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A DEFENCE OF RYMENor mll sl /(Ie Ihillke . iewing the sliperjicioli figu re of aregion ill a Mappe thai wee Im ow slmil Ihe;'ashimr anrlp/oce as il is, Or readi llg 11/1 Hi storic (which is but a Mappeof men , alld doo/h no olherw ise acquai nt us with the Imc$ /I bstatlce 0;' Circumstances, than (/ super/iciall Card dooththe Seaman wi lit a Coasl neuer scene , which alwaycsproo ue., other 10 Ihe eye tha ll tile imagillolU>11 forerast i tIha l preselllly lUec knolU all the world , anrl can distincllyilldRe of tim es, mPII mid mllllcr . illS/ as they were.Samuel DalZiel

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ABSTRACT

Postmodernism i s a broad based phenomena, which a t once i s agroup of a t t i t udes and t h eo r i e s , i s to do with the condi t ionof l i v in g in the contemporary world, and i nc ludes aconcomi tan t range of s ty l e s and express ions in d i f f e r e n tf i e l d s of a c t i v i t y .

In Landscape Archi t ec tu re Postmodernism has beenp a r t i c u l a r l y assoc ia ted with P ar t i c i p a t o r y Design,Ecolog ica l Design, and Exper imenta l or Contextual Design.However, r e f e r ence to the more r igorous theory wouldencourage cau t ion in s imply a t t ach ing the l abe l ofPostmodernism to any or a l l of t h e s e .

No e x p l i c i t use has appa ren t ly been made of Postmodernism inNew Zealand Landscape A r ch i t ec tu r e and the re a re fewexamples of Postmodern t r ends in e i t h e r theory o r p ra c t i c e .


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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTI wish p a r t i c u l a r l y to thank Margare t Davies for her s uppor tand encouragement dur ing the two years o f t h i s c our se .

This d i s s e r t a t i o n i s s ubmi t t e d inp a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t of t he r e qu i r e me n t s

of the p o s t - g r a d u a t e Diploma inLandscape A r c h i t e c t u r e . Lincoln Co l l e ge .

U n i v e r s i t y of Ca n t e rbu ry .Gavin L i s t e r . 1987.


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I n t r o d u c t i o n

P a r t One:

P a r t Two:

P a r t Three :

P o s t s c r i p t

Bi b l i og ra phy

3

Contents

What i s Pos tmodern i sm?

E xp l i c i t Pos tmodern is rnin Landscape A r c h i t e c t u r e

Pos tmodern ism in N.Z.Landscape A r c h i t e c t u r e

page4

5

49

71

96

97


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INTRODUCTION

Postmodernism i s an areal i b e r a l and appl i ed a r t s .

of a c t i v i t y th roughout the f ine ,I t has been widely expressed inboth theory and p ra c t i c e . There are , for example, bodies of

work in des ign , a rc h i t e c tu re , l i t e r a t u r e and pa in t ingc a r r i e d out in the name of Postmodernism, and many a r t i c l e s ,j o u r n a l s and books on the su b j ec t . In r ecen t years the wordhas en te r ed the popular vocabulary . So Postmodernism i s at erm with a l o t of energy i nves ted in it. IL i s a l s o a termof much confus ion .

Because Postmodernism i s the focus of such widespreadenergy , it would seem worthy of i n v e s t ig a t io n by LandscapeA r ch i t ec tu r e . Benef i t s of such an ex p lo r a t i o n might be:

a new c r i t i c a l p e r s p ec t iv e .a new source of ideas , and methods.a revea l ing of o p p o r t u n i t i e s .a new language with which to communicate with otherr e l a t e d f i e l ds .a c l a r i f i c a t i o n .confus ion .

i f not a r e so l u t i o n , of the

This d i s s e r t a t i o nth ree par t s . The

se t s out to i n t roduce Postmodernism inf i r s t a t tempts to def ine and descr ibe

Postmodernism. The second reviews w r i t i n g s s p e c i f i c a l l y onPostmodernism in Landscape A r ch i t ec tu r e , and the t h i r d p a r tsurveys Landscape Archi t ec tu re in New Zealand to see i fPostmodern t r ends can be seen here in e i t h e r theory orp r a c t i c e .


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'.a,lI1'a ..,. h i l t . . c:k1alLd l IeUo. ' S.pt .1987.


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WHAT IS POSTMODERNISM?

Postmodernism i s a problemat ic te rm. It has been appl i ed toj u s t about eve ry th ing1thought , to a range of fromp as t e l a new paradigm of WesterncOlours . 2 There i s no s i n g l eaccep ted d e f in i t i o n , and a l o t of confus ion .

What IS Postmodernism? An i n c i p i e n t cu l tura l c r i s i s ,a new era in western h i s to ry , a c l u s t e r o f i n t u i t i o n sabout h i s t o r i c a l change, or a fashion merely . . . ?" 3

Hassan has l i s t e d t en aspec t s to the p r o j ec t of d e f in in gd

. 4Postmo ernl.sm:

1 . I t s name "con ta ins its enemy wi th in" . I t s d e f i n i t i o ni s not i n t e rn a l but r e l a t ed to Modernism.

