Terence Love wrote:
> Thinking about what what Cigdem raised seems to me to be pretty complex. Is
> culture the 'will of the people writ large' (as in a collection of social
> practices); 'a powerful and subtle tool of the rich and powerful to
> condition people to behave in ways that enable the rich and powerful to
> increase their wealth and power'; something else...?
I'm assuming that "culture" in this case is shorthand for existing
practices and/or arrangements that appear to have value in the lives of
those affected. Another term often used is heritage.
As an individual visitor, I experience the Istanbul ferries partly as a
nostalgic reminder of earlier experiences of other ferries and ships in
the 1960s (my heritage) and I also imagine that they give me an
authentic experience of the lives of Istanbul people today and in the
past, however I don't have any right to that experience and it's up to
the people of Istanbul (the general public and specific organisations
involved) to decide whether visitors like me might continue to enjoy the
ferries in their present form.
The situation for those who live in Istanbul is quite different. The
ferries are long-established and current developments, new kinds of
ferry and a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus, could transform that part
of their lives. Although the transformation might be positive designers
have a responsibility to understand the whole picture as far as they can
and that includes the pleasure people gain from feeding birds from the
deck of the ferry and perhaps the value of diversity and traces of
history in our urban environment.
It is difficult to assess reliably how much people would miss something
they take for granted but the success of many conservation projects such
as the paddle steamer Waverley in Britain shows the extent to which
people value traditional forms of transport when they are lost. I find
it very ironic that designers often spend a great deal of effort on
wondering how to engender pleasure and satisfaction in the new things
they create but rarely take account of the pleasures and satisfactions
that they supplant. Or, if they do, it is often in facile ways. The
photograph of the (imagined) restaurateur's (imagined) Italian grannie
in her peasant kitchen is a deeply cynical act which undermines genuine
traces of heritage when they exist.
If you ever visit Sheffield I'd like to recommend you visit Bragazzi's
deli and cafe on Abbeydale Road. Matt Bragazzi is an industrial design
graduate who uses his real Italian grandmother's recipes, imports hard
to find Italian food and fitted out his cafe with an entertaining
collection of rather beat up old furniture. The authenticity is not in
any nostalgic reference but the combination of pleasures that Matt gives
his customers, who all seem to be enthusiastic and loyal supporters of
his business. Matt's strength is that he is a designer exercising his
craft within a community rather than imposing it on people he does not
know. We don't all have that freedom but we might do well to reflect on
how we can capture those qualities.
best wishes from Sheffield
Chris
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