In-Between Space

A queer perception is to apprehend space differently, as in “The Art of Détournement” which Guy Debord, a key Situationist of the 1950’s, uses as a term to “reroute, hijack, or deflect” within the arts and the making of political propaganda.3 “It is thus necessary to envisage a parodic-serious stage where the accumulation of détourned elements will express our indifference toward a meaningless and forgotten original, and concern itself with rendering a certain sublimity.” The difficult task for the reader is to unburden yourself of previous misconceptions that queerness’ abject history has led you to and embrace a new way of reading space. Queer space is a perception, a sense, a feeling that can only be experienced by those who understand what it means to occupy the margins of normative space—in a constant state of both disclosure and concealment. A certain ambiguity should be included in the construction of these spaces to allow for this variation of perceptions.

Figure 2.2 View of the porch in the Querini Stampalia restored by Carlo Scarpa in 1963. Image by Foundazione Querini Stampalia.

Existing publications on queer space examine the assumed areas of interest including spatial metaphors such as the closet (inextricably

3 Guy Debord, "The Society of the Spectacle," (Detroit, Michigan: Black & Red, 1967), 180-211. linked to gay identity) and the water closet (with transsexual identity). In this essay, I will ally queer studies with more general spatial practices and ideas of inflection in architecture, as per Robert Venturi’s seminal text, Complexity and Contradiction. However, even inflection is unable to be an objective element within an architecture, as it becomes visible in the photographic collaging of space in the work of photographers David Hilliard and David Hockney. Interpretive perception is inherently multidisciplinary, calling forth inspirational aid from not only architects, but from the arts and humanities. It is due to the lack of explicitly queer tactics within the architecture profession, that other disciplines are more aptly justifiable to express this new form of architectural reading.

To distill and redefine the existence of queer space, one must first understand what it means to exist within the margins of society in the realm known as the In-Between. Elizabeth Grosz, an Australian philosopher and feminist theorist, writes about the in-between space, stating that it “lacks fundamental identity, form, givenness, and nature, yet facilitates and allows into being, all identities and substance.”4 The in-between is not a literal space, although it can exist in that way through the form of a threshold between two dissimilar spaces—such as a corridor. Grosz instead describes a space that people may find themselves in when they are not able to neatly fit within the confines of a heteronormative binary. An example of this are non-conforming gender identities—those who do not ascribe to the predefined male or female. The instant people veer off the path of the acceptable norm; they are projected into this in-between space.

Although it seems separate, the in-between is quite fluid, and the occupation of this space is equally so. Identity is not a fixed construct and can eb and flow based on a variety of outside forces, propelling you outside of existing binaries and into less-definable spaces and vice-versa. Unity is dismissed in light of social, cultural, and natural transformations in the space around identity, between identity—where openness and futurity can be achieved.5 As one breaks down and reconstructs identity, they move from an ambiguous state into a

4 Elizabeth Grosz, "Architecture from the Outside," (Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001), 91. 5 Elizabeth Grosz, "Architecture from the Outside," 91

Gender essentialism

Binary view of gender

Gender Identification Gender Stereotype

Prejudice against non-binary people

more definable space of being. A wide variety of gender identities are available to those previously unresolved. They have thus formed their own associated groups around identity; placement is more suited to a spectrum or range, rather than previously restrictive binary models of being. This formation of shared identity is the purpose of the inbetween: it is the area where the undefined becomes defined, and where differences are embraced.

Before one creates an identity in opposition to normativity, it must first be found within a space of supposed uncertainty. The common place misconception about queer people is that they exist in a state of uncertainty until they do not (until they come out of the closet). While you would be right about this to some extent, queer people are subject to a perpetual state of uncertainty, in a constant state of disclosure and concealment, since gay identity is neither hidden or displayed.6 With a growing acceptance of homosexuality in Western culture, it is less clear if the space of uncertainty will remain a prerequisite to the space of being or the space of identity creation. An unlikely scenario could be the emancipation of uncertainty all together, and a welcoming of fluid identity transformations and a shared comfort in existing outside of a heteronormative binary.

