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Concept and experience: Tate Modern: An essay on the intersection of orders in architecture

Kreidel, S; (2008) Concept and experience: Tate Modern: An essay on the intersection of orders in architecture. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London). Green open access

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Abstract

This essay consists of encounters with the architecture of Tate Modern. It moves from the physical to the philosophical, through architecture, archives and texts. The objective herein is to explore the ambiguities between concepts and experience to sustain a reading of the architecture that exists at the intersection. In a collection of essays on Tate Modern that was published by the institution in 2005, each of the contributors commented on the building but again a discussion of the relation between architecture and use was neglected. Martin Gayford noted, 'In Tate Modern, the most startling and novel feature was the huge cavern of the Turbine Hall. As a place for the display of art it was almost unprecedented.' And Jon Snow assumed 'My feeling is that everyone who ever steps inside the building feels something of that stimulus. It's a feeling both of belonging and of connection, of extension and of reaching out into new experience. Bodily experience was also described by Chris Smith. 'Tate Modern is one of the few buildings that…take your breath away—especially when you walk into the Turbine Hall for the first time. (…) The vastness of the space means that even with huge numbers coming, the building happily absorbs them. Thereof a gap in the discourse of the 'Tate Modern phenomenon'6 was identified in form of the relation between architecture and use. In terms of the dominant discussions in art history this meant to explore how the architecture facilitates Tate's reinvention as a for profit institution ideologically through the choice of Scott's Bankside Power Station and physically through the transformation by Herzog & de Meuron. On the other hand the essays on Tate Modern's first five years identify the Turbine Hall as the unique selling point of the museum but lack a thorough analysis of the space. Since the public success was in unison attributed to its existence a study that explores the order of the place became necessary. This allowed for the use of phenomenology as methodology because it sanctions discourses that take subjective experience seriously. Considering the common confinement of phenomenology to a discourse of architecture that consistently emphasises authenticity in various aspects, from sensorial experience (Pallasmaa) to a meaningful narrative whose 'final objective is our realization as embodied, imagining selves' (Perez-Gomez) to 'a response to the particularities of site and circumstance' (Holl) to the visualisation of the 'genius loci', the 'spirit of place' (Norberg- Schulz) to questioning 'What does this house want to become' (Zumthor), it seemed worthwhile to argue for an understanding of phenomenology as a set of methods that may be deployed in analysing architectures that do not succumb to this ideology. Consequentially the essay attempts to provide an understanding of Tate Modern that focuses on these as yet neglected areas. Section one describes the findings of my archival research, its focus is on the history of the architecture, the ideas and strategics that were devised before the transformation of the Bankside Power Station into Tate Modern took place. To understand how the architecture was conceived, this passage gives an overview of the considerations that led to the transformation of a derelict industrial building into a museum for modern art. The description takes into account the institutional aspects as well as the architects ideas. It becomes clear that although Tate Modern appears to lack an overtly institutional character, which has contributed considerately to its public success, this is in fact due to extensive research and tactical brand positioning. The argument is supported by a discussion of the Turbine Hall's function as a temporary exhibition space and the relations between architecture, spectator and artworks that arise thereof. The second section is a transcript of notes taken on site at various occasions, in physical contact with the architecture. It discloses two possible experiences of the architecture and argues for the importance of the relation between subject and object. Following an introductory discussion of phenomenology that explains my understanding of its philosophical projects as methods, the next section proceeds with outlines of the central notions in phenomenology developed by Heidegger and Merleau-Ponty, set into relation to Sartre's notion of freedom. Each of the methods is then applied to an analysis of the architecture of Tate Modern, as it was perceived through physical experience and described in section two. The conclusion resumes the important aspects of each section, exposes the orders that were therein explored and attempts an intersection. In addition to the evaluation of the discussion it assesses the prospects of an advanced understanding of phenomenology in architectural discourse. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Type: Thesis (Doctoral)
Title: Concept and experience: Tate Modern: An essay on the intersection of orders in architecture
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Language: English
Additional information: Thesis digitised by ProQuest. Third party copyright material has been removed from the ethesis. Images identifying individuals have been redacted or partially redacted to protect their identity.
UCL classification:
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1568029
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