2. It has "semantic i n s t a b i l i t y " , its meaning be ingf l u id .

3 . It a l s o has t empora l i n s t a b i l i t y . "Postmodernism, andModernism even more, arein t ime, t h r ea t en in g

beginningto make

to s l i p and s l i d eany d i a c r i t i c a l

d i s t i n c t i o n between them d es p a r a t e . "

4. The boundar ie s between Modernism and Postmodernism arei n d i s t i n c t .

5 . There are elements o f both d i sco n t i n u i t y andco n t in u i ty between the two.

6. Postmodernism r eq u i r e s both h i s t o r i c a l and t h e o r e t i c a ld e f i n i t i o n .

1 . Koh, J . 'E co log i ca l Design: A Postmodern Design Paradigmof Hol i s t i c Phi losophy and E volu t i ona ry E t h i c ' .Landscape Journa l , Vol. 1 , N o . 2 . 1982. pp. 8-12 .2 . ' S t y l i s h Kni t t ing ' Vol. 2 , N o . 2 . 1987. Taxi Publ i sh ing . N.Y.3 . Ewington, J . ' P a s t the Pos t : Postmodernism and Pos t f emin i sm ' .ANTIC One, June 1986. p .7 .4 . Hassan, 1. 1 'The Cul tu re of PostmoderniSI l l ' .Theory , Cul tu re and Soc ie ty , Va1.2 , No.3, 1985.p. 121 122.


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7. "Def in ing t r a i t s are d i a l e c t i c a l and a l s o p l u r a l . "

8 . There i s a problem l i n k in g co n t r ad i c t o r y and d i sp a r a t et endenc ies in d i f f e r e n t f i e l d s .

9 . There i s the problem of p r i o r concep tua l i s ing of ape r iod .

10. I s Postmodernism a d e sc r ip t iv e o r ev a lu a t i v e or anormative ca tegory?

I have a t tempted to address a l l of t hese i s s u es with thefo l lowing approach, co n s i s t i n g of both commentary anddiagrammat ic map. (Fig. 1 . Map of Postmodernism.) Thecommentary focuses on a number of themes, and the map l i n k sthem t o g e th e r . The two a re in t ended to be complementary .The map's main f ea tu res are :

A. Locat ing Postmodernism by r e f e r en ce to Modernism.

B. Rela t ing d iv e r s e express ions ofunder ly ing t h eo r i e s and s t r u c t u r e sfea tu re s to geo log ica l s t r u c t u r e ) .

Postmodernism to( e .g . as geomorphic

c. Assoc ia t ing Postmodernism and Modernism with t h e i rr e s p ec t iv e c u l t u r a l processes .

D. Sketching in aPostmodernism andf i e l d d esc r i p t i o n .

sampleModernism

ofto

f ea tu res of bothhelp de f ine them by


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7

POSTMODERNISMS RELATIONSHIP WITH MODERNISM

Postmodernism in its name def ines itself in r e l a t i o n toModernism. "lodernism itself i s a con t en t i ous t e rm w i t h awide r ange of meanings and scope . Kolakowski , f o r example ,has s ugge s t e d t h a t it can be t r a c e d back beyond De sc a r t e s t o

1the e l even th cen tu ry , whi le V i r g i n i a Woolf c la imed t h a t itbegan in o r abou t December 1910 . 2

A common use of Modernism i sabou t the t u rn o f the cen tu ry .

to3

r e f e r to the per iod s i nceIn t h i s c on te x t it r e f e r s

to a wave of op t imism in r a t i o n a l c on t r o l of the world ,i nc lud ing the c oup l ing o f t echnology and sc i ence , r e fo rmedmovements in the a r t s , and ex t ens ion of r a t i o n a l c on t r o lover human sphe r e s of economics , s o c i a l we l f a r e andp o l i t i c s .

A l onge r e x t e nds Modernism back 200 ye a r s to theEnl igh tenmen t o f the e igh t een th cen tu ry , an e a r l i e r wave ofe n t hus i a s m for the no t ions t h a t knowledge and ha pp i ne s sc ou l d be ach ieved th rough r a t i o n a l 4methods . His to r y wasseen a t t h i s t ime as a prog res s ive development t oward t he seends . Unders tanding of the world was sepa ra t ed i n t od i s t i n c t f i e l d s , and each was e xp lo r e d a c c o rd i ng t o its owni n t e r n a l l og i c . 5 So t he Enl igh tenmen tr a t i o n a l mate r i a l i sm and r a d i c a l e mpi r i c i s m.

1 . Kolakowski , L. ' Mo d e rn i t y on E n d l e s s Trial', E n c o u n t e r ;Vol . LXVI, lo. 3, March 1986. p . l 0 .12. Hassan, p . lZ2 .

3. Dear , M.J . ' Pos tmodern i sm and P l a n n i n g ' , S o c ie ty andSpace , Vol . 4, 1986. p .369 .

4 . F o s t e r , H. ed. P r e f a c e to 'The A n t i - A e s t h e t i c : E ssa y s onPostmodern C u l t u r e ' , 1983. p.x .