Existing in a space of uncertainty includes far more than one's sexual preference or gender identity, encompassing ideas of race, ethnicity, politics, etc. Although this research remains anchored in queer and gender theory, it can be applied more broadly and then narrowed into a

Figure 2.3 Indirect effect of gender identification on prejudice against nonbinary people. Diagram adapted from Defending the Sex/Gender Binary: The Role of Gender Identification and Need for Closure. Image by Morgenroth, Thekla, Sendén, M. Gustafsson and Lindqvist, A. Sage Journals. 2020.

6 Henry Urbach, “Closets, Clothes, & disClosure,” in assemblage no. 30, (Cambridge: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1996), 63. specific preferential topic area such as the ones mentioned above. It is interesting—and I would argue productive—to consider how spaces of uncertainty, whether they are relegated to queerness or not, are created, and by whom. Societal binary structures are the product of authoritative figures and assigned to those deemed subservient or incapable of establishing rule. Even within a democratic system of governance, binary rule remains a constant standard of being within Western societies.7 In this sense, in-between space exist in a constant state of normative definition cast down by the authoritative power. The space where the strict rule of binaries defines one's state of being can be referred to as normative space.

In Western society, normativity is a homogeneous standard of being, especially behavioral. It is increasingly being put into question by groups whose differences are structurally unspoken for. The greatest example of this is the well-established norm of male over female dominance, whose dualism also reduces those existing in the inbetween to “other.”

In this definition, man is used to define what is, while woman is recognized only as a term to define what is not.8 In this case perception is constructed around a male dominant sphere whose overtly expressive masculinity informs the existence of women and, less obviously, the “other.” In a very primal manner, men are accustomed to creating binary oppositions to which society ascribes to in accordance with a gendered and ethnocentric power dynamic.

The 1970’s to the 1990’s saw an increase in resistance to this restrictive normative model through feminist critique pioneered by architects, artists and historians like Jennifer Bloomer, Liz Diller, Barbara Kruger, Karen Burns, Lori Brown and others.9 In challenging convention, feminism driven by interdisciplinary practice extended critical theories—or forms of knowledge which are reflective and speculative rather than objective in the design process—to their work

7 Thekla Morgenroth, “Defending the Sex/Gender Binary: The Role of Gender Identification and Need for Closure,” in Social Psychological and Personal Science, 2020, 735. 8 Elizabeth Grosz, "Architecture from the Outside," 94 9 Jane Rendell, “Only resist: a feminist to critical spatial practice,” in The Architectural Review, 2018.

as a way to discover new ways of thinking about space.10 Self-reflectivity and criticality in design aim to transform the existing rather than simply describe the often unnoticed discontinuity around equity between architecture and other disciplines. Jane Rendell describes how feminist modes of critical spatial practice are predominantly informed by specific modes of operation listed as: collectivity, subjectivity, alterity, performativity and materiality—each of which equally pertain to the overall narrative of constructing a queer spatial perception.

The strides made in feminist spatial studies are in effect attempting to disassociate from the binary oppositions of gendered space and mobilize Derridean deconstruction philosophy in architecture to allow for more accepting spaces. Such a philosophical approach contributed to, by French philosopher Jacques Derrida, works to understand the multitude of presuppositions and prejudices in Western culture and

question fundamental conceptual distinctions, or oppositions through language and logic.11 He argues that the whole philosophical tradition rests on arbitrary dichotomous categories. The other, as categorized in normative space, therefore has no obligation to maintain any sort of hierarchical relationship with its presupposed counterpart or oppressor.

10 Jane Rendell, “Only resist: a feminist to critical spatial practice” 11 Leonard Lawlor, “Jacques Derrida,” in The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, (New York: Metaphysical Research Lab, Stanford University, 2021). Figure 2.4 Idleness Labouritory is a performance-based research initiative founded by Julieanna Preston and Mick Douglas. 2015. Image by Julieanna Preston. Much like the closet in queer studies, the interior and the domestic has been the most thoroughly explored spaces subordinate to the public sphere within feminist critique. One such example is the work of Julieanna Preston, whose work as an architect-artist engages with the interior through sculptural work. Feminist modes of critical spatial practice as explained by Rendell are instrumental to the foundation and development of constructing queer space. Although architecture is already influenced by the psychoanalysis of how people occupy space, feminists in design work to uncover the degree to which understandings of subjectivity informs the position such an analysis is constructed in.

