Symposium 2015- representing intoxication
‘For art to exist, for any sort of aesthetic activity or
perception to exist, a certain physiological precondition
is indispensible: intoxication. Intoxication must first have
heightened the excitability of the entire machine: no art
results before that happens. All kinds of intoxication,
however different their origin, have the power to do this…’
Friedrich Nietzsche, Twilght of the Idols, 1889
Intoxication can be defined as the force responsible for the sensory stimulation that shifts an individual from the norm; the ‘excitement of the machine’ as Nietzsche describes it.
A range of very different external stimuli can result in intoxication. Sound, substances, ideologies, beliefs, and danger are just some examples. They all excite senses and have very similar biological effects on humans.
This studio is dealing with the relationship of intoxication with space and how the space allows that particular form of intoxicating activity to take place. We are focusing our research on five types of buildings that are highly correlated with intoxication. These include: aural spaces, spaces of displacement, spaces of kinetic activity, spaces of mass gathering and spaces of spirituality. Through this analysis we are looking to derive a set of mechanisms and commonalities, along with differences, that enhance and promote intoxication.
In our initial analysis we are considering 5 types of intoxicating spaces: Aural Spaces, Spaces of Displacement, Spaces of Mass Gathering, Spaces of Kinetic Activity, and Spaces of Spirituality. The first outcome of this analysis is our book of recording intoxication called ‘Taxonomy of intoxication’. Through the use of diagrams we are putting our findings in order, to demonstrate them in a way that can be easily comparable for conclusions to be made. ‘Taxonomy of intoxication’ is focused mainly on the typologies of the building studies, that is volumes, rituals, scale etc.
The influence intoxication has on humans relies strongly on the psychological state of the subject before the event takes place, but also it is strongly associated with the willingness of the subject to go through the process. In other words intoxication has very different effects on people, depending their state of mind. In order to bring this into our outputs we created an audiovisual installation, which is supported by our book. The audiovisual was composed by our recordings on 30 buildings and by other secondary sources and was then projected on three-dimensional pieces that represented the different building types’ typologies.
You can find the installation in the following link: https://vimeo.com/112814348
architectural portfolio | roubini hadjicosti 