HYBRIDS, AESTHETICS OF INTERSTICE
The Spheres of Influence;
Experimental investigation through the edges of the hybrid spheres
Setareh Roozbahani KU Leuven, 2022-2023
TABLE OF CONTENTS
a. Abstract
b. One Minute Site
c. The Referential Landscape
1. The History of the Balcony in General
2. The History of the Balcony in Persian Architecture
3. The History of the Balcony in Art and Culture 4. The Inspirational Board
d. The Process
1. The Collages and Drawings
2. Co-Creation with an AI 3. Environmental Photogrammetry
e. The Final Position (The Drawings)
An investigation through the recent videos of the revolution in Iran in 2022
A continuous moment was taken from the level above the street territory, looking through the windows
Zoom into the spatial character of these moments
Where the domesticity of the interior confronts the brutality of the exterior
An exploration through elements such as balconies, windows, the thickness of walls, and the invisible boundary of two spheres
These elements are considered as a liminal stage of enacting a transitional mode
Revealing the true/actual moment between the integration of two spheres to bring the hidden layers into the visible surface
Media as the third sphere, enabling the connection of the edge of the walls to both spheres
Empowerment, bringing awareness and experiment; through the edges of the spheres
Exploring the meaning of domesticity immersed in between the indecisive memories
What has been deemed to be suppressed, is getting revealed and empowered through the millions of pairs of eyes. “A continuum of influences of pure brutality in most domestic spheres.”
The Spheres of Influence is an attempt to investigate spatial characters of in-between spaces that are influenced by the brutality of the outside and the domesticity of the inside in the homeland. Based on the initial one-minute site that contains fragments of recent videos from Iran, a spatial translation is shaped to break down the boundaries of this confrontation. Through an exploration of these fragments, they contain moments that were taken from the level above the streets’ territory, standing on balconies or looking through the windows. The media as a third sphere enables the edges of these spatial elements to bring awareness and reveal the hidden layers of these periphery spaces.
At the juncture of these motions that intertwine, it develops a hybrid representation between these extremes. To bring the hidden layers of this manifestation to the surface, we used several fragments from the different urban facades in the homeland to create photogrammetry models for the drawings. Through the speculation of these drawings, we aim to capture the interplay between the edges of the various elements which convey the moment of this confrontation.
Our meaning of domesticity shows itself within the scaffold of these drawings. In the extension of the urban facade, or behind it, vivid color is uncovered. We attempt to uphold the crucial layers of our interpretation of brutality, domesticity, and hybrid spheres within our memories and the existing fragments in these drawings. Still, this try mostly ends in a twisted environment of constant fluctuation and chaos between elements. A tug-of-war between the opposing forces. Eventually, it is an experiment to discover this hybridity of uncertainty and tangled threads in between this strife.
a. Abstract
b. One Minute Site
True moments of confrontation between the brutality of the outside, and the domesticity of the inside.
The ongoing situation, similarly repeats itself. When the brutality passes through the edges of these elements and intertwines within this landscape.
Collages and Scans
Edges of visible and invisible elements
Depicted from the one minute site fragments
c. The Referential Landscape
1. The History of the Balcony in General
Coriolanus-le retour de Volumnia Vintage engraving from 1877 showing a scene from William Shakespeare’s play Coriolanus. A tragedy the play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader, Gaius Marcius Coriolanus (credit: Getty Images).
To understand the spatial coexistence of the two spheres_outside and inside_ we started to investigate the history of the balcony. According to Etymology, the origin of balcony derives from the Italian word “balcone” which means “a platform projecting from a wall of a building surrounded by a wall or railing.” In Ancient Egypt, the balcony of palaces was intended as a “theatre setting” for leaders to appear before their subjects (Kemp, 2018). However, the first known use of the balcony as a place for people to view public events was in Rome in the 1st century BC. The Romans would replace parts of the wall of their homes with a railing to watch the gladiatorial games. This type of balcony became popular in the Renaissance and Baroque periods and was often used to view public events such as parades, festivals, and plays.
Actor Kirk Douglas in the 1960 movie Spartacus Spartacus (Kirk Douglas) battles with Draba (Woody Strode) as his wife Varinia (Jean Simmons), watches in the balcony with members of the Roman royalty (credit: Getty Images).
According to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc, the primary aim of projecting the balconies—called “hoards” at the time—in the 11th century was to reach soldiers and/or defend them from attackers, implying that they were primarily used for military purposes (Emekci, 2021). He explains that these hoards were built as a form of protection for soldiers, as they could be used to shoot arrows or drop rocks onto enemies below. Viollet-le-Duc also states that these hoards were often used to serve a decorative purpose, as they could be used to enhance the architecture of a particular building.
‘The
Medieval Fortress’ by J.E. Kaufmann & H.W. Kaufmann
Many cities’ historical balcony cultures have been immortalized in art and literature, such as in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels (credit: Ilbusca/Getty Images)
c. The Referential Landscape
2. The History of the Balcony in Persian Architecture
East front of the Golestan Palace, Tehran, Iran (source: illustration from the magazine The Illustrated London News, volume LXII, June 21, 1873).
According to Dehkhoda, a Persian online dictionary, the balcony is a projecting platform from the facade of a building. However, sometimes they mention it as “Balkaneh”, which is a lattice gate made of gold, and silver. The outside is visible from the inside through this gate, yet the inside cannot be seen from the outside (Dehkhoda, 2006).
