studies in History and Theory of Architecture, no. 11 (2023), 2023
Ruin porn proves, as the contemporary successor of Ruinenlust, that humans still share Georg Simm... more Ruin porn proves, as the contemporary successor of Ruinenlust, that humans still share Georg Simmel’s fascination for ruins. However, modern ruin-enthusiasts of the Mediocene consume them through visual media, because “real ruins” are either musealized or too dirty to be accessed. They seem – unless staged by contemporary media – on the verge of losing their meaning. Similar to Bram Stocker’s Dracula, who lived in a Transylvanian “vast ruined castle” before transferring to Whitby Abbey, ruins seem like empty shells, gradually robbed by humans and metaphorically “eroded by time.” However, they “host” a multitude of life forms. Analogously to the simultaneously dead and alive Dracula, ruins are trapped in traditional dichotomies of nature-culture or absence-presence. Nonetheless, the doorless ruin takes dichotomies off their hinges by annulling the door as operative ontology and ceases to delimitate the inside and the outside. I argue that, either dirty crumbling objects or captured in (digital) media such as photography or film, ruins remain meaningful for both humans and non-humans. Ruin porn, which is online available, makes them everywhere accessible. Yet they objectify the ruin as their aesthetic has assimilated a universal visual grammar established by porn.
In 1891, the Bishop Ghenadie al Râmnicului published a painting handbook based on a manuscript au... more In 1891, the Bishop Ghenadie al Râmnicului published a painting handbook based on a manuscript authored by a certain painter Gheorghe. Besides iconographical descriptions and technical recipes, the book contains an unique vocabulary. Although the text is entirely written in Romanian in Cyrillic script, several pigments are listed under bizarre pseudo-German names. The manuscript speaks to the nature of Romanian-German relations in the 19th century, and also constitutes a precious source of information on particular varnish recipes.
As in 2009 the Neues Museum ("New Museum") in Berlin was reopened after restoration, the long awa... more As in 2009 the Neues Museum ("New Museum") in Berlin was reopened after restoration, the long awaited moment triggered most various reactions between praise and criticism. The core of all debates was the treatment of loss and the reconstruction (or non-reconstruction) of the missing architectonical parts such as the staircase (Trepenhalle). Being one of the most debated contemporary conservation projects, we ask ourselves how does the restoration of the Neues Museum work in the eyes of the beholder and what could be the judgment behind the rejection or approval? Rezumat: Redeschiderea a Neues Museum din Berlin în anul 2009 a declanșat nenumărate reacții, unele admirative iar altele critice. În centrul dezbaterilor s-a aflat tratamentul lacunelor și al pierderii în general, precum și reconstruirea (sau ne-reconstruirea) părților lipsă din arhitectură, așa cum s-a întâmplat cu casa scărilor (Treppenhalle). Întrebarea principală, pe care articolul o ridică, este: ce declanșază în ochi privitorului restaurarea a Neues Museum-unul dintre cele mai discutate proiecte contemporane de conservare-și care ar putea fi judecățile, care stau în spatele reacțiilor?
studies in History and Theory of Architecture, no. 11 (2023), 2023
Ruin porn proves, as the contemporary successor of Ruinenlust, that humans still share Georg Simm... more Ruin porn proves, as the contemporary successor of Ruinenlust, that humans still share Georg Simmel’s fascination for ruins. However, modern ruin-enthusiasts of the Mediocene consume them through visual media, because “real ruins” are either musealized or too dirty to be accessed. They seem – unless staged by contemporary media – on the verge of losing their meaning. Similar to Bram Stocker’s Dracula, who lived in a Transylvanian “vast ruined castle” before transferring to Whitby Abbey, ruins seem like empty shells, gradually robbed by humans and metaphorically “eroded by time.” However, they “host” a multitude of life forms. Analogously to the simultaneously dead and alive Dracula, ruins are trapped in traditional dichotomies of nature-culture or absence-presence. Nonetheless, the doorless ruin takes dichotomies off their hinges by annulling the door as operative ontology and ceases to delimitate the inside and the outside. I argue that, either dirty crumbling objects or captured in (digital) media such as photography or film, ruins remain meaningful for both humans and non-humans. Ruin porn, which is online available, makes them everywhere accessible. Yet they objectify the ruin as their aesthetic has assimilated a universal visual grammar established by porn.
In 1891, the Bishop Ghenadie al Râmnicului published a painting handbook based on a manuscript au... more In 1891, the Bishop Ghenadie al Râmnicului published a painting handbook based on a manuscript authored by a certain painter Gheorghe. Besides iconographical descriptions and technical recipes, the book contains an unique vocabulary. Although the text is entirely written in Romanian in Cyrillic script, several pigments are listed under bizarre pseudo-German names. The manuscript speaks to the nature of Romanian-German relations in the 19th century, and also constitutes a precious source of information on particular varnish recipes.
As in 2009 the Neues Museum ("New Museum") in Berlin was reopened after restoration, the long awa... more As in 2009 the Neues Museum ("New Museum") in Berlin was reopened after restoration, the long awaited moment triggered most various reactions between praise and criticism. The core of all debates was the treatment of loss and the reconstruction (or non-reconstruction) of the missing architectonical parts such as the staircase (Trepenhalle). Being one of the most debated contemporary conservation projects, we ask ourselves how does the restoration of the Neues Museum work in the eyes of the beholder and what could be the judgment behind the rejection or approval? Rezumat: Redeschiderea a Neues Museum din Berlin în anul 2009 a declanșat nenumărate reacții, unele admirative iar altele critice. În centrul dezbaterilor s-a aflat tratamentul lacunelor și al pierderii în general, precum și reconstruirea (sau ne-reconstruirea) părților lipsă din arhitectură, așa cum s-a întâmplat cu casa scărilor (Treppenhalle). Întrebarea principală, pe care articolul o ridică, este: ce declanșază în ochi privitorului restaurarea a Neues Museum-unul dintre cele mai discutate proiecte contemporane de conservare-și care ar putea fi judecățile, care stau în spatele reacțiilor?
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