5. I b i d . p.x .

c on ta ine d bo t h


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These two aspec ts ( r a t i o n a l mate r i a l i sm and empir icism) cametoge ther in pos i t iv i sm which has been an impor tan t componentof Modern thought .

A still longer view ex tends Modernism back tof lour i sh ing of humanism in the C16th and C17th.

theThis

d e f i n i t i o n l i nks Modernism with the s ep a r a t i o n of secu l a rand r e l i g i o u s spheres , the r e in fo rcemen t of mind-naturedual i sm ( s u b j ec t - o b j ec t d i f f e r en t i a t i on ) , and thei ns t rumenta l succes ses of modern exper imenta l sc ience .

One source of confusion with Modernism i s t h a t itsd e f in i t i o n var ies between d i f f e r e n t d i s c i p l i n e s . Moderna rc h i t e c tu re i s commonly regarded as beg inn ing with theBauhaus school in Germany dur ing the 1920s and 1930s andsuch people as Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbus ier . However,some of the premises on which it was developed, such ashones ty to use ofof the bui ld ing ,

mater i a l s , r e l a t i n g form to the func t ionand the use of i n d u s t r i a l t echniques , can

be seen in C19th bui ld ing , such as in f ac to rys andwarehouses and in the Crys ta l Palace . In the so c i a lsc iences Modern iza t ion r e f e r s to the h i s t o r i c a l process bywhich p eo p le ' s l i v e s are i nc reas ing ly organ ised arounda b s t r a c t r a t i o n a l s t ru c tu re s and va lues , a long withi n t e r n a l i s a t i o n of ex te r n a l c o n s t r a in t s ,with urban isa t ion and i n d u s t r i a l i s a t i o n . 2

and i s as so c i a t ed

1 . See f o r example ; Koh.Relph, E ' R a t i o n a l L a n d sc a p e s andHumanis t i c G eo g rap h y . ' 981 .

2. See f o r example ; Encyc lopead ia B r i t a n n i c a - "Mo d ern i sa t io n "Wri g l e y . E.A. ' P r o c e s s o f M o d e r n i s a t i o nand the I n d u s t r i a l R e v o l u t i o n in England 'J o u r n a l o f I n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y H i s t o r y III,N o . 2 . 1972.


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Modern Philosophy i s regarded as beginning wi th Desca r t e sand Bacon. Modern Art i s regarded as develop ing dur ing thef i r s t decades of the twent i e th cen tury with the success ionof d i f f e r e n t movements (e .g . Cubism, Express ion ism,Futur ism) and the es tab l i shment of the avante garde . Yetthe development of Landscape p a i n t i n g dur ing the s ix t e e n thcentury can a l so be seen as ev idence of Modernism in t h a t itexpresses the dual ism of mind-world, su b j ec t - o b j ec t , i . e .

2the idea o f l andscape as a de tached scene .

A p i c t u r e t h a t emerges i s of success ive waves of Modernismwith a v a r i e ty of d i f f e r e n t express ions . JEdward Bellamy andWill iam Morr is ,4 fo r example, both wrote utopian novelsdur ing the 1890s, express ing co n t r a s t i n g Modernis t v i s i o n s .The idea of utop ia i t s e l f i s a Modern one, r ep r e s en t in g t h a ti dea of humans ga in ing happiness th rough r a t i o n a l co n t r o l oft h e i r own a f f a i r s . Bel lamy ' s vi s ion i s one of ach iev ingt h i s through d i r e c t in g t echnology , s c i en ce , and i n d u s t r y tohuman ends. Morris on the o th e r hand, would applyr a t iona l i sm to so c i a l r e l a t i o n sh ip s and r e j e c t s sc ience andt echnology fo r a r e t u r nl i f e s t y l e .

to an a r t and c r a f t and r u r a l

Also, the re have been a number of d i s sen t i n g voices dur ingthe Modern per iod - such as Rousseau, Nietzshe , the C19thRomantics , Dada and Sur rea l i sm and these are sometimesregarded as preceden t s of Postmodernism. 5

1. Encyclopeadia Bri t ann ica - "Modern Phi losophy"2. Relph, E.3. Bellamy, E. 'Looking Backwards, 2010 '4. Morris , W. 'News From Nowhere'5. Kowakowski, L. 'Modern i ty on Endless T r i a l ' ,

Encounter , Vol, LXVI, No.3, March 1986. p i O - i i .


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So from t h i s range and confus ion of Modernism, the fo l lowinga re a list of c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t s t and ou t :

1 . The idea of abso lu tes .2. The emergence of ' s c i e n t i f i c Phi losophy ' .

by t h i s I r e f e r to - r educ t i on i sm- mechan i s t i c views- deduct ive l og ic .- p o s i t i v i s m

3. The re in forcement of dual ismof mind-na tureof su b j ec t - o b j ec t .

4. The compartmenta l ism of l i f e and knowledge.s ep a r a t i o n of sc iences ep a r a t i o n of r e l i g io u s

humani t i ess ecu l a r spheres .

