critical understanding of the relationship between part and

dreams of fame and greatness, but what use was that?" (Hölderlin 12).

Pen has created an impenetrable maze. This engagement with both time

be undertaken; it “creates a field” which serves as their “base” and their “theater.””17 Thus the

hat stem from this need for a pur-

there--to forever wallow in nihilistic despair. Once these initial conse-

whole remains not merely theory for Novalis but extends to the very

This "whirlpool of pleasures" seems to differ little from the likes of phi-

and author does not simply end at the book itself, however, as Dr. Yu

must become the creator of this ritual, this field. The author does not draft the play for the t

ic, and one’s commitment to them

quences have been dealt with--once the death of God has been under-

manner in which he conducts philosophy and, more evidently, the very

losophy and knowledge in that it drives Hyperion only deeper into a rest-

Tsun, the protagonist, is uncomfortably aware of time due to knowing

nor does he inscribe instructions upon the field. Instead, through his own personal lang

o the death of God. The nihilism of

stood fully and has not been shyed away from--we should feel “as if a new

way in which Novalis writes. For Novalis, "philosophy is a conversation

lessness. He longs for a return to some semblance of a unity--a rejoining

“before the sun set on that day, I would encounter the same fate.”3 Tsun’s

ncomplete nihilism), but “insofar as

dawn [shines] on us” and let “our heart [overflow] with gratitude, amaze-

with oneself... an actual revelation of the self--arousal of the real self

of the finite and infinite--that intellect has failed to give him and turns

own possible futures seem incredibly narrow. However, his journey to

he creates a framework that makes possible those interactions, relationships and plays. It

written from, as Barthes describes, merely a “ready-formed dictionary, its words, only expla

nce on existence” (Will to Power 10).

ment, premonitions, expectation [ for] at long last the horizon appears

through the ideal self" (LFI 21) and thus is an internalized action one

elsewhere, but despite the different nature of pleasure , Hyperion finds

Albert’s still implies the possibilities of different futures: his daydream

through other words,”18 but a new dictionary, individual to each author where he--ie, the au

mething external, Nietzsche argues,

free to us again, even if it should not be bright” (The Gay Science 280).

must undergo--ie, to truly philosophize, one must reflect of his own

no respite. Simple pleasure does not contain the unity he seeks. It merely

of German planes bombing the British artillery park, the letter he did not

constantly defining the words, engaging them and reworking them. This dictionary allows h

ch we are within everyday. These are

In this meaningless world devoid of value and morality, we should not

volition. In this way, the "fragments" as a form depict this desire for

allows him to "languish on the chain and snatch with bitter joy the mi-

destroy, his close brush with his pursuer Captain Richard Madden, his

a new language or an alien one but a personal one, and it is from this personal language t

liefs, either. Rather, they are simply

weep or turn cynical, but rather we should become joyous. The chains of

philosophy to be an internal deliberation. Rather than provide a system

serly bowl that is offered to [his] thirst" (Hölderlin13) for these simple

run in with the shadowed boys who tell him how to get to Albert, and his

author may again discover intent. The author’s language can create a work--a piece of art--c

ne chooses to uphold, and one usu-

religiosity and morality have finally been shed, and we, i.e., man, are able

of philosophy--which ultimate seems prescriptive and telling rather than

pleasure retain only the quality of the finite. Hyperion desires them to be

subsequent shooting of Albert. All these moments are actualized in the

not of telling me meaning but engaging me with it, allowing me to arrive at it myself but pro

the vehicle in which to do so. The intent is there through the pouring of the personal in

and [lives] accordingly, without first

to take responsibility for our feelings: our will. When a man is overcome

exploratory--the fragments provide a loose framework or jumping points

infinite; he attempts to force it. He naively seeks a total infinite in which

text yet exist as only single instances of vast-interconnected possibilities

of the final and most certain reasons

with a “feeling of power” no longer must he “dare [not] to think himself

that are very much intended to be open ended; they require the input of

to lose himself. From the desperation of an absolute finitism, he seeks

of which Tsun is unaware. Tsun’s spacial possibilities stretch out before

Little questioning occurs--certainly,

the cause of this astonishing feeling--and so he posits a stronger person,

another. The fragments--which align themselves with the "poetic" more

the opposite and claims "to be one with all that lives, to return in blessed

us, and it is possible to leave the text momentarily, constructing “what

cit nihilism of the values might be

a divinity to account for it--” (Will to Power 86) for he realizes that it is

than the "philosophical," going by Novalis' terms--are meant to allow the

self-forgetfulness into the All of Nature--this is the pinnacle of thoughts

if” scenarios before returning to the unfolding future in the text. The

So while the author may live on once again, it will be no simple task; in order to poss

language--this dictionary of personal definitions--one must be willing to turn inward and d

