Art of Ideology : a denkmal against the A-political

Abstract

Within the relation of architecture and the political, politics precede, supersede and often undermine design. When a problem, which has political causes, is addressed formally through architecture, the result often falls short in changing those conditions as the political core of the problem, i.e. the political structure in which said problem originates from, is not addressed. As such political problems necessitates political solutions. This is not to say that architecture has no influence over our political lives or that design can not in any way engage with problems of a political cause. Rather, perhaps architecture’s influence over the political is more subtle and not political as such, but representational instead, i.e. ideological. This means that design presents one with the political and coerces one into the interpretation of politics i.e. either revealing or hiding it; by politicising or depoliticising spaces. This project therefore focusses on the political influence of architecture through ideology by approaching the design with the same intent as that of the German notion of the “gegendenkmal” (meaning critical public thinking opportunity). This notion provokes structures that provide the catalyst to specific conversations about ideas current existing spaces and political affairs. It is as such a powerful tool in bringing to the fore the underlying political factors which influence our everyday lives and often undermine solutions to material issues. Following this logic, this project aims to provide an opportunity for the public to critically think about the hidden political factors of which material problems are symptoms. i.e. the aim is to reveal the political and in a sense become a ‘gegendenkmal’ against the a-political as staying oblivious to the political causes to problems prohibits us from ever solving them. The form in which this “‘gegendenkmal’ against the a-political” manifests is through the program of a political media printing works on the site of the interstitial spaces of the south western block of Church Square and the interior of the capitol theatre in Pretoria CBD. This site was chosen due to Church Square being an important platform from which major political processions start or where they end (and can thus be seen as an important space of the city’s political agora). The program involves the design, production and distribution of media which all political movements and processions beget. The conceptual and design approach follows the idea of the contrast between that which is represented in building envelope and that which inhabits the building interior politically. As such the building is approached as a combination of the following ideas: the broader idea of separation of interior and building skin, sequentially revealing the program over time as one moves through the building and finally as interfaces between public and private signifying a political relation between public and private user, public user and history and public user and society. By highlighting this dichotomous relation between ideology and politics, the building provides the opportunity to consider the political that is constantly submerged within the public subconscious.