Structure of Image Display

image: Anuj Daga

Above are 4 ways in which we primarily arrange photographs.

A. Random > unorganized > memories > Wedding cards
B. Semi unorganized > unsure matter > related/unrelated > multiple content
C. Organized > Tiled > Structured > Institutionalized
D. Organized > Compositional > Highlight > Major / minor

The sets A to D are ways in which photographs are displayed or composed for different purposes. It appears that display of images has gone a certain kind of institutionalization by the various disciplines of visual communication. This institutionalization sometimes talks of class and taste. I made these 4 typologies only to make myself aware of the architectural bias that I have and that I enforce on photographic layouts. Often, our aesthetic judgements are codified through subconscious pedagogical tools and we end up evaluating everything through this constructed academic lens.

The schisms between academic training and existing ways in which people negotiate aesthetic for themselves gives makes me conscious of my own construct. the more and more this reveals to me, the more I try to neutralize myself. But this neutralization is questionable and I worry if this shall lead to some kind of a-cultural manifest.

However, the idea groups formed above meanwhile are interesting, since they allow me to read how intangible ideas manifest into image composition (which further translate into tangible realities). It gives a framework for evaluation of displays and how ideas may get miscommunicated if they cross boundaries. On the other hand, one can use this framework consciously to create newer meanings.

The Pritzker 2012

Wang Shu, the Chinese architect is the latest Pritzker laureate. Last year the Pritzker went to SANAA. It was the year when the committee was also considering Charles Correa and B V Doshi. The Prtizker committee was here to review their work. To look at a history of events, the economic slump also struck about two years ago. We all must agree that Asia did emerge as a stable economy as compared to other developed western counterparts.

The clear focus of the entire world on Asian countries in the recent times is very visible. But to talk of India, it began perhaps in the '90s. India was introduced to the world through the indroduction of the liberal policies. One could perceive it as a land of infinite people, lakhs of consumers. The chain of recognitions is interesting: In 1994, Aishwarya Rai wins the Miss World Pageant, and in the same year, Sushmita Sen wins the Miss Universe Title. In subsequent years, Diana Hayden, Yukta Mookhey, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta - all of them win. India suddenly becomes popular. In the midst, there was also a Chinese Miss World. They market all beauty products through which the West re-enters India. Of late, A R Rahman wins Grammy and Oscar. Not to demean any of the talents or capabilities that south eastern Asian region has. But all such validation distantly seems capitalistic.

If such focus brings in opportunity, why not! On a critical reflection, one also feels that it is difficult to change India in totality. Rather, our cultures drive others to change a lot more. The huge mass of people that we have definitely works towards our benefit.

But what does it mean for us to accept an award from a country of the West; what does it mean to accept validation of a developing country from a developed country? What kind of hegemony are we being subjected to? All are questions that we ought to detail out. We always wait for such recognition from greatly progressed countries (Oscars, Pritzkers, RIBA Gold Medals, Grammys, Olympics etc). Countries which have essentially plundered a lot of natural resource from our own lands and thrive on it today. That is not to accuse them, but to make us aware and conscious of our own potential.

But these are such random questions and thoughts. I am sure there is some larger mechanism that is driving the attention to Asian subcontinent. I wonder if we must be scared or happy...

Problematising Academy of Architecture

I am writing this post through an understanding of Prasad Shetty's paper (the title of which I forget) on the mishandling of the city of Mumbai. Shetty argues (hints?) that the existence of multiple agencies, each which have their own interests and procedures of working in the city layer themselves upon each other, entangling them into a messy condition. Further, the non communication or the mis-communication between these agencies worsens the ways in which gaps are enlarged between the desired and the delivered product. Also, aspirations of different agencies are different and driven through a variety of forces, which are ultimately controlled or subjected through an altogether separate governing body which comprehends, schedules, funds and disseminates them, creating larger distortion.

Wondering of the condition of Academy of Architecture, I began thinking of it as sets of people (which could be analogical to the agencies above). Talking of condition, the question is why doesn't Academy function as it should or why is it not able to produce the kind of output it can / is capable of. One can locate / try to locate the problem at two levels - the scale of the institution as a set of functioning teams an the other at the level of the individual within these teams (if we may begin to call them so - teams of individuals - or sets of individuals). 

To begin with finding issues with the teams, one sees that the academy does not really have a vision - a vision for its students, for its intellectual future. This leads to different sets of people forming their own micro visions which may not necessarily be converging, although which may overlap. I would specifically like to point out a few distinct sets that exist meanwhile:

• the management (the funding team/team who has financial control/the fuel of the institute),
• the permanent faculty team (the intellectual team/team which drives the institute/the engines of the institute), 
• the visiting faculty team (the wheels of the institute), 
• the non teaching administrative staff (the lubricants of the system), and finally 
• the students (of course the consumers of the institute). 