4

work, so that the personal is transformed into something altogether different, allowing the to approach it in any possible manner.

merely taken as a given justified by

indeed he who feels it. At the same time, we must not simply fall back

reader to draw his own connections and insights as "poetry elevates each

and joys" (Hölderlin 3). Effectively, this is a form of suicide. Hyperion

irony of Tsun, though, is that after proceeding through all these possible

constructed. They are self-referential

into another system of values and beliefs--for that, too, will lead to only

single through a particular combination with the rest of the whole" (LFI

seeks to end his own restlessness through the obliteration of his own

futures in order to complete his mission of disclosing the British artillery

that language. The author must be willing, like Ts’ui Pen, to make the concretion of this lan

session of the goal from which these

another form of enslavement. Instead we must own these feelings of

25). The poetic, for Novalis, is this reunification of the individual with the

self. As each undertaking he throws himself into fails, he seeks only to

park, his adventure is totally irrelevant to the German chief “who knew

-and thus the ritual of fas--his life’s work; it will require nothing less than constant dedicati

alue” (Will to Power 141). In the ex-

power; we must own our own will. Only when have done this--when “it

whole which might occur both in a piece of writing and within a human

find a larger totality: a larger canvas upon which he can erase himself.

nothing of Runeberg and [Tsun] save that [they] were in Staffordshire

inquiry. However, this hope is not new; there are precedents at which one might look in a va

ek God, he must come to know what

would seem laughable to us... if man were to insist on inventing val-

being as well. This could be extrapolated further, and one might begin to

While this self-obliteration is certainly not the ideal avenue for

and who was waiting in vain for [their] report in his arid office in Berlin”5

mediums.19 David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive builds on themes from his entire body of work

t God is good or God is the truth and

ues that were supposed to excel the value of the actual world” (The Gay

think of each of the fragments as its own individual together forming a

Hyperion, it does, however, point towards the potential path Holderlin

and who is ultimately informed through a nondescript newspaper article,

providing a film which contains a traditional narrative within its overall structure as both tim

out and prioritized. We are to value

Science 286)--will we have truly moved ourselves beyond morality. The

society--not a system--of philosophical thought. If, as Novalis believes,

wants us to see. By basking in copious pleasures and projects, Hyperion

resulting in bombing thats only effect seems to be the 5 day delay of a

possibilities segue and fold around it. The idea of the film is not to “get” the central mystery

ing “good,” “noble,” or “charitable.”

death of God presents us with the opportunity; we only need seize it.

"each work of literature must be a living individual" (LFI 30) that exists as

begins to move away from the discursive nature of philosophy and its

British attack easily explained away by heavy rains. Perhaps then, this

film, but rather that it exists as a framework--built off of completely preexisting forms red

through Lynch’s own language--for a multitude of films occurring at one moment, their possi

hen leads to a further commitment

The death of God is not some act committed by the unbeliever; it is

a crystallization of an infinite set of possibilities into a finite thing, it be-

method of breaking down and analyzing. Though initially he does not

story of authorial will--undercut by the narrator’s own ancestor’s work-

etaphysical and metaethical beliefs)

a process caused by an ideology like Christianity itself. The religion con-

comes even clearer that the society is thus an assemblage of these diverse

find what he seeks, ultimately Hyperion discovers both the source and

-might be one of absurdity. The author’s intent becomes meaningless

converging not because of structure but because of viewer. The work of Thomas Pynchon pr

es of commandments that “life shall

structs itself on a foundation of sand, and when everything is revealed

ways of living: it does not purely limit through norms but also represents

the solution to the antagonism of being: poetry. Poetry "is the beginning

and the folly where the work “and author stand automatically on a single

a written language that is once identifiable and idiosyncratic, yet the space of the narrative do

advance himself and his neighbor,

to be false, we are left with only nihilism in its place. Often times, we

the larger possibilities of life. This realization arises out of the poetic. In

and end of philosophical knowledge." he claims, "And so in philosophy,

line divided into a before and after” is illustrated.6 One may posit then

exist solely in the pages: it is constantly folding back into them or spilling out of them. Slo

that to assume authorial intent on a space may end in empty success.7

flee Into the Zone is not merely a cat-and-mouse game with the hidden machinations of Dr.