5. The not ion of using human reason and con t ro l toachieve happiness and knowledge; and

6 . The idea of h i s t o r i c a l progress toward t hese goa ls .


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Modernism has been invo lved in both the l andscape and in thep r ac t i c e of Landscape Arch i t ec tu re . For i n s t an ce , themeaning of the word ' l andscape ' as a de tached scene from af ixed poin t , can be regarded as Modern (dual i sm) . Thismeaning i s then p a r t i c u l a r l y expressed in the pic tu re sques t y l e s of Landscape Arch i t ec tu re .

Olmstead was Modern i s t i c in t h a t he was not only concernedwith na tu ra l phys ica l processes and pic tu re sque a e s t h e t i c s ,but p a r t i c u l a r l y in us ing t hese to improve the wel lbe ing of

lurban people . S im i l a r ly the des ign of s ev e r a l of theplanned s e t t l em en t s in New Zealand (Dunedin, Chr i s t church ,Well ing ton fo r example) with t h e i r green be l t s and l a r g ep lo t s r ep r e s en t t h i s goal of improving human wel lbe ingthrough r a t i o n a l co n t r o l . The geomet r ic l ayout of thes t r e e t plans a l s o expressa b s t r a c t s p a t i a l ex tens ion .

the Car t e s i an view of land as

The per iod beginn ing wi th the first Labour Governmentr epresen ted ano the r wave of en thus iasm fo r t hese Modernp r in c ip l e s . Human wel lbe ing was sought through r a t i o n a leconomic con t ro l , r a t i o n a l so c i a l welfare sys tems ,t echno log ica l and r a t i o n a l co n t r o l of the landscape wi thsuch t h ings as the h y d r o e l ec t r i c p ro je c t s and l and useplanning , and th rough l a r g e sca l e housing developments .It's i n t e r e s t i n g to compare s t r e e t plans of t h i s pe r iod withthose of the ea r l y s e t t l em en t s . Pos t War s t r e e t plans a rethe r e s u l t of the ap p l i ca t i o n of r a t i o n a l methods to humanbehaviour . So s t r e e t s are curved to crea te a more humansca l e , ' b e t t e r ' aes t he t i c s , and a c l o s e r sense of community.

H o ~ e t t C. ' S y s t ems , S ig n s , S e n s i b i l i t i e s : Sources fo r aNew Landscape A e s t h e t i c ' , Landscape J o u r n a l ,Vol. 6 . No. I , 1987. p.1


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RAKAIA

TWIZEL

F i g . 2.Rakaia and Twize l : Nine teenth and T w en t i e thc e n t u ry e xpr e s s ions of a Modern approach totown p la nn ing .

/I


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The zoning sys tem i n t roduced with l and use planning , a l soexpresses Modernis t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of s ep a r a t i n g human l i f ei n t o d i f f e r e n t sphe res .

Although Modernism has been invo lved in the l andscapeth roughout the Modern e ra however it i s de f ined , ModernLandscape A r ch i t ec tu r e i s g en e r a l l y r ega rded as beginn ing inthe pos t WWII years with people such as Chr i s tophe r Tunnardand Thomas Church, and i s seen as a break wi th the Manneris t

IBeaux Arts t r a d i t i o n . The emphasis ( fo l lowing ModernA r ch i t ec tu r e to a degree) was on2a e s th e t i c to those of the pas t , anda b s t r a c t th ree dimens iona l m at e r i a l .

func t iona l i sm , a newon use of space as anThomas Church des igned

gardens to s u i t t he func t ions of contemporary l i f e s t y l e s andl e i s u r e a c t i v i t i e s . He i n t roduced outdoor l i g h t in g , fo rexample, because much contemporary l e i s u r e t ime was a f t e rwork a t nigh t t ime .


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, 0 0 f

( ""-" o ;:r.am; tt.I1C- ' I o I I ' ; ~ ...... n r M t : : t t = h ~ _____

= ~ ~ ~ , ' ' . : # ...n:J '""'-.... f0( ,.,[.

' ~ ~ t . .... r ).... ~ I . ; : - ' ) .... a"1 q , , j o , . ~ ' # '

Example of a Modern s t y l e of domes t ic garden de s ign .

\


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A l a t e r phase a r t i c u l a t e d by McHarg, based des ign onn a t u r a l processes as unders tood through the n a t u r a lsc iences , on a r a t i o n a l des ign methodology, us ing a model oflandscape as s p a t i a l l y abs t r ac t , and composed of a l ay e r in gof n a t u r a l and c u l t u r a l processes .