One can talk about all these sets in great detail, only to come to a solution that all these sets have different imaginations that lead into different directions. To talk about the complexity of the project of the Academy, one could brief it as thus (the description below is fuzzy, but it shall take a long thesis to give descriptive details of each set):

The students come with an extremely glorified image of the institute - an image which to a large extent may remain true, but muddled when one sees the Academy having complexities of space, infrastructure, people, etc. However, as students get consumed in the course, they realize the problems with the course itself. Through their own limited imagination(s), they try to problematize the academic trauma, which always ends up in pointing out the resource crisis. The visiting teaching staff have their own agendas and come from different schools of thought. Old, new, young, open, conservative, philosophical, professional, academic, theoretical, technical - all kinds of teachers do all kinds of things trying to reach at a common goal, which seldom is achieved. Within their subjects they have their own visions and aspirations. Some crave for newness, others to maintain minimum required standards. What else shall one expect of mass education?

The permanent staff comprises of a range of people whose objectives are misplaced. Some look at the institution  as a place of work, some as a place to spend time in, others look at it as a place to educate, teach and learn. The least common denominator for such cross overs is to abide by the University syllabus. On the extreme end, the heads envision a large academic change, where they are unable to locate Academy in the larger picture, and further unable to locate a position for the student in the academic sphere. Meanwhile they struggle between revising curriculums, revising faculty attitudes, student attitudes, course structures and all possible things related to architecture education. 

Lastly, the non teaching staff have their own dynamic politics with the management, faculty and students. The largeness institution that increases the presence of this set in number, makes it a powerful body which creates micro-politics of information-dissemination between students, faculty and perhaps management. Taking advantage of the lack of resources, scrutiny and loose system, they manipulate things in their own ways. The management is the supreme - which decides the fate of every thing that exists on the premises. It's agenda is to make Academy a mega institution which sets the cycle of making money and introducing new courses. the management, as it appears, consists of capitalistic, short sighted individuals who have not been able to formulate a vision beyond the banyan tree. 

These different imaginations produce a lot of friction when various sets interact inevitably with each other. Where does an academic locate oneself in such a web - one questions. Further, what possible future shall we imagine of this institution? What future does one foresee of oneself with this institution - an institution which shall take perhaps 50 more years to find the right people and system to resolve its web of complexities? Rohan Shivkumar always says that every Institution goes through this phase of deterioration, giving the example of JJ College of Architecture, which today almost rots in the ideologies of archaic individuals; the physical space also speaks of it - the large BMC garbage can that welcomes you to an old grey building...


Academy meanwhile plans to just facelift itself. It's high time it gave itself booster injections and some internal nourishment so that it grows. Or else, I just proposed to one of my colleagues: the Banyan must be stripped of its leaves - it needs new ones.

Spatial Structure of Poetry

(above image from the blogpost  "A story in waiting" on dagagiri dated Nov. 29, 2008)

The trickling water
From the air conditioner pipe
A sparrow gulps down.

(an attempt at Haiku, Anuj Daga)

***

Poetry essentially consists of fractured statements. The empty space between the word-constructions allow for new grammars to configure. It is the suspended grammar that perhaps makes space for new.imagination to take place. The emptiness sometimes brings two stranger words / ideas close together allowing us to.see different dimensions of existing worlds.

If consecutive words of a dictionary were to be read as a sentence, they would give us a great way to look at the landscape of words and meanings. Since if we consider that the dictionary is the modernist way of word family structures, consecutive words in a dictionary are neighbours belonging to a same family - in terms of physical characteristics, the alphabets (genes) they are constructed out of; the pronunciations of syllables (body parts), etc. However, their ages may be different with regard to their etymologies and they may have different meanings, functions and behaviours.

Such a landscape of words may become an extremely interesting investigation. Poetry is thus a landscape of words, creating new meanings and relies on the readers' potential to be able to make sense if such landscape for the interpretation of the real existing world. If architecture was poetry, it could possibly be very postmodern...bringing together different ideas and symbols together. But then there is rhythm, rhyme and spatial experience too at play. This would mean finding meaning into the empty spaces, pauses or fractures between words of a poetry.

Charles Correa Gold Medal 2012

The Charles Correa Gold Medal 2012 was not awarded to any one.

I had a similar strange feeling yesterday as I took a round after all students pinned up their work. (Being the organizer of the event, one gets to see stuff before any one else, even jury gets to have a look!). As Prof. Punde inspected the room over the evening asking for a good panel to look at, I exclaimed "None!" - Adding further, "One year, they must just not give the gold medal to any one..." To my surprise, I actually found my evaluation was correct! Not only that, my instincts of notable panels was also right - they same 3 panels I thought (exactly those) were cited! Wonder what this meant!

One can clearly point out where things go wrong for gold medal.

1. The fad to compose larger and large (bed)sheets, which students are incapable to compose efficiently, ends up making them hoardings rather than architectural sheets

2. Overly rendered drawings, too many colours, background, flashy views are an eye sore.

3. Panels filled with overflowing essays of analysis. Writeups that flow in every blank inch of space.

4. Pictures like wedding albums, sprinkled all over the analysis panels or design sheets.

5. Unclear drawings, obnoxiously large, pixelated, unoriented, mixing into each other.

6. Non-contextual, irrationally large urban design projects thinking of them to be urban inserts. (a flaw on the part of universities which expect large thesis projects so that students are able to display their skills in all aspects of architecture)

7. Misplaced aesthetic sensibilities - in design, layout (of sheets) and presentation.

And one could probably go on.

