PLACE OR SPACE
Place and space represent different concepts, interacting in a dynamic relationship. Both of them are important. Without space, we may become consumed by our places.(FathomBlog, 2016) However, without place, we are subject to a sense of disillusionment that comes from an excessive amount of space. What is place and what is space?
BERLIN HOLOCAUST
I went to Berlin at the beginning of this semester. I had a chance to explore the city and one of my favourite places was the Berlin Holocaust memorial. Why is this place so interesting? Is it because of the history attached to it, or is it because of the actual space and its aesthetic? Or for the new generation, does it simply provide a selfie-opportunity to be uploaded to social media? Is it a place or a space?
BERLIN HOLOCAUST
What is Berlin Holocaust? Is it space or place?
Berlin’s Holocaust memorial is Berlin’s stunning monument to the Holocaust, dedicated to the Jewish victims of the Nazi genocide of World War II. The memorial is set in a 19,000 square metre area with a total of 2,711 concrete slabs, or stelae, placed in a grid pattern on a sloping field. The slabs are organised in rows, 54 of them going north–south, and 87 heading east–west at right angles but set slightly askew The height of the concreate slabs are vary from 0.2m to 4.8 to represent the different individuals who lost their lives during the war.
The memorial was designed by American architect, Peter Eisenman. According to Eisenman, he wanted to create an illusion of instability in an apparent system of order, and how this system is futile in time. One of the reasons that this memorial is different from other traditional memorials is because Eisenman said that his memorial cannot remember the horrors of each individual who suffered the Holocaust, so there is no name, or any text explaining the facts, but it has to be understood in a context of time and space. The memorial itself cannot be explained, but has to be experienced by walking through it. Some people says the space reminded them of a graveyard with several rows of coffins. Some experienced the gloomy, grey atmosphere.
Not everyone will have the same perspective towards the place. Some don’t regard it as a place, but instead, a space. Some go there as they are interested in the history, but others merely want to relax, taking pictures and posting them to social media..
Photomontage 1: Space or place?
Why are these places, such as the Holocaust memorial, used in such a way? Are they not supposed to be solemn memorial spaces. According to Shapira “About 10,000 people visit the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe every day. Many of them take goofy pictures, jump, skate or bike on the 2,711 concrete slabs of the 19,000 m² large structure,” The exact meaning of the Holocaust memorial is symbolised as gravestones for the 6 million Jews that were murdered and buried in mass graves. However, people view things differently, some just think that it is an empty space where they can fill their memories and experience in it.
Our life is a narrative which requires both spaces and places to flourish. As we begin to etch meaning on to the spaces of our lives, those spaces will be gradually transformed into places. Similarly, places may change into space as time passes. Space can be described as a location, which has no social connection for a human being. No value is placed upon this space.
A place, in contrast, can be described as a location created by human experiences. In fact ‘place’ consists of ‘space’ that is filled with meanings and human objectives. So space and place are "dialectically structured in human environmental experience, since our understanding of space is related to the places we inhabit, which in turn derive meaning from their spatial context" (Seamon & Sowers, 2008, p.44).
EXPERIMENT
Adopting from the idea of the Holocaust Memorial, this is a small experiment to investigate how each individual views and reacts to a space. When given several white blocks against a brown background, with one bock missing, how will people interact with the given spaces and how will they define those spaces?
The expression that they have on the cardboard are related to their background and environment. Even though it is the same cardboard, people viewed them differently and wanted to express different things.
