As the world has evolved, so too has the manner in which we approach design and design solutions. Changes in technology and values have brought with them discourse between thinkers and individuals alike. Such discourse lies at the heart of Hilde Heynen’s ‘Architecture Facing Modernity’, where she explores the concept of modernity itself, the motivations behind it, and its impact on design. As she discusses and raises the viewpoints of multiple thinkers, she examines all sides of the discourse in an attempt to understand the conflict. Where authors such as George Simmel or Walter Benjamin address the relationship between modernity and the public as problematic, she speaks from a more inquisitive stance and a recent time period. In light of that, how she effectively has she addressed the conflict present in modernism?
George Simmel’s Emergence of the Modern, he opens by developing a ‘story’ about the individual in the modern world. “The deepest problems of modern life flow from the attempt of the individual to maintain the independence and individuality of his existence against the sovereign powers of society…” (Simmel, p.51). He paints a picture of the individual needing to stand against the advances of ‘the social-technological mechanism’ (Simmel, p.52). The individual is presented as lower than a larger collective. Simmel furthermore argues for a growing presence of the more ‘metropolitan type’ in a modern world, discussing their more calculating minds and an emphasis on intellectualism. “The development of modern culture is characterized by the predominance of what once can call the objective spirit over the subjective”. (Simmel, p.58). As the ‘meteropolitan type’ is presented as a more critical and objective thinker, this yet again places individualists on a lower footing within in the wider culture.
Hilde Hynen discusses a similar dichotomy to Simmel, as she compares the thought processes of four theorists. However, she presents the issue in more even terms. “These two divergent viewpoints - the nostalgic and utopian one of Norberg-Schulz and Alexander, and the radical and critical one of Cacciari and Eisenman - give an adequate picture of the dilemmas that architecture has to face”. (Hynen, p.22). She frames the conflict as one that needs to be discussed and dealt with. A dilemma to be faced, rather than one side being on the dominant end. Moreover, she opens the door for criticism of each. With respect to Alexander and Schulz, she points out that their position is one that exists ‘outside of modernity’, without regard for the possibilities that it has to offer (Hynen, p.23). Meanwhile, Cacciari and Eisenmen present a case for modernity that appears as a sort of negotiation, ‘as though all joy is absent from their discourse’ (Hynen, p.23). Her work generally provides a discussion of modernity as a phenomenon, rather than a hard narrative.
Walter Benjamin speaks from a negative point of view in his work, ‘Art in the Age of Machine Reproduction’. In general, he believes that art begins to lose its value and authenticity in a time when it can be produced for the masses. Works which were at one time unique can now be commodified. “Every day the urge grows stronger to get hold of an object at very close range by way of its likeness, its reproduction” (Benjamin, p.223) This desire to buy works as commodity, to Benjamin, eventually leads to works becoming a means with which to influence the public. Artwork becomes political, and this leads to greater consequences. “All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing; war. War and war only can set a goal for mass movements on the largest scale while respecting the traditional property system” (Benjamin, p.241). As the value of art is reduced, it becomes a tool with which to in draw people in, and furthermore galvanize them toward a cause.
Though Hilde Hynen shares some commonality with forerunners, her stance is more broad. She provides a more general look at what Modernism is, as well as its consequences. Where George Simmel was somewhat negative with respect to the individualists on the opposite side of the conversation, she sees room for debate and criticism. Where Walter Benjamin’s stance is a fatalistic one, Hynen recognizes that the modern world is one of persistent changes.
Image Credit: https://pixabay.com/photos/river-bridges-buildings-structures-6175173/
Works Cited
Hilde Heynen, Architecture and Modernity: A Critique, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, 1999, pg.
Walter Benjamin, The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, Brace &
World, New York, 1968, pg.
Georg Simmel, Modernism: An Anthology of Sources and Documents, University of
Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998. pg.
