Reading over old journals. This is from the summer of 2009 when I was working in the thick woods around Seeley Lake, Montana, escaping over the front range to the prairie of Eastern Montana on all my days off. The dichotomy is simplified, but I think it captures some good ideas, and marks the beginning of a period of intense thinking on the epistemologies inherent to landscapes, which is ongoing for me.
IN THE DENSITY OF THE WOODS OBSCURITY IS A GIVEN. TREES ARE TALL, BRUSH IS THICK AND SIGHT LINES ARE SHORT. SO WE BEGIN WITH THE NOTION THAT MANY THINGS GO UNSEEN, EVEN THINGS VERY NEARBY. THIS LANDSCAPE EMPHASIZES HIDING IN SPACE. (AS AN ANIMAL MOVING SILENTLY THROUGH THE SHRUBS OF A STREAM BED, OR A RARE PLANT GROWING BENEATH THE COVER OF OTHERS). FORESTED LANDSCAPES ENCOURAGE ACTIVE SEARCHING AS A MODE OF DISCOVERY. IN THIS WAY, THE FOREST BECOMES A HALL OF MEMORY, WITH CLEAR ANALOGIES TO OUR EXPERIENCE OF ARCHITECTURE. SURVIVAL IN THE FOREST REQUIRES HUNTING, IN WHICH WE ACTIVELY SEARCH THE LAND FOR ANIMALS, AND GATHERING IN WHICH WE SEARCH IT FOR PLANTS.
IN THE DENSITY OF THE WOODS OBSCURITY IS A GIVEN. TREES ARE TALL, BRUSH IS THICK AND SIGHT LINES ARE SHORT. SO WE BEGIN WITH THE NOTION THAT MANY THINGS GO UNSEEN, EVEN THINGS VERY NEARBY. THIS LANDSCAPE EMPHASIZES HIDING IN SPACE. (AS AN ANIMAL MOVING SILENTLY THROUGH THE SHRUBS OF A STREAM BED, OR A RARE PLANT GROWING BENEATH THE COVER OF OTHERS). FORESTED LANDSCAPES ENCOURAGE ACTIVE SEARCHING AS A MODE OF DISCOVERY. IN THIS WAY, THE FOREST BECOMES A HALL OF MEMORY, WITH CLEAR ANALOGIES TO OUR EXPERIENCE OF ARCHITECTURE. SURVIVAL IN THE FOREST REQUIRES HUNTING, IN WHICH WE ACTIVELY SEARCH THE LAND FOR ANIMALS, AND GATHERING IN WHICH WE SEARCH IT FOR PLANTS.
THE OPENNESS OF THE PRAIRIE IMPLIES REVELATION. YOU CAN SEE FOR MILES. THE GRASS HUGS THE GROUND. SO WE BEGIN FROM THE ASSUMPTION THAT ALL IS REVEALED AND WORK BACKWARDS TOWARD A MORE OBLIQUE SORT OF OBSCURITY. THIS APPARENT STATE OF REVELATION EMPHASIZES HIDING IN TIME, RATHER THAN SPACE. SURELY THINGS IN THE PRAIRIE ARE HIDDEN IN SPACE AS WELL, BUT THE VOLUME OF SPACE ACCESSIBLE IN A GLANCE IS SO GREAT THAT IT IS TRAVERSED MORE READILY BY THE EYE THAN THE BODY. (A LOW FLYING HAWK APPEARING ABOVE A HILL OR THE GRADUAL APPROACH OF A STORM OR A VEHICLE IN THE DISTANCE.) OPEN LANDSCAPES ENCOURAGE PATIENT WAITING AS A MEANS OF DISCOVERY – ON THE SCALE OF THE MOMENT, THE SEASON, THE YEAR. AGRICULTURE, THE PRIMARY MEANS OF SURVIVAL IN THE CONTEMPORARY PRAIRIE ENTAILS A PASSIVITY AND PATIENCE IN THE FACE OF THE WEATHER. IN WIDE OPEN LANDSCAPES THE ONLY ANALOGIES TO ARCHITECTURE ARE THE DOME OF THE SKY AND THE HOUSE OF THE BODY ITSELF.