These normative claims seek to be

attempt to repair this system, to change it, but the death of God reveals

both Novalis' writings and in the physical world, "the individual lives

too, the irreconcilable finally converges again in the mysterious spring of

e claims to how the world ought to

to us that there is only nihilism--that everything in the system, down to

in the whole and the whole in the individual" and it is "through poetry

poetry" (Hölderlin 66). It is poetry that allows one a momentary grasp

The text, however, plays with the author in another manner, this one

man and the White Visitation but a constant movement through hidden frameworks that allo

ms, “one has posited a totality, a sys-

its very foundation, is decrepit and dishonest. Any other system built in

[that] there arises the highest sympathy and common activity, the most

of unity; it is from poetry that emerges both the finite and infinite. The

very clearly in line with Foucault’s definition of the author as the author-

possibilities of the book--both textually and meta-textually--to unfurl. In architecture, too, thi

on in all events, and underneath all

its place will continue to have this same problem: it will destroy itself

intimate communion of the finite and infinite (LFI 25). The poetic could

poetic thought is that moment which exists outside the rational yet draws

function. For Foucault, it is not that the author is dead, but instead, the

has already been engaged. In Bernard Tschumi’s Manhattan Transcripts, he begins to d

spacial “events” through non traditional representative means with the implicit indicatio

that he might champion his values

from the inside, leaving us with only a nihilistic perspective in which

perhaps be thus defined as this assemblage created out of individuals

on it. The poetic thought "could be analyzed, taken apart in men's minds,

author may be viewed as “a complex operation whose purpose is to con-

as the true ones. Christianity often

to constantly fall back. If we are not to remain trapped in this continual

that nevertheless retain their identity. While "poetry dissolves the being

it could be reconstituted from its components, and so the being of the

struct the rational entity we call an author.” In this way, the author exists

these event spaces might be understood architecturally; one might be able to develop a lan

this way: projecting its metaphysi-

nihilism, we must affirm the death of God, affirm the death of morality,

of others in its own" (LFI 40), the being of others nevertheless still exists.

highest and the best could be increasingly known, and the knowledge of

historically, but the author still does not exist to provide some key to the

for suggesting the events. John Hejduk, through projects such as The Berlin Masque be

as a way the world ought to be--as a

and welcome the freedom--which in and of itself can be terrifying--that

Thus, the fragments, revealed now not only as a specific form but as an

it be set up as the law in all the multifarious realms of the spirit" (Hölder-

text. The use of the author-function as a filter for understanding the text

capable of this: creating potential spacial narratives through the specific language of forms

8

e world. There remains always the

comes with it. With the death of God comes the possibility of being an

active practice of the philosophy they are themselves communicating,

lin 67). It provides a unity through which rational thought might parse

still remains a projection, “in terms always more or less psychological,

rld that ought to be. This creates an

authentic being: of being in this world and willing in this world for this

become even more powerful. Much like an individual resides in a society

and understand. For Hyperion, and for Holderlin, poetry exists as both

of our way of handling texts: in the comparisons we make, the traits we

Hejduk, too, dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of his language, and as such, it was throug

ced from this world, and the advent

world. We are no longer torn between a world that exists and the world

that shapes him yet is also shaped by him, the fragments shape each

the initial oneness from which we are continually separating and also

extract as pertinent, the continuities we assign, or the exclusions we

he was capable of being an author.20

lizes he has “measured the value of

we want to exist. Instead, when God and all his shadows have been de-

other--depending on how the texts are engaged, one might come away

our closest approximation of that oneness. It is not through the system-

practice.”9 The author-function, then, may vary on the reader: my own

The author must live on, but he cannot do so tyrannically. The author must hide. H

remain hidden. There must be a sublimation of the importance of both authorial voice a

multitude of the readers’ interpretations. For architects--as well as writers and other author

hat refer to a purely fictitious world”

feated, we will find ourselves on the other side of nihilism; we will find a

with various impressions--yet retain their own individual identities, and

atic usage of a certain poetic style or the conveyance of a rhetorical idea

construction of Kafka as a writer, for example, is as much rooted in Kafka

alized, these normative beliefs and

world in which the natural is no longer unnatural and man can, at last,

they require the engagement of another--someone else must construct

that philosophical thought is born, but rather, it is born out of the poetic

as it is in my own biases. The mystery inherent to the work, The Garden

d up in the world fall away, making

own his actions and himself.

them. This reveals the poetics of Novalis to be not a solitary act but one

cultivated that wait for the subject--ie, the person--to enter in to them and enact their possib

feeling--that is the imminent feeling--of the self. In this way, it is neither

of the Forking Paths, is one of such authorial construction. Stephen Al-

presupposing the interaction with an other. He can rightly say that "to

the total intellect of the philosophical or the decadent emptiness of the

bert describes the author Ts’ui Pen as:

f things” (Will to Power 14) so that

The writings of Novalis--the pen name of Georg Philipp Friedrich

become a human being is an art" (LFI 87) as, much like writing, it is the

pleasure. Indeed, Holderlin states quite clearly in the preface that "the

eliefs that strive to justify what the

Freiherr von Hardenberg--reveal an impressive and sophisticated philo-

careful synthesis between the individual and the whole where neither

resolution of dissonances in a particular character is neither for mere

Governor of his native province, learned in astronomy, in astrology and

in turn, internalizing it. Only when the author creates--and creates sincerely and from the s