To unders tand Postmodernisms r e l a t i o n s h i p to Modernism, iti s a l so neces sa ry to p lace it in the presen t h i s t o r i c a lcon tex t . This i s a pe r iod of major d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n s withva r ious forms of Modernism. As ment ioned the re have beene a r l i e r d i s sen t i n g voices and p e r io d s , or waves, when themomentum of Modernism s lowed. Since t he 1960s t h e r e hasbeen a gene ra l r eac t i o n ag a in s t Modernism, symbol ised by anumber of even t s . Jane Jacobs ' L i f e and Death of GreatAmerican Ci t i e s ' 2 symbol i sed the f a i l u r e of Modern urbanplanning . Racheal Carson ' s ' S i l e n t JSpr ing ' ga lvan i sedr eac t i o n ag a in s t environmental degrada t ion seen as a r e s u l tof economic and t echno log ica l l and use impera t ives . TomWolfe ' s 'Bauhaus to Our House,4 t apped a popular r eac t ionag a in s t Modern A r ch i t ec tu r e . In a r t t h e r e was a c r i s i s oft he avante garde .and f r inge p ro je c t .

Modernism was i n i t i a l l y a revo lu t ionary5It had become ' dominant but dead ' . As

Rober t Hughes sa id al l the isms were wasms 6 And in theproduct ion of theory, a group of French w r i t e r s inp a r t i c u l a r ( inc lud ing Foucau l t , Der r ida , Bar thes ) r a i seds e r io u s ques t ions about o n t o l o g i ca l and ep i s t emolog ica l

7p r e m ~ s e s of M o d e r n ~ s m

1. McHarg, I . 'Des ign With Nature ' , 1969.2. Jacobs , J . 'L i f e and Death of Great American C i t i e s ' , 1961.3 . Carson, R. ' S i l e n t SEring ' , 196 .4. Wolfe, T. 'Bauhaus to Our House ' , 198S. Habermas, quoted in 'Postmodern ism; A P re fa c e ' . inFos te r , H. ed . 'The A n t i - A e s t h e t i c .Essays in Pos tmodern C u l t u r e . 1983. p . i x .6. Hughes, R. 'The Shock of the Ne ... ' 1980. p.365.7. Fos te r , p . x .


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So Modernism has been v a r io u s ly de f ined , and i s seen a tp r es en t to be prob l emat i c . Postmodernism then , s t ands inr e l a t i o n to both theserange of problems.

dive r se d e f i n i t i o n s , and the d iv e r s e

There wi l l be as many d i f f e r e n t forms o fPostmodernism as there were high modernisms in p lace ,s ince the former are a t l e a s t i n i t i a l l y s p e c i f i c andl oca l reac t ions agains t those models . That obv ious lydoes not make the job o f descr ib ing Postmodernism as acoheren t t h ing any eas i e r , s i nce the un i t y o f t h i s newimpulse - if it has one - i s given not in itself l bu tin the very modernism it seeks to d i sp l ace . I

The s ig n i f i can ce of t hese r eac t i o n s has a l so been v a r io u s lyi n t e rp re t e d .

Some commentators see Postmodernism as s imply a r eac t i o nag a in s t the excesses o f the pos t 2WWII yea r s . On the o th e rhand Jusuk Koh has sugges ted Postmodernism i s therevo lu t ionary emergence of a new paradigm " f a r mores i g n i f i c a n t than the e vo l u t i ona r yphi losophy from Renaissance to Baroque

changes ln des ignto Modern". 3 S t i l lo th e r s have sugges ted t h a t Postmodernism i s Modernisms

4' i d e a l ca tegory ' . That lS , it i s the s t a t e reached a t theex t en t of any pe r iod of moderni ty , when the avante ga rde cango no f u r t h e r and i n s t ead r e t u r n" i r ony , s e l f c ons c i ous ne s s , and not

to the r ecen t pas t withwi th 5lnnocence" . In

o t h e r words it r ep r e s en t s a c r i t i c a l l y se l f - aware Modernism.

1 . Jameson , F. 'Pos tDlodernism and Consumer S o c i e t y ' inF o s te r ed , The A n t i - A e s t h e t i c . p . 1 1 2 .2 . Kolakowski , p .10 .3 . Koh, p.79.4. Eco, U. quoted in Dear , M.J . ' Pos tmodern i s rn and P lan n in g 'S o c ie ty and Space , Vo1.4 , 1986. p .369 .5 . I b i d . p .369 .


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CONTINGENCY: POSTMODERN THEORY

As wel l as the h i s t o r i c a l dimens ion , a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c ofPostmodernism has been the p r o l i f e r a t i o n of theory . Thishas been very diverse , but a group of French t h e o r i s t s -i nc lud ing Foucaul t , Bar thes , and Derr ida , a re o f t en seen asseminal . 1 Despi te the d iv e r s i t y of theory , a common t h r e a dseems to be the not ion of cont ingency , in compar ison to thenot ion of abso lu te s which seems c e n t r a l to Modernism.

Modernism tends to emphas ise , for example, the a bs o l u t eautonomy of sub jec t and o b j ec t , of i n d iv id u a l and/orsoc ie ty , of people and of environment , o f d i f f e r e n t sphe resof human l i f e and unders tand ing , such as mora l i ty ,a e s th e t i c s , economics, sc i ence and a r t s . Postmodern t heo ryon the other hand s t r e s s e s t h e i r cont ingen t i n t e r - r e l a t i o n s .