The “other” as defined in normative space, is burdened with a history of abjection. A trend with queerness is that its meaning is subject to multiple interpretations. However, being synonymous to spaces of being and fluid exploration, queer space is a subjective interpretation in itself. Not only does its meaning fluctuate dramatically depending on who is granted authorship of the word, but its history reveals a deeply layered and conflicted past.

Being different in any regard has historically been met with contention and often rejection, making it difficult to exist in a society that favors homogeneity. Normative spaces have long been the site of violence and erasure towards communities that exist outside of the norm, leaving them in a state of oppression. To overcome these hardships, queer space was created as an act of liberation to live freely and push the boundaries of what is considered acceptable. These spaces took the form of nightlife architecture—be it nightclubs or cruising bars. Although, as much as these places provided room for marginalized communities, they were still fraught with their own anti-Black, and anti-trans politics during much of the 1960’s to 1990’s.12 As spaces disregarded by normative society, the narratives behind them have gone unpreserved and lost to time; thus leading to “their architects, communities, contexts, and contributions to the built environment to be withdrawn from histories of architecture.”13 Literal queer space is therefore less capable of being defined beyond spaces reappropriated for queer occupation.

12 Evan Pavka, “What Do We Mean By Queer Space?” 13 Evan Pavka, “What Do We Mean By Queer Space?”

Spatial Metaphor

In addition to the literal, queerness must concern itself with the metaphorical in order to be understood and translated as a series of spatial tactics. As mentioned earlier, “coming out of the closet” is the transition from a space of uncertainty into a space of being. The association of the closet with gay identity is no coincidence, as its practical use aligns with many aspects of queerness. The closet occupies the curiously defined area of a room in which it is neither separate, nor connected, creating a moment of interior exclusion. Such a space is used to conceal clothes, clutter, and other items unfit to be seen in the room it is adjacent to since a closet offers no function on its own. Similar to gay identity, the closet conceals what is deemed to be messy, but it can never hide and it rarely displays itself. As described by Henry Urbach, the closet is able to fold and unfold overtime, constantly revealing and concealing itself. A closet, whose use lies in its ability to be visible and invisible simultaneously, is similar to queerness which is expressed or repressed depending on the situation. Urbach states that:

“The sustenance of gay identity (where straight identity is presumed) depends on continuous acts of deceleration… the closet helps heterosexuality to present itself with authority. Holding things at the edge of the room, at once concealing and revealing its interior the closet becomes a carrier of abjection… thus homosexual identity becomes linked to promiscuity and degeneracy while heterosexuality identifies with procreation, fidelity, and true love.”14

Unlike literal queer space whose volatile nature as per normative standards is defined based on its predisposition of queer occupation, metaphorical queer space is created based on association for the purpose of censorship of queer identity. These two definitions of queer space restricted how one operates within society, creating social tension and in many cases dangerous situations for queer people. As stated earlier, queerness is a perception and lends itself to both positive and, in this case, negative interpretations. Overtime, even metaphors can be repositioned with a more positive connotation.

Redefining queer metaphors has the potential to add richness to

14 Henry Urbach, “Closets, Clothes, & disClosure,” 65 Figure 2.5 “The AnteCloset,” Queer(ing) Space: Potentials of the In-Between. Mackenzie Victoria Mclean.

2021. Inspired by Henry Urbach’s text, ‘Closets, Clothes, Disclosure,’ defining the space before the closet; a space for changing - an effect of reappropriations and resignifications without end. previously abject spaces of concealment into spaces of emancipation. One can reinterpret these spaces after critically analyzing the derogatory meaning embedded in them and allowing those meanings to evolve. One such example is the ante-closet, or the space just before the closet, often denoted in plan by a dashed-line representing a door swing, as the space of changing.15 The space literally changes as you open and close the closet, but it also offers a moment of transition between the clothes we wear to express our identities. “It is the moment where self and other become entangled in a state of making and unmaking of identity and space.”16 The ante-closet asserts itself against the violence of fixed identities by allowing spaces to be in a constant state of transition—folding, unfolding, and folding again.