. In this way, Christianity has “been

ought not to strive to build labyrinths but partial labyrinths: incomplete spatial framewor

are staggering not in their physical impositions but their potential ones.21 The reader wi

find himself within the space, find him questioning it, find him being internalized by it wh

sehood becomes constructed on an-

sophical understanding despite all being written before Novalis was 28

is lost. Man, alone, is a fragment, and though he represents a possibil-

reflection nor for empty pleasure" (Hölderlin 1), and Holderlin believes

in the tireless interpretation of the canonical books, chess player, famous poet

the reader’s construction, so that all possible worlds in the project may exist freely and w

within the psychology of the culture

and like much of the early German Romantic writings, are deeply con-

ity, infinity does not present itself to him until he has seen the infinite

poetry is precisely the means through which this resolution might be

and calligrapher--he abandoned all this in order to compose a book and a

hierarchical bias or distinction, will the author be able to live again.

en viewed from outside or separate

cerned with the individual's place within the world. For Novalis, who

possibilities in others.

obtained. The phenomenological impact of poetry--and art in general-

maze. He renounced the pleasures of both tyranny and justice, of his populous

enants appear, on the surface, to still

was very familiar with the work of Johann Gottlieb Fichte (even writing

Ultimately, what Novalis proposes is a precursor to much of Existen-

-allows the self a momentary reprieve: a return to unity that is neither a

couch, of his banquets and even of erudition--all to close himself up for thirteen

ultimately moves so far past being

a book, Fichte Studies, that was an assessment of his work), this concern

tialist thought, but it seems to separate itself from the pure optimism of

total absorption of the self or a total abdication of the self. Holderlin sees

years in the Pavilion of the Limpid Solitude. When he died, his heirs found

way of life... [that] tells us how to act,

of the individual and the community can be seen as critique borne out

it. Whereas later thinkers and judges would urge us to choose despair,

this not as an end, either. We do not simply strive for this unity and ob-

nothing save chaotic manuscripts. His family, as you may be aware, wanted

to Power 125). However, this illusion

of Fichte's own grounding of philosophy upon the self-positing I--ie,

Novalis seems to believe that a successful navigation of this landscape of

tain it. Rather, it is a constant process that simultaneously feeds back into

to condemn them to the fire; but his executor--a Taoist or Buddhist monk10

1. Borges, 26 2. Barthes, 145 3. Borges, 19

4. Tom Tykwer’s 1998 German film, Run Lola Run in which the titular Lola must he

boyfriend find the 100,000 marks he owes to a particularly nasty crime boss explores the r

effect of possible futures. The three “runs” in the film all start similarly and contain rep

e are still viewing the so-called moral

grounding philosophy in subjectivity. Despite the great convenience

the individual and whole can provide one with a viable, sustainable exis-

our more rational thoughts as "the sceptic finds contradiction and imper-

hat Christianity itself constructed.

such a philosophical move would bring, the early German Romantics

tence. It seems to almost seek a compromise between the bottom-up phi-

fection in all that is thought, because he knows the harmony of perfect

when these normative beliefs causes

were skeptical of this foundation as being ignorant of a seemingly pres-

losophy of the idealists and the top-down philosophy of the materialists;

beauty, which is never thought" (Hölderlin 66). Man must seek out this

The common spacial perception and understanding of Ts’ui Pen’s

ways that very from subtle to dramatic and ultimately fan out to affect not only Lola but pas

in divergent ways. In one instance, Lola may cause a fender bender while in another, she r

-insisted on their publication.

elements that occur in each sequence, but in each one the elements of these sequences play

s. Christianity is a conservative reli-

ent unity that exists prior to the "I." Novalis further elucidates this point

society is not entirely predicated on the individual nor is the individual

experience not only as a deterrent against melancholy, it would seem, but

book had been, up until Albert, based on a certain construction of the

normative claims, it has caused the

by describing the relationship between the self and society at large as

subsumed into society. Instead, it is a two step process: "the first step will

also as a means through which the self can be claimed and improved: the

author that required the existence of both a book and a physical labyrinth.

top of the car, preventing the crash and thus creating another set of possible futures. In

ntithetical to what is natural or need.

a reciprocal relationship wherein each part affects the other, and, that

be an inward gaze--an isolating contemplation of ourselves," and "the

poetic thought is continuously calling into question that of the rational.