During the p r ep a r a t i o n of t h i s d i s s e r a t i o n I i n i t i a l l y used' r e l a t i v i s m ' i n s t ead of ' c o n t in g en cy ' .too pas s ive and n eu t r a l .

The former now seems

'Cont ingency ' b e t t e r i nc ludes meanings of ac t iv en es s ,purpose fu lnes s , and of u n ce r t a i n t y . For example,cont ingency can inc lude the idea of be ing prepared to r e a c tto an unc e r t a i n event , and t h a t the r eac t i o n might be basedon purpose or va lues . It i s not s imply neu t ra l andmechanica l as , for example, a sys tems t heo ry or cy b e r n e t i cmodel might be.

1. Foste" p.x .


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Postmodern isa t ion i s not ... the qu i xo t i c no t ion t ha ta l l pos i t i ons i n cu l tu r e and p o l i t i c s are now open andequal . This apoca lyp t i c b e l i e f tha t any th ing goes ,t ha t the end o f ideo logy is here i s s imply thei nver s e o f the f a t a l i s t i c b e l i e f tha t no th ing works ,t ha t we l i v e under a t o t a l sys tem wi thout hope o fredre s s . 2

At base such theory i s ep is temolog ica l t h a t 1 S it i sconcerned with how we have unders tanding of our world - butbecause i t s presumption i s t h a t unders tanding i s con t ingen ton the r e l a t i ons between i n d iv id u a l and soc ie ty , ind iv idua land environment , and so c i e t y and environment , theser e l a t i o n s themselves form c e n t r a l concerns of ani n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y Postmodern theory.

Modernism emphasises the abso lu te autonomy of sub jec t ando b j ec t : There i s an objec t ive r e a l i t y ' ou t t h e re ' t ha t i sopen to unders tanding by us as independent su b j ec t s . I t i sopen fo r us to a b s t r a c t knowledge from. This i s commonsenseand the commonsense view of na tu ra l sc ience .

Postmodern theory, on the o th e r hand, mainta ins t ha t wecannot approach the world f r ee from pr i o r assumptions andi n b u i l t mental s t r u c t u r e s of meaning and va lue . It c la imst h a t it i s the not ion of an abso lu te r e a l i t y t h a t i s in f ac ta b s t r a c t .

1 . Fos t er , p. xi .


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At the l ev e l of the i n d iv id u a l t h i sthe

r e l a t i v i sm has beenaccep ted wi th in Modernism s ince w r i t i n g s of Kant.Postmodernism i s not i n t e r e s t e d in t h i s ques t ion ofi n d iv id u a l r e l a t i v i sm as such,s u b jec t i v e unders tand ing .

bu t i s i n t e r e s t e d in i n t e r -

Postmodernis t r e l a t i v i s m i s second order .mean it quest ions no t i nd i v idua l a s s e r t i onsl ack o f ev idence , bu t the imp l i ed ands tandards , cr i t e r i a , norms, and pr i nc i p l e sjudgements pos s ib l e and g ive them pr i v i l eged

By tha t Ifor t h e i rembeddedtha t makes t a t u s . 1

Postmodern pe rcep t ion theory i s i n t e r a c t i o n a l . People areseen not as pass ive r ecep to r s of informat ion about' r e a l i t y ' , or even as recep tor s of i n forma t ion which i s theni n t e rp re t e d and given meaning. Rather , people are seen aspro jec t ing t he i r pe rcep tua l s t r u c t u r e s onto the world andhaving p a r t i a l and pre -organ i sed in forma t ion bounced back.

Ind iv idua ls have unique f rames of pe rcep t ion developedthrough unique p a t t e r n s of p as t exper iences and so on:

We are a l l a r t i s t s and landscape arch i t ec t s cr ea t ingorder and organ i s ing space , t ime and causa l i t y inaccordance wi th our appercep t i ons and predel e c t i ons . " 2

- but these a re seen as f i t t i n g wi th in broader so c i a l andc u l tu r a l s t ru c tu re s . It

t h a ti s t hese so c i a l s t ru c tu re s - such

as common sense , Postmodern theory focuses on.Commonsense to us seems n a t u r a l - as r ep r e s en t in g r e a l i t y ina t r u e sense - but it i s an a r t i f i c i a l co n s t r u c t i o n t h a tchanges over t ime and between c u l t u r e s . ) 4

1. D'Amigo, R. 'Going R e l a t i v i s t ' , T elos , No. 67, Spring 1986, p139.2. Lowentha l , D. 'Geography, Exper ience and Imagina t i on :Towards a Geograph ical E pi s t emology ' ,Annals of the Assoc i a t i on of AmericanGeographer s ' , Vol. 51, N o . 3 , 1961. p. 260.3 . Sayer , A. 'Ep i s temology and Concept ions of People andNature in Geography , ' Geoforun, Vol. 10,

1979, p.22 f f .4 . For a di scuss ion of s t r u c t u r e s o f i n t e r - s u b j e c t i v e meaning

in N.Z. landscape, p a r t i cu l a r l y as ex p ressed in g ard en s , seeBarne t t , R. 'The Suburban Garden: Where Our C o l l e c t i v eUnconcious Hangs Out ' Auck. Metro , Jan 1985, p106f f'House and Garden: A Discourse o f Landscapein New Z ea l and ' , ANTIC Two, March 1987, pp .68-83 .


