Reflexive Dwelling: The body as representation of wall
Author(s)
Volz, Kristy
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2013
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
In a play-within-a-play, the Mechanicals’ production within William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
the character Snout announces his transformation to play the character of Wall. Snout’s portrayal of Wall is both
comical and menacing as he represents the forces that separate the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Wall becomes a
subject in a manner no different from the lovers that he separates; his influence on their situation is brought to life.
The unbecoming nature of walls to demarcate, separate, intimidate, influence and control is a relationship most
can relate to in their experiences with architecture. It is in these ...
View more >In a play-within-a-play, the Mechanicals’ production within William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character Snout announces his transformation to play the character of Wall. Snout’s portrayal of Wall is both comical and menacing as he represents the forces that separate the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Wall becomes a subject in a manner no different from the lovers that he separates; his influence on their situation is brought to life. The unbecoming nature of walls to demarcate, separate, intimidate, influence and control is a relationship most can relate to in their experiences with architecture. It is in these moments that architecture leaps from the sphere of object into the realm of subject; where we might be involved in some intense struggle with the placement of a wall, the wall that might separate us from a lover, justice, freedom, power or privacy. This study investigates how this struggle is portrayed through the human body as representation of walls in performance.
View less >
View more >In a play-within-a-play, the Mechanicals’ production within William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, the character Snout announces his transformation to play the character of Wall. Snout’s portrayal of Wall is both comical and menacing as he represents the forces that separate the lovers Pyramus and Thisbe. Wall becomes a subject in a manner no different from the lovers that he separates; his influence on their situation is brought to life. The unbecoming nature of walls to demarcate, separate, intimidate, influence and control is a relationship most can relate to in their experiences with architecture. It is in these moments that architecture leaps from the sphere of object into the realm of subject; where we might be involved in some intense struggle with the placement of a wall, the wall that might separate us from a lover, justice, freedom, power or privacy. This study investigates how this struggle is portrayed through the human body as representation of walls in performance.
View less >
Journal Title
IDEA Journal
Volume
2013
Publisher URI
Subject
Interior Design
Architecture
Design Practice and Management