Ahmedabad University

 

Scrapyard, Ahmedabad

Scrapyard is a small artist run theatre space in Paldi Ahmedabad that hosts independent events. It has been originally initiated by theatre artist Kabir Thakore in the backyard of his own house under a neem tree. The Scrapyard defies any strict architectural principles, rather gathers peoples in its folding crevices and hovering balconies for any event. I went to the place to attend the event 'Songs of Resistance' on the eve of the 80th Independence day of India where several groups of poets, performers and singers were invited to recite and perform songs of resistance in the backdrop of the ongoing nation wide Gen Z and Gen Alpha protests happening all across the country in demand of fair infrastructure for education. 

The place saw a humungous turnout of around 150 people who gathered from different corners of the city and beyond (from Gandhinagar). The place was intimate, cozy and warm - and despite the eventual drizzle in the evening which grew into soft rain, performances and people continued to occupy the place under open umbrellas. The floor was all wet, but spirit was high. Amongst a lovely diverse audience of people young and old, cutting across genders, straight and queer, the Scrapyard became a mini vestibule holding small roars of resistance. 

I hope I am able to visit this space again in a little more daylight to see in more detail the serendipitous spaces that fold into its architecture. Meanwhile, the space already echoes resistance in defying taught  design regiment. 

Art Factory, Lagos

 

Tambak Bayan

 

Art and Artificial

This morning, while in the process of framing one of the course sessions on 'beauty' in Architectural Theory, I was struck by the terms 'art' and 'artificial'. In asking chatGPT "is art and artificial etymologically connected?", the following discussion appeared:

Art and artificial both are effectively derived from the Latin word ars (stem: art-), which meant skill / craft / technique / method / practical knowledge. The Latin ars itself is thought to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root ar-, meaning "to fit together," "to join," or "to arrange." This root also appears in words related to craftsmanship and construction. The English word art came through Old French (art) from Latin ars. Until around the eighteenth century, art referred broadly to any skilled human practice. On the other hand, Artificial comes from the Latin artificialis, meaning "made by art" or "made by skill." This is derived from artificium  which means craftsmanship, skill, workmanship and from artifex which meant craftsman or maker. So artificial originally meant something made through human skill, in contrast to something that occurs naturally.

Originally, calling something artificial was often complimentary. It meant well-crafted, skilfully made or ingenious. Over time, especially from the seventeenth century onward, "artificial" increasingly acquired meanings like synthetic, imitation, fake or not natural. Meanwhile, "art" moved in the opposite direction, becoming associated with creativity, originality, and aesthetic expression. 

Today we often oppose these words: art suggests authenticity, creativity, and expression and artificial suggests imitation, mechanism, or simulation. However, both originally referred to human making through skill. 

ChatGPT explains further:

This shared origin also sheds light on the phrase artificial intelligence. The adjective artificial does not originally imply "fake intelligence"; it literally means intelligence produced through human art (skill, technique, or craft). Whether that intelligence is genuinely comparable to human intelligence is a separate philosophical question, but the etymology reminds us that artificial first meant "crafted" rather than "counterfeit." 

This is one reason the boundaries between art, craft, technology, and technique were much more fluid in antiquity than they are today. The Latin ars and the Greek technē both referred to skilled making, whether one was composing a poem, building a temple, or practicing medicine. The modern separation of "art" from "technology" is a comparatively recent cultural development.

Birds of India / Ahmedabad