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For example our commonsense view of our mountainous Nat ionalParks i s t h a t they are ab s o lu t e ly n a tu ra l , and have c e r t a i nn a t u r a l i n t r i n s i c values such as beauty , and s p i r i t u a lpresence . Yet p r io r to the l a t e seven teen th cen turyEuropeans regarded mountainous areas as i n t r i n s i c a l l y uglyand e v i l p laces . They were seen as evidence of The F a l l ofhumans and n a tu r e . In New Zea land our i n t e r su b je c t iv eunders tand ing o f these mountains has been i n f luenced ,amongst other th ings , by na t iona l i sm - mountains as a source

2of prowess and i d e n t i t y ; by a b e l i e f in t h e i r moral b u i ld in ge f f e c t s , coupled withind iv idua ls ;3 by them as4

'Man Alone ' i d e a l s of independent

a 'New Je rusa lem ' ; bysymbols of a p u r i f i e d so c i a l orde r -

se c u la r i s a t io n o f New Zealand s o c i e tyand the t r end to a t t r i b u t e 5r e l i g i o u s es sence to Nature , andbecause mountains were not commerc ia l ly va luab le and sof i t t e d i n t o the commerce - re l ig ion s ep a r a t i o n .

An impor tan t Postmodern p e r s p ec t iv e on how i n t e r su b je c t iv emeaning i s s t r u c t u r ed i s t h a t proposed by Jacques Der r ida .Der r ida d es c r ib es Western thought as a d u a l i t y of P resenceand Represen ta t ion . 6 Presence i s what seems r ea l , such asones consc iousnes s , the presen t t ime , t he presen t p lace , andthe presence of an o b jec t to its su b j ec t . Modernism' p r iv e l e g e s ' or va lues prescence over r ep r e sen t a t i o n which

1 . Jeans , D. 'Wi lderness , Nature and Soc ie ty : Con t r ibu t ionsto the His to ry of an Environmenta l A t t i t u d e ' .Aus t r a l i an Geograph i ca l -S tud i es 21. 1983. p. 172.

2. Smart , J . and H. Lauder . ' I deo logy and P o l i t i c a l Art inNew Zealand : A Radical View' .Landfa l l , 153, March 1985. p82.

3 . S i n c l a i r , K. 'A Dest iny Apar t : New Zea1ands S earch fo rNat ional I d e n t i t y ' , 1986, p . 55 .

4. Smart and Lauder, p.82.5. See Craig , A. 'The Landscape of V i s i t o r s C e n t r e s 'Unpublished d i s s e r t a t i o n , fo r thcoming ,fo r an i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of r e l i g i o u s dimensionsof Nat ional P ark s ; V i s i t o r s Cent r es asChurches or Shr ines ; Parks S t a f f as

s e c u l a r C l e r i c s .6 . Hart , K. 'Maps of Decons t ruc t ion ' , Heanj i . I , 1986. p .108 .


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i s always seen as der ived and p a r t i a l . This can be seen asa d e s i r e fo r an u l t im a te f i xed p o in t , under ived froma ny th ing e l se . So Modernis t c r i t i q u e s have been concernedwith de te rmin ing the degree to which r ep r e s en t a t i o n

Postmodern c r i t i q u e s , onccu r a t e ly approaches presence .the o th e r hand, focus on r ep r e s en t a t i o n i t s e l f as the onlyr e a l i t y we exper ience . I f r e a l i t y i s a ne go t i a t e d t h i ng ,

from s tudying the n eg o t i a t i o n shen more might be l e a r n tthan the imagined essence of the th ing . This approach i st ermed Decons t ruc t ion . It aims to unders tand the i n t e r e s t s ,i n f lu en ces and fo rces working wi th in r e p r e s e n t a t i o n .

The newer forms o f c r i t i c i sm focus on the s p e c i f i cways in which a t ex t (a pain t ing , poem, o r f i lm [orlandscape] say) i s shaped so as to organise readings .Not only the ' t e x t ' but the ' wr i t e r ' and the ' reader 'are assumed to be programmed (or ' coded up ' ) - t h e i rnego t ia t i ons . . , take p lace with in an es tab l i s hed s e to f cu l tura l codes and s oc ia l re l a t i onsh i p s . Sincethere are important ques t ions to be r a i s ed about t h i sse tup , we can hard ly t r u s t those conf iden t a r t i s t s andc r i t i c s with i n t u i t i v e 'good t a s t e ' who s t r o l l o f f toanother open-minded encounter wi th pure re a l i ty ... " 1