In addition to metaphorical and literal spaces of abjection, gay people have learned to re-articulate homophobic rhetoric discarding it of its once offensive meaning. This re-articulation can be perceived as a third way of apprehending queer space, although it requires a specific criticality. This third method is détournement, which translated from French means deflection, distortion, or hijacking.17 Détournement in the case of the ante-closet transforms the space between the closet and the room, as an opportunity for intervention and layered meaning. The source of complexity within such an intervention lies in the quality of inflected elements whose meaning composes what Robert Venturi called “The Difficult Whole.”

15 Henry Urbach, “Closets, Clothes, & disClosure,” 72 16 Henry Urbach, “Closets, Clothes, & disClosure,” 71 17 Guy Debord and Gil Wolman. "A User’s Guide to Détournement," in the Bureau of Public Secrets, 1956.

The Perceptual Whole

The difficult whole challenges the extent to which someone can interpret a space based on the degree of inflection between compositional elements. Venturi defines inflection as a directional element which distinguishes diverse parts while implying continuity.18 These parts can exist as fragments—or wholes in themselves— although when conversed with one another, begin to inform a perceptual whole. Importantly, inflection can happen between different scales adding to the complexity they provide to the whole. The reason Venturi’s notion of inflection in architecture is pertinent to defining what makes a queer space perceptible is the nature in which one perceives inflected parts.

Venturi writes about the difficult whole with the intent to observe and define specific elements of architecture that compose objective spatial qualities; the complexity his definition presents, offers multiple subjective interpretations. One such interpretation can be observed at Casa Barragán in Mexico City through Aaron Betsky, whose own experiences lead him to read the space design by Luis Barragán as presenting a “profound queerness” despite its lack of queer occupation

Figure 2.6 View of the workshop in Casa Barragán. The wood ceiling slates upwards towards the eastern facing window which illuminates the space in a white light. The view frames the neighboring treetops rather than the street scape at eye-level.

Figure 2.7 View of the vestibule. The double height space is accentuated by a pink wall to the right and a long horizontal window which creates a visual connection with the terraza.

18 Robert Venturi, “The Difficult Whole,” in Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture, (New York: The Museum of Modern Art, 1966), 88. or intent to be perceived as so.19 Betsky interpreted spatial elements that Venturi would simply call inflection, as moments of sensuality through the interplay of light and shadow and color and depth. In addition, Betsky is correct in referring to Casa Barragán as a difficult whole, considering its lack of a dominant grid or axis tying it together (what Venturi would refer to as the dominant binder), and focus on interior moments rather than grand gestures or exterior treatments. What the building lacks in outward appearance, monumentality, and interest within plan, it makes up for when analyzed at the scale of its individual parts—room by room—which act as anchors within Betsky’s experience of the space.

We ourselves are complex individuals, sensuous and confused, yet real and share our experiences in a world that is equally difficult.20 We use architecture as a mechanism to construct our identities. Betsky’s reading of Casa Barragán was subject to his own experience, of which alludes to Barragán’s use of inflection as queer, but could also suggest a level of provocation to Barragán’s design intent. Space can be understood as a dialogue between emotion engendered by experience and a reflective practice around both.21 Spatial meaning is realized when one is conscious of the space they are in; it is informed by our experiences as individuals, each with a unique spatial history. The objective of composing queer space is to challenge one’s consciousness when confronted with a familiar or unfamiliar space. The degree of unfamiliarity one senses is an opportunity to reorient or readjust their understanding of space, and in effect, blur the boundaries that exist in normative space in order to contribute to a more fluid and inclusive occupation of the in-between.

Unfolding Space in Photography

Blurring or reconstituting these boundaries has been tested through photographing and collaging spaces by photographer David Hillard and artist David Hockney. Hillard in particular allows his work to be more easily perceived as queer due to the provocative nature of his

19 Aaron Betsky, “No architect today is capable of buildings like Luis Barragán’s,” in dezeen, 2018. 20 Aaron Betsky, “No architect today is capable of buildings like Luis Barragán’s” 21 Leon van Schaik, "Spatial Intelligence: New Futures for Architecture," in Assemblage, no. 15. (New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2008), 41.