Either both these things existed, concretely, or one is an illegible mess

instances of these encounters, we flash forwards rapidly into the future to view the extent o

both ways for we can “discover in

through this relationship, one might discover what Novalis describes as

second step must be an active outward gaze--autonomous, constant ob-

The importance of the work Hyperion is to not only lay out Hold-

and the other has never been proven to exist. Albert circumvents this

changes through quick photo montages. 5. Borges, 20

uries of moral interpretation--needs

the poetic. This poetic synthesis bleeds into multiple aspects of life and

servation of the external world" (MO 26). This process also reveals itself

erlin's view of poetic importance, but to do so in a manner that is it-

reading, however, by understanding the power his own conception of

ntruth--” (Will to Power 10), or we

can even be seen as the basis for Novalis' style of writing and method of

to always be constant. If we stop only at one end, foolishly believing it to

self a poetic enterprise. He writes a book that intends to teach us less

the author has. By adapting the means in which he sees the author,

6. Barthes, 145

have go against our supposed moral

"doing" philosophy. The purpose of this paper is, then, to further tease

be some kind of tautological apex, we will find that we've stumbled into

through a systematic, rigorous method than through a text that we, as

Albert is able to transform the book and the labyrinth into a single spacial

7. My own major misgivings with Barthes’s writing, however, lay outside of the direct rol

ve systems seem to, as a rule, present

out this relationship between the individual and society in Novalis' work

either a disconnected solipsism--where the individual can never place

readers, can enter and feel; the book is itself an attempt to communicate

construction; his construction of the author alters the construction of

plays into architectural construction and in another, not quite as in vogue, word: responsibili

notion of “the dead author” is as liberating as it is dangerous, it seems. At the time, it was nec

11

t also a stagnant one that views life

and illuminate how this belief feeds into the larger purpose of both

himself in his world and feels forever cut off from it--or have lost our-

the possibilities of writing on being outside of the limitations of phi-

the text’s space. This construction is not passive, either. Albert recounts

eant to be judged and valued when,

philosophy and poetry. More specifically, it will use Novalis' fragments

selves in the totality of the whole, creating a dangerous slope into what

losophy. Ultimately, this is Holderlin's point: philosophical works and

to Tsun that he has poured endlessly over the old pages, “corrected the

needed to cleanse the inflated egotistical mess of the modern and remove a self-righteous aca

which we isolate a couple of pieces,

to define what the self is, how this self exists in relation to society (ie, No-

could easily resemble fascism. Instead, one must constantly be question-

papers, such as this one, can only go so far: they describe, breakdown,

errors that the negligence of the copyists has introduced,” that he has

While its affects run deeply in both architecture and literature, I question its longevity in the f

ted points and then infer it without

valis' understanding of normativity), and how this relationship is further

ing and actively taking a stance both on himself and the society at large,

illuminate, etc. They do not, however, provide the resolution of our own

“guessed the plan of this chaos,” and through these actions then “re-

The creation of architecture without an author (a self-generating architecture) divorces it fro

of architecture’s primal components: people. It seems to me that the advent of computer

cience 173) . The world, however, is

reflected in Novalis' own definition of philosophical and poetic thinking.

oscillating between the two. When both of these active entities can come

facticity and freedom. Resolution can be felt. It can be experienced. To

established... the primordial organization”12 of Ts’ui Pen’s text. Albert has

s only aides in a greater onset of ni-

The individual, for Novalis, is not something that arrives ex nihilo

together, though--when man can feel himself at place within the world-

separate that resolution, however, is clearly not a resolution. It can only

written his own The Garden of Forking Paths whether he is aware of it

drawing programs has quietly accelerated the problem as well. This isn’t to say Peter Eisen

ith which normative systems of the

and fully formed, but rather, he is something very much constituted by

-the poetic seems to be born. For Novalis, the poetic is when man is

be realized as a temporary, fleeting moment that, upon analyzing, is in

or not. When he states to the reader he has “translated the entire work,”13

work was unnecessary. Far from it. It raised fundamental questions of architecture that nee

Of course, one might simply argue

his surroundings and the culture into which he was born. This act--that

capable of making a sincere, honest connection with something outside

danger of being undone.

he does not mean this in only one way. Dr. Albert has translated the work

be asked, but if we’re still asking those questions years later without once stopping to give an

through reconstruction, he has made concrete his own readings onto it,

we’re simply performing a weightless exercise: at some point we have to reconstruct. Instead

Spacial constructs, whether in architecture, literature or any work,

making something new. This new construction and its engagement with

tects discuss using the computer and data as a means to further remove oneself from the pro

are almost never purely physical. Because a human mind is compre-

forking time then, is as much Ts’ui Pen’s work as it is Dr. Albert’s. Of

and pose “ideal” solutions which results in projects where the defense of criticism is simply a

hending these constructs and putting them together, space exists as not

course, once he reveals the intention and proposed meaning of his work,

created by data and programs that generate the results. The architect’s ideas then get brack

the side--protected and disconnected--while the periphery elements are critiqued. To be fair

of these views are based upon misreadings of Barthes, but the idea of the total eradication

aluated or adjusted, but for a system

of birth--is the initial determinedness that will affect an individual in a

of himself whether art, poetry, or another person. The poetic lies not

hristianity, “this antagonism--not to

multitude of unknown ways. The individual is then a crystallization of

in some systematic thought process but in the beauty of a real relation.

