Project 1: Ephemeral, Site and Social Space
they will sit
Urban design in public spaces are meant to dictate where and what we enjoy outside. The city builds sidewalks, puts up barriers, clears land, and places benches to tell us where we are meant to go and dictate who can and can't participate in these things. Influenced by the design of hostile architecture, I have used sticks as an obstruction to sitting on the bench. The sticks act as a deterrent: do not sit here. Though they are temporary, someone could simply push them to the side and sit anyway- just like this person did as I was walking away from the site. The temporary existence of the sticks as a barrier is a nod to the way people will find a way around obstructions, a way around the design. Would this person still come to sit in this spot if there was not a bench here that tells them to sit?
they will sit considers the pattern of social behaviors from using public structures and designs. My intention with this project is to find the societal patterns in public spaces through an ephemeral work.
I love the subject of this piece. I would love to know where this is? The bench, surrounded by all the greenery, truly makes it stand out! The concept of using sticks as the boundary is interesting. I wonder how other items, such as rocks or ice, might deter people from sitting on the bench.
ReplyDeleteYou chose a really beautiful subject, it's really an interesting spot for a bench but it being at that location really has value, like how you wonder if a person would still sit there if the bench wasn't there. The photographs are really nice, I enjoy the greens.
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