The 3 citations, two from KRVIA and another from Bharati Vidyapeeth seemed interesting. I remember pointing out to Punde Sir about Marsha's thesis (KRV: Resonant Memories) that although the panel is poetic, I had serious questions about the program (which was the typical library, exhibition, etc.) - and the jury did pointed that along with circulation issues. I also felt the project layout did not fit in the countour layout well. The jury did appreciate the water colour drawings, that forced me to bring Punde Sir to have a look at it. (Ok, I must clarify I wasn't with the jury, and it was a closed room affair!). The Modern Temple (Dipti, BVP) was well articulated and I knew it was challenging, but it ended up in the shikhara! One would try to look at what Frank Llyod Wright did to Unity temple, which was the first 'modern' church as compared to the classical imagery of the church, in analysing what is a 'modern' form. I did not particularly keenly see the third entry (Nupoor, KRV). It seemed interesting in the way it was composed.

Out of the 21 entries that were received, none of them, the jury felt, lived up to the brief offered to them. They decided to award none on the grounds that, "it would be unfair to the earlier winners who had put in much more hard work" and because they "need to maintain the standards of the Charles Correa Gold Medal" (Kamu Iyer).

Prof. Hazra pointed out very sensitively that "it seemed that many projects were almost there, had there been a little more guidance, would there be really interesting projects". He also candidly expressed that one involuntarily gets into a mode of comparison with the projects that have earlier received the Gold Medal, which seemed much promising. The entries this time only lacked visual communication skills, presentation of analysis and lack of design resolution.

Charles Correa concluded saying that "You all look very disappointed, but that does not mean that you did not put in hard work. All of you have put in a lot of effort, but don't be disappointed since it's a part of life. There will be so many times when clients will not like your design and you will have to start all over again...you all must try and put in your design intent more clearly..."

Students huddled him up as he left the premises - they discussed issues, ideas and what went wrong. After all, Charles Correa still remains a figure in Indian architecture to catch a memorable glimpse of. I re-lived my three year old excitement seeing the students' pin drop silence in the auditorium. This decision only makes the Gold Medal more coveted and desirable, raising the already tall stature of Charles Correa.

Dil Chahta Hai

Bhankas on Nashik tour to Gauri's wedding with friends:

Dhaval ordered a paper dosa and it turned out to be exceptionally large. 

Atit: Didnt u mention the paper size? 

Richa: I can't eat the wada pav
Anuj: Why? 
Richa: Getting very heavy...
Anuj: Who? You? 

Constantly missing deadlines for Gauri's wedding function, alok had an idea (remembering college days' Gauri saying "lecture chalu hua toh missed call de") 

Alok: Lets ask Gauri to give us a missed call when she's to do the next event. 

Looking at a small aquarium at Nashik city centre overcrowded with fishes, I wondered if one could give them extra space to float.

Dhaval exclaimed, "it's SRA scheme"

In the sanctity of the Manas Hotel's cafe on the way to Nashik, we called for the waiter and said:
Dhaval: 6 teas
Waiter: ok
Dhaval: wait, do you have hot chocolate?
Waiter: yes
Dhaval: ok, them make it 5 teas and 1 hot chocolate
Waiter: ok
Anuj: wait, even I want to try it. Make it 4 teas and 2 hot chocolates
Waiter:  ok sir (starts going)
Manali: Even I dont mind it. Waiter, waiter (calling out). Make it 3 teas and 3 hot chocolates
We look at Richa, Ritu and Alok - ????
Ritu: No I want tea!
Waiter: (flustered) ok
All of us then remebered with the confused taste of chocolate milk aka exaggerated bournvita:
Anuj: Mujhe mera bachpan yaad aa gaya. Mummy aise hi bournvita deti thi.
Dhaval: abhi jaldi khatam kar
Anuj: Mummy bhi aise hi bolti thi
Manali: Mujhse khatam nahi hoga itna saara...
Anuj: Mai bhi aise hi bolta tha!


While getting to Gauri's wedding reception, it was election time and hence declared 'dry day' the next day in Nashik. We were very excited to try out wines at Sula vineyard in  Nashik. It would be open only till 8 30, with wine tasting only for that day. We debate to attend Sula or Gauri's funtion, since we are neck to neck with time. In the car:
Dhaval: Ok people fast, vote - sula or Gauri?
Manali: Sula
Anuj: I dont drink anyway, so Gauri
Richa: Gauri
Dhaval: Lets go to sula, what you say Ritu?
Ritu: well, we could go to Sula...
Alok: mujhe jana hai sula!! but let's got to gauri's wedding
Dhaval: oops! 3-all!
Anuj: Let's call up Gauri (the wedding girl) and ask : Gauri, Sula or wedding?
(burst of laughter)
We eventually pass off Sula to attend Gauri's function...