llowed any longer to esteem the lies

the events following this single chance for "in this chance all his other

ults in a process of dissolution” (Will

chance incidents, the infinite series of his circumstances, must lie one

For the German philosopher and poet Friedrich Holderlin, who was

he entire composition appear false

within the other, or better still, be determined as his chance incidents or

operating in a post-Kantian world of thought, the entire enterprise of

simply a physical moment but a moment wrapped in the historical, polit-

Albert ceases to exist, instead becoming a dead figure whom we only

ed: if one value is capable of being

circumstances" (LFII 24). Born into this facticity, the individual must

philosophy revealed itself to be, inevitably, problematic. Like many of the

ical and personal conscious prejudices of the individuals inhabiting it. In

engage through another author.

n it would appear to throw all other

come to understand what his surroundings has brought to bear on him-

early Romantics, Holderlin was greatly concerned with the problems of

this way, they are also never static. Space is only simple in a seductively

For the author, these implications of death and construction paint

on and validity of such a system is

self and rectify that with his own choices as a free individual. It is not that

being that arise out of discursive thinking and the seemingly inescapable

common definition and understanding; its larger ramifications speak to

either a bleak picture or a liberating one where he is free from all past

Yet we cannot return to the dogmatic reign of the modern. We have to begin to reconstr author in a manner that lets him exist concurrently with the reader, a manner that allows

author appears to be foolish.

this facticity has overly determined everything about him, but rather, it

melancholy that followed in its wake. Modern man, according to Holder-

the discrete importance of he who inhabits it. As the importance shifts to

implications of intent. Indeed, Michel De Certeau in “Spatial Stories”

, is that one is left with self-negating

would seem that it has planted seeds or fragments of thought that one

lin, had discovered the antagonistic dissonance within his very self: that

the inhabitant, the Reader of the space, the influence of authorial intent

does not speak of the author but rather the abstract ways space is self-

define his project yet prevent the past tyranny of the author and instead let him coexist w

system reverse engineered from im-

must then choose to either develop or reject. Novalis states this quite

of his ideal, infinite self and his real, finite self. Many other thinkers-

must then be called into question and with it the Author. Both Roland

assembling in both architecture and literature.14 This assemblage then is

reader, strengthening one another rather than simply overwriting.

m a fabricated purpose driven by a

clearly by pondering, "How can a person have a sense of something if

-such as Kant and Fichte--had discovered or felt this same dichotomy as

Barthes, in his essays “The Death of the Author”, and Michel Foucault,

predicated on a language through which the self is constantly interpret-

e infrastructure of falsehoods, yet it

he does not have the germ of it within himself. What I am to understand

well and worked tirelessly to find some philosophical thinking that could

in “What is an Author?”, understand the incredible importance of the

ing: the perspective of space “is determined by a “phenomenology” of

duals, let alone all of society, seem to

must develop organically within me--and what I seem to learn is only

answer it--a manner of thinking that might make possible a return to har-

Reader and thus rightly challenges the Age of the Author but through

existing in the world.” My own experiences, quite literally, shape the

10. Borges, 24

ral systems, and yet they remain en-

nourishment--stimulation of the organism"(MO 19). While somewhat

mony. However, as the Romantics found, every line of inquiry seemed

different lenses. Rather than simply supposing the spacial ramifications

world around me as I experience it presently--which is how one does

11. Here Albert alters the manner in which he understands Ts’ui Pen’s statements reg

Christian that “obstinately, he clings

Socratic, this belief strikes out as markedly different from that of both

only to deepen the divide. Where philosophy failed, Holderlin argued, a

see through; but he calls it “faith-

Kant and Fichte who believed that the individual is constantly construct-

non-discursive medium could succeed. For Holderlin, this was art and,

nd remains ever under its practice,

ing and shaping the world around him (hence the absolute self-positing

more specifically, poetry. Through the experience of beauty, man might

ns of the higher values’ untenability

of the I for Fichte), but what Novalis suggests is something much subtler:

find a temporary respite from his own internal conflict. Holderlin's own

understanding that the world view

the I does indeed constantly create or construct but it does so based off

Hyperion is a novel about the imminent realization of this in the char-

ss, the Christian “contents [himself ]

of innate biases that are given to us through our facticity. One can affirm

acter of the titular youth, and within its pages, he details the growing

aith, with a renunciation of all prov-

or attempt to shed those biases, but this is still a reaction against facticity;

restlessness that comes from solely pure knowledge. At the same time,

inconceivable and superior “ideal”

