The literal translation of the german term "Zeitgeist" is spirit of time; as for "spirit" is meant the essence (being it political, social, cultural, ethical) of a chronological era. The Zeitgeist is the lowest common denominator that connects certain groups of people in a certain period of time. The term has been coined from the Romantics of the XVIII Century and it is part of the Philosophy of history. The word Zeitgeist, being a romantic term, has to be given the poetic and melancholy verve proper of the era of Goethe and Hegel: the spirit of time is not a fairy but a ghost that hunts society, is an evanescent presence that we try to ignore but we know close to us. The interlingual translation of the term might be expressed as "the main social and ethical issue proper of each historical era".
As the process of developments has become quicker and quicker in the last Centuries so did the Zeitgeist, following their succession, has been changing more often; each year a new issue rises on our society's tired horizons, summing up with all the unsolved precedent ones.
In the centre of Melbourne, one of Australia's most cultural cities, a fancy promenade lines up with the Yarra river. People eat, shop, walk, chat; Zeitgeists and other beasts are pretty much completely forgotten by the multicultural fauna that crowd the waterfront. But what if there was something that, keeping a edgy appeal in line with the surroundings, could remind to the oblivious passerbys of the "ghost" of their time? An object that acts as a memento and changes with times and situations, just as a Zeitgeist would. A temporary installation that lasts for a year only, from spring to winter, on the Yarra river's banks. The materiality of such an object has to be a prominent aspect of the design, that works as carbon paper of events, recording both artificial and natural phenomena. The wind might bend it, the current might make it fall apart in pieces, the sun might burn it and the rain might wash it away. Nature will shape it, giving it dynamical textures and patters. To do so, it has to camouflage itself with nature, being at the same time extremely simple and extremely complicate. Materials will serve as silent storytellers, on their surfaces time will draw its map; this map will act as a subliminal message that will draw the attention of visitors. Investigation of the site and recording of phenomena are starting points in a project that so closely involves nature. So, to recapitulate, the creation of an installation that has to be at the same time sustainable, useful and of course, beautiful. to be built anywhere in a 2 km path that lines with the Yarra river in Melbourne; the structure will only last for a year, from starting from September the 21st (Spring equinox), and that has to show signs of passage of time within its walls.
The decision on where to place the installation focused at the beginning on two different spots: a long staircase made of concrete blocks on a sloping area of the lawn that faces the river and the area underneath one of the many bridges connecting the two sides of the city. in both cases the natural elements have to define the experience of the installation: being the places a lawn and a river, sun, water and wind will be the leading elements of the design.
SLOPING LAWN
the creation of a seating area composed by benches that are extruded from the concrete blocks that form the staircase; benches could be either of the same concrete used for the steps or a different material might be picked to show the beginning of an area and the end of the other; also using wood, for instance, will make the whole thing looking "more natural" and less imposing on the overall composition; wood would be a more sustainable choice as well recycle-wise. The drop between the steps and the trees underneath is of roughly 2.50 mt so the structure might need to be suspended to avoid terrain movings. The piling structure could be creating a continuum with the nature, being in this case trees and grass. the piles supporting the bench area might be made of the same wood of the trees that naturally grow there and the roof might be simulating the foliage (the material used could act as "leaves", moving and making a noise that resemble that of the wind moving the foliage).
BRIDGE
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| sorry, have no idea on how to rotate images! i'll learn, one day...! |
Suspended structure hanged underneath the bridge, probably copper-coated, very close to the water surface so that each time the level raises, the water will leave a mark, by oxidising the metal that will turn from brown to greenish, creating a nice and natural fading. The flooring might be notched with a pattern that will be reflected onto the water. Will be nice if the installation could create a sort of "bridge under the bridge" connecting one bank to the other but the Yarra river is navigable and the structure might be interfering with the passage of boats. A solution to this could be to hang it higher, but then there will be a considerable loss of sunlight that is an element that the design should highlight.
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