Before the Qajar era, Iranian cities, architecture, and urban development were specified according to traditional perspectives. The walls were built without windows; houses were isolated from the urban environment, and an introverted manner of living was encouraged (Zakavat, 1995, P. 136). Nevertheless, it was only after the first Pahlavi period that the openings shaped the facades of the public buildings and houses in Iran, and it made a connection between internal spaces with the alley or streets.
Balcony of Public Building. Old Building of Post Office, Tehran (source: Kiani, M. (2004). Memaridore pahlavi aval, (Second ed.). Tehran: The Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies. P, 339).
c. The Referential Landscape
3. The History of the Balcony in Art and Culture
Beginning of the 20th century, the famous Italian painter Umberto Boccioni made a painting entitled “The street enters the house”. He used the following words to describe his work: The dominating sensation is that which one would experience on opening a window: all life and the noises of the street rush in at the same time as the movement and the reality of the objects outside (Pezzini, 1912).
The Street Enters the House By Umberto Boccioni 1911 Handmade oil painting on canvas
In Persian miniature paintings, as the scene is often filled with vibrant colors and rich details, the facade and the outer volume of buildings were sometimes drawn in two dimensions. However, some other parts such as the balcony, entrance stairs, windows, etc. were drawn in three dimensions perspective. This sense of perspective allows us to feel an illusion of motion between the characters in these paintings. The importance of the balcony and the window is also visible in the studies of these miniatures. Some represent the story and the struggles between lovers or a scene of a battle between good and evil.
J.M. Rogers, The Arts of Islam. Masterpieces from the Khalili Collection, London 2010, cat.303, pp.264 and 266.
Mir Mossavvir: Zahhak discusses his dream with Arnavaz (Museum of Islamic Art, Doha, Ms 41)
c. The Referential Landscape
4. The Inspirational Board
Walls by: Gordon Matta_Clark 1972
A collage by: Terran Homes
Collision Study by: Bryan Cantley 2012
Collage
Archival Paper by: Marshall Brown 2019
on
Mirror Curtain, ‘Ineffaceable Illuminations’ series by: Shaun Murray, 2021
2020
Spectral Mosaïque No.13 by: Young & Ayata with James Casebere,
Arch Combinatoria - The Horizontal Forest by: Natalie Gall 2015
Articulated Landscapes, Masterplan by: Jorge Ayala, ay_a studio 2010
d. The Process
1. The Collages and Drawings
Source: Safarkhani, 2016
Balconies of Tehran, what we see from outside shows inside
What are we looking for in these cutouts? A new realm?
A new sphere in-between the brutal construction of the outside and the domesticity of the inside?
What does domesticity mean here?
Cut Outs
d. The Process
2. Co-Creation with an AI
A tryout of the collages with co-creating in an AI generative platform
d. The Process
3. Environmental Photogrammetry
A tryout of fragments captured by the author Representation of a balcony, window, thickness of a wall, and the spheres of in-between
A try-out of fragments from the urban facade in Tehran
Source: Persia Photography Center
Photogrammetry try-out of the urban facade in Tehran, by using the real fragments
What is happening in this true moment?
Pointcloud try-out of the model
What is happening in between this extension of the facade?
A speculative approach toward the hidden particles, and the wireframes which represent the inaccessible data.
A different try-out of fragments from the urban facade in Tehran
Source: Walking in Bagh-e Behesht Residential Complex
by Bahador Hadizadeh
Wireframes as inaccessible and neglected data
A section of the facade, a new representation of the hidden layers, what is behind the surface
What are the critical and prime layers that exist here?
Being precise and deciding the priority of the layers in the drawings
Seeking for the meanings, looking back to the beginning!
What is the meaning of brutality within this practice?
What is the meaning of domesticity? When is that moment that the two spheres collapsed and twisted within a hybrid space? A practice to find out the answers to these is to trace essential lines, and abandon the unnecessary ones.
Debris in creation of a cacophony
e. The Final Position
Ineffaceable domesticity What does domesticity mean to me? A vivid color, tangled in between the stretch of the interior or exterior!
A lac color of red within the patterns of the carpet. There is a shadow of me imprisoned amongst the patterns. Where the knots are untangled. When there is no carpet, there is no home!
What does domesticity mean to me?
A confrontation of what is outside and what is inside. The particles, wireframes, patterns, colors, etc all are integrated within the creation of the scene observed in the model
4 frames of camera movement, impetuous and fear
In sympathy with camera movement, impetuous and fear
Tangled within the extension of interior and exterior, where the domesticity disappears
Tangled within the extension of interior and exterior, where the domesticity appears
A shadow of suppressed one, between the tangled lines
A plan overview; Where there are no more boundaries between inside and outside, all are twisted, and domesticity vanishes between the lines
Fragments from the final position’s video
Fragments from the final position’s video
The Section: A sequence of hybrid spheres, creating the final narrative
The Section: A sequence of hybrid spheres, creating the final narrative:
The narrative begins with a solitary frame, recognizable within our memories, suspended in the air, although restrained of freedom.
As the story progresses, more spheres are retained by the first fragment. More hybrid forms are shaped, they seemed to be locked in a perpetual dance, as if in a tug-of-war between the opposing forces.
The spheres are in constant flux, shifting and evolving as they traverse the landscape. The environment they inhabit is one of both harmony and chaos, as they interact and clash with each other, forming new relationships and creating unique stories.
As the narrative continues its journey, it culminates in a single moment of clarity. What once was hidden, is now revealed. As the beauty of the spheres’ dance comes into full view.