it inevitably plays some role. The individual, though, must be conscious

Holderlin is writing a text that seeks to awaken the same awareness in

147). Faith reveals itself as simply

of this and realize "all the chance events of our lives are materials from

the reader. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate that very conflict

lingness to set aside that which has

which we can make what we like... every acquaintance, every incident

that arises solely out of rational thought and the way in which Holderlin

vor of positing all truth to an intan-

would be for the thoroughly spiritual person--the first element in an end-

believes poetry might resolve this tension. More specifically, I will use

this is God. This faith attempts to

less series--the beginning of an endless novel" (MO 65). Understanding

Hyperion to show the failure of rational knowledge from the vantage

a means of legitimizing--or perhaps,

this endless novel must become a goal of the individual, according to

point of the self, its subsequent effects, and the way in which poetry and

ation--the false belief system at stake.

Novalis. Indeed, he believes "the highest task of education is--to take

other arts might alleviate this condition.

from someone outside Christianity

command of one's transcendental self--to be at once the I of its I... [ for]

From this disconnect between the infinite self--ie, the spontaneous

t is prevalent), but rather, it simply

without perfect self-understanding one will never learn to truly under-

and creative self--and the finite self--ie, the necessitated and destined

the values devalue themselves). We

stand others" (MO 28). To be a being in this world--ie, to feel a sense of

self--arises a sense of alienation and homelessness that when dwelled

destroyed by belief in morality. For

conditions out of which alone it can

place--one must first understand , but to do this, he himself must also

upon or thought through only intensifies. This, clearly, is an issue for

understand how that world has brought him to be.

Hyperion who laments his own intellectual nature, saying "I reflect and

ill to Power 95). The need for faith

The question arises, though, as to what it means to thus be a being

find myself as I was before--alone, with all the griefs of mortality, and

from the belief system that has been

or individual in the world because if "everything that surrounds us, daily

my heart's regue, the world in its eternal oneness, is gone" (Hölderlin

ort, and surprisingly, many cling to

ianity from the inside, that we arrive consequences of such an event. In

rs this concept through a madman

incidents, ordinary circumstances, the habits of our way of life, exercises

4). Even here at the beginning of the book, we encounter a Hyperion

an uninterrupted influence on us, which for just that reason is imper-

who is well aware of his plight and attempting to resolve it in some way.

ceptible but extremely important" (LFII 27), it might appear that all one

The manner in which he chooses, however, only results in him being

can do is resign oneself to these normative factors--ie, the forces that are

"so profoundly cut off from everything, so utterly and determinedly a

action-guiding. This fatalistic take, however, Novalis reveals to be only

stranger and alone among men" (Hölderlin 19). An attempt at a discur-

eveals his message to a crowd--who,

a fallacy. Individuals are not purely determined by the community but,

sive solution, then, only sets Hyperion upon an endless regression of

lievers (The Gay Science 181). As he

rather "the objects of social intercourse are nothing but means to enliven

sundering: he attempts to break down and parse through his alienation

se gathered began to mock and ridi-

it... [as] society is nothing but communal living--one indivisible thinking

but in doing so only alienates himself further. His own thought is re-

ntous statement: “”Whither is God?”

and feeling person. Each human being is a society in miniature" (MO

sponsible for that through which he is attempting to think. It is from this

15

labyrinth, bu

It is increasingly hard to find valid art that is about stuff that is real in this way. The older Mario gets, the more confused he gets about the fact that everyone at E.T.A. over the age of about Kent Blott finds stuff that’s really real uncomfortable and they get embarrassed. It’s like there’s some rule that real stuff can only get mentioned if everybody rolls their eyes or laughs in a way that isn’t happy. The worst-feeling thing that happened today was at lunch when Michael Pemulis told Mario he had an idea for setting up a Dial-aPrayer telephone service for atheists in which the atheist dials the number and the line just rings and rings and no one answers. It was a joke and a good one, and Mario got it; what was unpleasant was that Mario was the only one at the big table whose laugh was a happy laugh; everybody else sort of looked down like they were laughing at somebody with a disability. The whole issue was far above Mario’s head, and he was unable to understand Lyle’s replies when he tried to bring the confusion up. And Hal was for once no help, because Hal seemed even more uncomfortable and embarrassed than the fellows at lunch, and when Mario brought up real stuff Hal called him Booboo and acted like he’d wet himself and Hal was going to be very patient about helping him change.

