There is a perversity in the learning process: We look backward at history and tradition to go forward; we can also look downward to go upward. And withholding judgment may be used as a tool to make later judgment more sensitive. This is a way of learning from everything.
Venturi, Brown & Izenour, “Learning from Las Vegas”, revised edition, The MIT Press, 1977: 3.
Monday, October 30, 2006
Learning from Everything
I finally got my own copy of the classic “Learning from Las Vegas” and finished reading it over the break. Here’s an excerpt from the book:
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13 comments:
it's a good book mba! but i think it's not appropiate in the current context amymore, las vegas has changed....first, advertisement is no longer seen from a distance as buildings sit on both sides of the road. it's becoming too crowded there,
second, the image captured from the word of 'las vegas' regardless it's a city full of sheds decorated by sign posters,is stronger than the decorated shed itself (i hope you get what i mean)....I mean....the symbolism which he refers to the duck...is actually constructed after he wrote whattever analysis that he made in that book.... people associated las vegas as a 'wow' city...it is a myth/symbolism constructed by story....
can the meaning be remained the same? i don think so, everthing changes, and perhaps ventury should write a new book on the meaning of Las vegas street in 2006! he he he...joking ;p this is all my [bullshit] opinion kikikikkk
everything has a meaning [jencks], [signifier and the signified in the context of signs - de saussure].....yet meaning forever changes [derrida]... ahhhh....apa seeh??? pusing....sorry menuh2in blognya ha ha ha ha....gimana fullbrightnya jeng??
cheers
eka
Hi Dewi, still remember me?
I haven't read the book, but I've learned from people who were influenced by the book. A classic in post-modern thinking, it has punched many architects in the face at the time (even now).
Agree with Eka: Las Vegas has changed. Now people take Las Vegas seriously, both for entertainment matters ("sin city" and "what happens in vegas, stays in vegas"), and business matters (it boasts to have the best broadband connection).
Venturi was a visionary. What was ducks and sheds is now first in Newsweek's "10 Most Dynamic Cities" list. Everyone should learn from various las vegases.
Hi Eka & Muli, nice to meet you both here! :)
Yes, I agree with Eka as well that Las Vegas has changed incredibly since the time the book was written, but I think the power of signs still very much define the city. Muli’s link revealed how fast changes occur in that city; yet, the scales of signs still address the differences mentioned by Venturi: they cater to three different views as seen from the desert, within the cars, and at the pedestrian level. Granted the book was better known for its attack against modern movement presented through the memorable decorated shed vs. duck analogy, it’s these experiences, the way they mapped, and learned from the commercial strip that I find very useful.
From this angle, I’m not so sure the book is no longer appropriate for the current context. They argued that architecture could learn from the everyday life context or in their words ‘the ugly and the ordinary’. I find the book very revealing in trying to read the capitalist Jakarta: Rather than forever condemning and criticizing Jakarta, what can we learn from its commercial, ugly and ordinary context?
Re: Fulbright, I don’t know how, but I managed to get myself nominated as one of the recipients for the Ph.D. Program :) So if everything goes well, I should be going back to school in the US next year. Thanks for asking Eka, I’ll see you in Bangkok this December :)
It is interesting to decode a city into multiple layers of interpretations. I think this was my intention - looking a city as a discourse.
and I agree that we can learn from anything...
Congratulation for the scholarship dear!
I am not sure whether i would be able to make it to BKK, as i am kinda broke nowadays :) but i feel bad as they publish my paper in their working paper series..anyway will see....
Sorry I didn't make myself clear. I agree w/ Eka that LV has changed, and I agree w/ Dewi that the book is still relevant. LV itself, as Dewi pointed out, has BOTH changed AND stayed the same.
Anyways, congratulations on the Fulbright! That puts in in a condition of knowing 3 of next year's candidates.
Thanks both!
Eka: do try to find some sponsor(s)! That’s how I get my ticket to Bangkok: Apart from attending IASTE Conference, I will be doing some research about the city for several weeks to compare it with Jakarta. Will report my observations in this blog sometime in December.
Muli: you must be well connected to know all the candidates! :)
Found the relevancy of the book 30 years after its publication, as argued by Venturi and Brown, in this interview with Ten by Ten Magazine.
Not all, Dewi, just three :)
Anyways, I'll be happy to facilitate a get-together between the three of you some time in Jakarta. All are really cool & outgoing.
thanks for the offer Muli. i met the other two candidates when we had to take TOEFL test - but you seem to be referring to two other candidates (perhaps from presidential phd program?) as the ones i met are from aceh and bandung.
You're right.
They're from the presidential program. Sorry for the mix-up.
No worries Muli, I'm sure I'll get to meet them in one of the Fulbright informal gatherings (such as in TOEFL/ GRE test centers):)
Hi, sorry for not checking this web for sometime,
could you please tell me which sponsor that you applied? and the link please ;p
if i get the fund, i may go, otherwise, i will stay here on my desk all summer!
i got lucky! a local NGO approached me to work on a comparative research between jakarta and bangkok. but it's currently being put on hold - so we'll see. crossing my fingers. i'll let you know if i find other sources.
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