Space for engagement
An artplace has as vital a role to play in the secular life of a community as does the traditional temple in its spiritual life. It is here that people sense invitation, intimidation or indifference
When we walk into a theatre to see a play, we dont look at the space around us consciously; we sense it. We sense invitation, intimidation or indifference. These are not accidental qualities. They are there by design. Himanshu Burtes fascinating book Space for Engagement, researched on a grant from the India Foundation for the Arts, looks at theatres, museums and art galleries in terms of the values they reflect and the values he believes they should reflect.
Burte holds that people are psychologically healthier when they are fully involved with the buildings they inhabit. Psychologically healthy people, he argues, make for a healthy society. We know from experience that schools that are built like jails with flat facades and colourless classrooms do not allow children to feel fully human. Workplaces with ochre walls and ochre files turn workers into automatons. This is the intention. For, to stimulate the minds and senses of children and workers, is to make them more difficult to police. A l t h o – ugh Burte doesnt say so explicitly, he believes that the artplace has as vital a role to play in the secular life of a community as does the traditional temple in its spiritual life. In crowded metros, temple structures are functional. But the traditional temple goes beyond that. Its open courtyard edged with smaller temples, affords you space to linger. From this bright exterior you enter the light and shade of a pillared hall where music and dance once happened. You may linger a little more here before you finally enter the lamp-lit semi-dark of the sanctum sanctorum to commune with your god. Your path to your god is thus built into the very design of the temple.
How does an artplace work? Does it encourage you to linger? Does it grant you ease of entry and movement? Does it stimulate your curiosity? Does it hold out opportunities for encounter and interaction? Does it give you a sense of belonging? Burte evaluates some of the most well-known art places in the country by these criteria and finds many of them wanting. Included in the study are Mumbais Prithvi Theatre, Jehangir Art Gallery and the NCPA.
Jehangir scores, not necessarily by design but certainly by chance, on several counts. Its location directly on a main thoroughfare allows people to walk in and out pretty much as they please. It houses the much loved Samovar at the back where you can unwind after a round of the exhibition galleries, sip, eat, debate and gossip. Or you can park yourself on the wide stairs or on the edge of the ramp and watch the world go by. An additional feature that Burte doesnt mention, but I must, is the clean loo bang opposite the entrance. Hallelujah!
The NCPA on the other hand fails, by design, on almost all counts. Sentries guard the gate, the courtyard holds no attraction, the buildings are blank-faced and theres nowhere to linger or chat over a cup of tea or coffee. If youre looking for social interaction, for a place to discuss the play you just saw, go out. Food for the soul and food for the flesh dont mix, is the ideology that public cultural institutions in India uphold, comments Burte wryly.
Burte finds Prithvi Theatre as close, functionally and socially, to the ideal as you can get. Theres no guarded gate; just a wide space through which you enter. The forecourt has a display board where you can linger. Other lingering places are the cafeteria shaded by bamboo, the small bookshop in the corner and the art exhibits in the foyer. The auditorium has steeply raked seating for comfortable viewing and wonderful acoustics.
Although Space for Engagement is aimed at architects, it is a critique of art places which are public spaces; our spaces. If we as a society do not demand more from them than functionality, we probably deserve the art places we get.
The Jehangir Art Gallery streetside, taken from Himanshu Burtes richly illustrated book Space for Engagement, published by Seagull Books
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