killed him--you and I” (The Gay Sci-

42). While it might be true that an individual is born into his own factic-

position that Hyperion seems to rightly damn his own mind, claiming

ity, that society has been determined not by some greater power but by

the knowledge which "[he] expected confirmation of all [his] pure joy--

ity as a lie, yet they have been duped

the very individuals within it. Society, then, is a constructor of normativ-

that knowledge has corrupted everything for [him]" (Hölderlin 4). Hy-

ty. “The madman” is meant to be a

ity, meaning it is capable of bringing about new forms of norms, and

perion's intellect--the tool which he was taught would set him free--has

all to realize the extent to which our

while each body does mirror the norms and values of the community,

enslaved him; through reflection, he has become aware of the distancing

there is no God. For we must realize

each body is capable of reacting against these norms in a conscious way

nature of reflection itself. As as being, he can never return to the, almost

still be caves for thousands of years

thus possibly laying the groundwork for a new set of norms--particularly

naive, sense of oneness for which he longs. Instead, it seems he can only

... [and] we still have to vanquish his

if others identify with this reaction as well. Further, the ever continu-

further separate--further distance himself from the world. Our only true

) if we are to truly overcome the false

ing quest for self-knowledge, as noted earlier, is meant to charge this

way around this separation, it seems, is to manufacture its non existence:

therwise, we allow faith to remain.

ability to react by making it possible for one to see how he is currently

Hyperion recommends isolating a child from the outside world to "let

y of the system and seen through its

situated in society and, ideally, thus allow him to take a stance on his

him not learn until late that there are men, that there is something else

of their writings, one can simply see them at play in Jorge Luis Borges’s

experience: all histories converging into a constant single present. The

his nihilistic faith to remain; we only

own existence, and the ones who apathetically resign themselves to these

9. Foucault, 2

the book an

men indicts are those who have seen

s many vestiges, remaining trapped

8. Foucault, 2

is not to be

as the only m in which this

struction coul place. One

also not assum

is--or that ther

is--the correc

struction of Ts as an author.

12. Borges,

13. Borges, 14.

Else

in De Certeau

Practice of Ev

Living, one ca more and

exa

explan

of this. In C VII, “Walking City,”

De

C

invokes the lan of “map” and

further elabora

in “Spacial S to

documen

view from the

floor of Manh World Trade

and, ultimate

nature of exp

ing the city. T

ALL AROUND

Thesis text. Rarely read. Probably best that way.

—Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace

tion reads as a more

concre

ample of the a genealogy

ex

in Chapter 9.

15. De Cert

16. De Certeau, 188. The words being-there and operations as defined by De Certeau ap have parallels t my definitions of tecton and archi respectively.

outside of himself, for only thus will he become a man" (Hölderlin 64). A

“The Garden of Forking Paths”. From beginning to identify the ways

nature of experiencing this space is is made up of, according to De

norms--through a lack of self-education--are the ones living an unfulfilled

child must not be allowed to ever make that first intellectual dissociation

in which the Author and the Reader--in both Barthes’s and Foucault’s

Certeau, the being-there of something dead, something static which

ust come to realize “how much must

life. In discussing this, Novalis differentiates between "our everyday life

for it will doom the being to the same crisis as Hyperion. The human

understanding--influence the spacial nature of this short story, one can

grounds it and operations which assign movements to an object, elicit-

18. Barthes, 146

en undermined because it was built

[which] consists of nothing but life-sustaining tasks which recur again

being must remain a totality.

begin to contemplate an architectural manifestation that reconciles the

ing space though the subject.16 In “The Garden of Forking Paths,” these

19. In regards to these, I will be brief as they most certainly require their own paper

rown into it” (The Gay Science 279).

and again" and the realization that "this cycle of habits is only the means

Obviously, however, this is not the most possible course of action,

seemingly opposed relationship of creator and spectator. We must then

spaces have already been discussed, only now they exist absolutely with-

od has already died, and it is us that

to a principal means, that of our whole earthly being--which is a mixture

and as a result, once might be subjected to the alienation that charac-

observe Borges’s story for the author as dead, the author as function,

out author and are always in the process of being created. Dr. Tsun is not

20. There is not meant to be a comparison here between Hejduk’s and Tschumi’s wo

e we have not yet affirmed the death

of diverse ways of existing" (MO 76). To become subject to only the ev-

terizes Hyperion at the opening of the novel. Even if such a course of

and the author as space.

narrating a story; he is giving a tour. Embedded in that tour is then all the

rather a suggestion that their respective projects occupy separate places on the same conti

uch a worldview. His own system of

eryday life is to be what Novalis refers to as a "philistine;" when one is a

action was available, it does little to appease those who, like Hyperion,

infinite possibilities that he makes concrete by moving through them,

One might make the case that Tschumi’s Parc de la Villette would rest on this continuu

to us--through claiming it--to finish

philistine, he has given up his freedom for routine. One must be careful

are already in the throes of a deep homelessness. From this alienation,

The Garden of Forking Paths, as it is revealed in the story, is a seem-

17. De Certeau, 124

pers?) to really examine.



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