Shifting Landscapes

The significance of landscapes is not that they change with seasons, cycles or any other measure of time, but that they change outside of our frameworks and predictions. This elusive quality of landscapes – the element of surprise – while being a source of discomfort for many is precisely what makes the profession of landscape architecture exciting. Present modes of popular and professional representation, however, tend to push elusiveness \”behind the scene.\” It is unfortunate because the design interventions that follow from the use of these representations are generally unable to accommodate the unexpected. The result can be catastrophic – floods, riots, squatter settlements, etc. – or, at the very least, landscapes that lack the agility and spontaneity necessary to negotiating the increasing complexities of today\’s open economies.This workshop will explore the representation of landscapes as open, dynamic phenomena. Using a range of media – charcoal, instrumental drawing, models, photography – we will record landscapes in the field and in the studio. Discussions will be directed by pin-up of student work as much as by readings and related images that will parallel each week\’s topic. The workshop will demand a high level of initiative and engagement on the part of students. Students interested in doing the Bangalore studio in spring 2002 are encouraged to take this workshop