Spatial Metaphor

photography. Focusing on the deeply personal, the familiar and the mundane, Hilliard strikes a balance between autobiographical narrative with a touch of fictional romance. His construction of panoramic photographs—be it triptych or diptychs—composed of various single images, acts as a visual language. Focal planes shift, panel by panel, directing the eye of the viewer in a way that could not be achieved through a single image.22 Hilliard captures moments in space and slightly alters the viewer’s perception through methods of inflection that distort the space without modifying it. In addition, Hilliard is able to capitalize on the subjects of his photographs, often portrayed in a state of vulnerability or contemplation, to act as a source of directional inflection onto spatial elements. The benefit of the subject is to show a particular way of occupying the space being portrayed. The subject operates similarly in queer space when they identify as queer themselves. When the subject is removed, the degree to which one can interpret a space increases.

Figure 2.8 Andreu. 1997.

Image by David Hilliard. http://www.davidhilliard. com/1993–2000.html

This is seen exceptionally well in the composite photographs of David Hockney, who by using a cubist method to reconstruct photographs is able to shift vantage points offering new ways to perceive space. “Hockney depicted reality in a new sharpened way, heightening our perception of the surrounding world.”23 He takes photos sequentially and pastes them together calling them ‘joiners.’ Instead of simply

22 David Hilliard, “about" 23 Magda Michalska, “David Hockney and The Camera: A Composite Polaroid Reality," in Daily Art Magazine, 2018. Figure 2.9 Sunday Morning, Mayflower Hotel, New York, November 28, 1982. Photographic Collage made by David Hockney. https://www.hockney.com/ index.php/works/photos/ photographic-collages documenting the spaces he photographed, Hockney depicts depth in an attempt to overcome the limits of eye-vision. By showing multiple perspectives of the same focal point that are proportionally equal, Hockney allows the viewer to play a more active role in where they identify moments of intrigue within the collages. Both Hilliard and Hockney’s work provide insight into potentially new methods of constructing and perceiving space.

Détournement as Queer Inflection

When considering new ways of perceiving space, Henry Urbach’s attachment of the prefix “ante-” to the word closet comes to mind. Ante, being short for anterior, meaning in front of, adds a new layer of meaning to a space long removed as a subject in discourse. Is there a way to apply Urbach’s articulation of the ante-closet as a type of re-appropriation and re-signification to other spaces, despite not being binded to a narrative such as queer identity? Perhaps anything can be given new or additional meaning, growing richer through a layering of information, justified as an act of détournement. As stated earlier, détournement is an act of deflecting, distorting, or hijacking an object, phrase, or space. It was historically used as a tactic for political propaganda developed in the 1950s in the art world and adopted by the Situationists thereafter.24 In “A User’s Guide to Détournement,” Guy Debord and Gil Wolman define two categories of détourned elements:

24 Ian Buchanan, “Détournement,” in A Dictionary of Critical Theory, (Oxford Reference, Oxford University Press, 2010).

minor and deceptive détournements. Minor détournements are defined as “the détournement of an element which has no importance in itself and which thus draws all its meaning from the new context in which it has been placed.”25 Similar to inflected elements, minor détourned elements relate to something outside themselves. However, in addition to possessing inflection, détournement redefines what is existing, instead of simply informing, directing, or connecting to existing elements. Having inflection and détournement in concert with each other is the primary condition that needs to be met in order to begin constructing queer space.

Figure 2.10 The theatre company Punch Drunk unveils their new immersive show, “The Burnt City”. 2021. Image by Julian Abrams. https://www.punchdrunk. com

Second is deceptive détournements, defined as “the détournement of an intrinsically significant element, which derives a different scope from the new context.”26 This category of détournement can be used to describe Scarpa’s adaptive intervention at the Querini Stampalia in Italy. Scarpa created his own method of renovating the building through layering new meaning onto the existing structure with elements that could be read as wholes in themselves while still maintaining cohesion between each component. Debord and Wolman express that “the

25 Guy Debord and Gil Wolman, "A User’s Guide to Détournement" 26 Guy Debord and Gil Wolman, "A User’s Guide to Détournement" mutual interference of two worlds of feeling, or the juxtaposition of two independent expressions, supersedes the original elements and produces a synthetic organization of greater efficacy,” in an attempt to motivate the combination of fragmentation which then alter the meaning of those fragments in an appropriate way.27 Deconstructive methods such as détournement are often observed in contemporary expression as unconscious decisions. What Debord and Wolman examine in their writing is not of their own invention, but interpreted through a situationist lens and translated into a systematized definition with categories and laws to be used in the re-articulation of future interventions.

Conclusion

Queer space, in theory, cannot be a simple construct as it is burdened by a history steeped in violent connotations that must be spoken for and elaborated on. The take away from this essay is that spatial perception can be used as an informant to constructing literal spaces. In the case for queer space, their are a multitude of interpretations, allowing the potential for a richer meaning derived through the consideration of each one. These meanings range from stigmatized, metaphorical, and literal interpretations—all of which present the possibility of a new way to apprehending queer space called détournement. While not a new concept in itself, the theory of détournement is literally the act of re-appropriating something for the sake of creating additional meaning. Queerness can be used as the perceptual framework for re-appropriating normative space in the same way Urbach redefined the closet as the ante-closet. The strength of creating interpretive space is that it does not have a clearly definable programmatic quality, lending itself to multiple uses. Immersive theatre is an example of how multiple interpretations can be perceived from a singular space. In this sense, queerness is the sum of all the sensations and emotions that are engendered from

the composition of architectural elements. Next in my research I plan to explore the urban conditions in which interpretive spaces are most suited within the city of Boston, MA. I would also like to further explore how immersive theatre can be used as a program to reshape existing spaces.

27 Guy Debord and Gil Wolman, "A User’s Guide to Détournement"