From Thomas Jorion’s “Silencio” photo series

Ruin. You might say: who built that? You might also say: who destroyed that? – Victor Hugo

From Piranesi to Robert, Soane to Benjamin, Speer to Virilio, on up to Cyprien Gaillard (and not forgetting Robert Smithson’s A Tour of the Monuments of Passaic), the modern project has been saturated with theories and documentation devoted to the study of the aesthetics of ruinenlust. Where it formally found resonance in the Romantic aristocratic folly, Fascist forums, and dubious Deconstructivist experimentation, the ruin has lobbied its way back into contemporary culture and architecture, namely through the combustible cocktail of economic malaise, political turmoil, the sacking of social structures, and existential crises brought on by new and invasive digital processes. The difference here, however, is that the new ruin culture, which can be best summarized under the label “ruin porn,” has appropriated the modernist lexicon of forms and visual tropes, usually with utopian and ideology left intact. The obvious problem with these representations, which have, among other unwanted effects, perpetuated the exploitation of Detroit’s post-industrial ruins, is that they are not only limited to the picturesque, superficial aesthetic qualities of the battered moss-covered brick structures of yesterday’s future, but are also too content with the historical certitude of the commensurate failures of Modernism. With the sheer ubiquity and popularity of this kind of work, the intellectual mandate to ground the phenomenon has largely gone ignored, unfortunate if we want to avoid any future Nazi-esque theories of the ruin…

OK, we’ll continue on to the best of list. Each of the following stories does not necessarily embody the best qualities of a movement too easily swept up by eschatological jouissance, but, rather, exhibit some of the most interesting, perhaps, redemptive aspects of a Modernism that we aren’t willing to fully relinquish. Onward!

1) Mistake by the Lake: Follies Photographed, plus interview with photographer Chris Mottalini

“Chris Mottalini is a photographer most known for his acclaimed series of photographs documenting the decrepit state of Paul Rudolph-designed modernist homes in the anticipation of their scheduled demolition. That initial interaction with architecture shifted Mottalini’s line of focus, whereupon his projects began exhibiting architectural concerns, ranging from exposing the fragility of architecture’s social agenda to exploring the nature of users’ relationship to structures.”

Plus: Paul Rudolph’s Kappa Sigma Fraternity House Rediscovered

2) All Back to Dust

“Chinese artist Jiang Pengyi’s “Unregistered Cities” illustrate the destructive force of the rapid urbanization presently sweeping China. The artist’s tiny urbanisms themselves are comprised of the hollow shells of apartment blocks and high-rises which characterize China’s so-called “ghost cities.” Interestingly, Pengyi presents his lilliputian cities buried in the rubble, against the peeling paint, and amid the collecting dust of the crumbling, abandoned houses left behind in the wake of rampant urbanization.”

3) Thomas Jorion’s “Silencio” photo series

“All works of architecture are destined to ruin, but what happens afterwards–how does architecture go beyond ruin? Thomas Jorion‘s “Silencio” photo series may not have any answers to that question, but the abandoned infrastructures which it frames have everything to do with the current trend in photographing ruined architecture. What is it about these derelict structures  that makes them so undeniaby seductive, and how have sparked such intense interest in the modern ruin?”

4) Wonderland, an abandoned Disneyland on the Outskirts of Beijing

“Construction on “Wonderland” began in 1998 with the intention of building the largest amusement park in Asia. The project was scrapped after funding was withdrawn and the developers and the local farmers could not come to terms over ownership of the land. This past year, UK-based photographer Catherine Hyland braved the harsh land to capture the crumbling park, which has been reclaimed by nearby villagers who regularly tend to the grounds.”

5) The fall and decay of Bulgaria’s Buzludzha Monument

“The Buzludzha Monument was constructed in 1981 to commemorate the founding of the Bulgarian Socialist movement nearly a century before, but now stands as a symbol of its failure. The concrete monolith sits atop the crest of a hill that was the site of the decisive battle in which rebels drove the occupying Ottomans from the country. Designed by Guéorguy Stoilov, the structure once served as the congregation hall for the new Bulgarian state, with officials shuffling into the UFO-shaped auditorium.”

by Samuel Medina

posted in Uncategorized

tagged 2011, best of, ruin porn, ruinenlust, trends

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