An example of t h i s approach or pe r s pe c t i ve i s Franc i s Poundss tudy of n i ne t e e n t h cen tu ry New Zealand Landscape p a in t i n g .The Moderni s t c r i t i q u e of New Zealand p a in t i n g worked fromthe premise t h a t t he re was an a bs o l u t e l y r e a l New Zealand (apresence) to which some p a i n t e r s ( r epresen te r s ) respondedmore t r u l y than o th e r s . Pound main ta ins however , t h a t theso c a l l e d ' t r u e r ' p a in t e r s in the topographic or' n a t u r a l i s t i c ' s t y l e s , were j u s t as much i n f luenced byp a i n t e r l y convent ions and i m p l i c i t t h eo r i e s , by a Westernmode of regard ing the Landscape, and were p a r t of m a t e r i a li n t e r e s t s involved i n c o l on i s i ng a new l and , both in themind and l i t e r a l l y . 2

1 . Horrocks, R.3 'Reading and Gender: Watching Them Change ' .ANTIC One, June 1986, p.114.2. Pound, F.1 'The Real and the Unrea l in New Zealand Pain t ing 'Art .N.Z. 25. 1982, p.42.

Pound, F.2 'Frames on the Land: Ear ly Landscape Pa in t ingin New Zea land , 1983.


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This i s not to say t h a t Postmodernism i s sUbjec t iv i sm (orIdea l i sm) - t h a t it c la ims t h a t r e a l i t y e x i s t s so l e l y andindependent ly in the mind or t h a t an o b j e c t ' s pure lysu b j ec t i v e meaning def ines i t s r e a l i t y .On the co n t r a r y , Postmodernism a rgues ag a in s t the s ep a r a t i o nof s u b jec t i v e and o b jec t i v e modes of be ing and ofunder s t and ing , and fo r a tof s u b jec t and o b j e c t ' .

l e a s t a ' p a r t i a l i n t e r p e n e t r a t i o nFor a l though Modernism, and

esp ec i a l l y n a t u r a l sc ience , t ended to emphasise o b j e c t i v i t y ,wi th in its framework t h e r e were a l s o methods aimed a tapply ing o b j ec t i v e methods to su b j ec t i v e exper i ence , anda l so aimed a t an unders tand ing of abso lu te sUbjec t iv i sm.The former method can be seen in t he behav iou ra l s c i en ces ,where people ,o b j ec t s ,

i nc lud ing t h e i r op i n i ons , are regarded as

Hthe p o s i t i v i s t prac t i ce o f doing op in ion surveys inorder to produce what purpor t to be br u te data on thesub jec t i s misconceived . Such data cannot t e l l us whypeople have these opin ions . They have to bei n t e rp re t e d and t h i s can on ly be done by e s t a b l i s h i n gre l a t i onsh i p s between opin ions , i n t e r s u b j e c t i v emeanings , mater ia l i n t e r e s t s and p r a c t i c e s . 2

A modern is t method aimed a t abso lu te sUbjec t iv i sm was theform of phenomenology deve loped by Husse r l . The i n t en t i o nof t h i s was to ' b r ack e t out ' a l l p r i o r concept ions of theworld - such as s c i e n t i f i c knowledge and the p a r t i c u l a rc ond i t i ons of ex is tence - so as to uncover an uncontaminatedunders tand ing of exper i ence ; a d i r e c t3 and a bs o l u t eresponse : " to the t h ings themselves" .t h i s i n t r i n s i c re sponse would provides c i e n t i f i c method. 4

aHusser l hoped t h a t

t r u e raw da ta for

1. Sayer , p.19.2. I b i d , p .25 .3 . E nt r i ken . J. Nicholas . 'Contemporary Humanism in Geography ' ,Annals of the Assoc. of AmericanGeographers , Vol. 66, N o . 4 , 1976,p .618 .4. I b i d . p . 6 2 1 .


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A Postmodern response might be ' t o the o th e r t h i n g s ' .E x i s t e n t i a l i s t s adopted the phenomenological concept of the' l i f e wo r ld ' - the r e a l and ' t aken fo r g r an ted ' l i v ed worldof p eo p le ' s exper ience - but they r e j e c t e d the b e l i e f th a tit had an essence - t h a t it could e x i s t independent ly of thep a r t i c u l a r s of p eo p le ' scont ingen t involvement in

l i v e sthe

which are s t r u c t u r ed byphys i c a l and s o c i a l world. 1

For t h i s reason some wri te r s have been c r i t i c a l of what theyt erm ' na ive phenomenologis t s ' such as Tuan, who they sayignore the wider and deeper r e l a t i o n sh ip s of ex is tence infocus ing on s u b jec t i v e meanings of the envi ronment . Theysee Tuan as a r eac t i o n ag a in s t t he dominant emphasis ono b j e c t i v i t y in Human-Environment r e l a t i o n sh ip s , but as beingequa l ly narrow a t t he oppos i t e end of the sca l e . 2

Ex i s t e n t i a l Phenomenologi s t s , such as Merleau Ponty, workfrom t h i s p e r s p ec t iv e , which might be termed Postmodern.They explore the d iv e r s e and r e a l ways t h a t peopleexper ience the world, i nc lud ing ' p h y s i ca l presence ,f ee l i n g s , emot ions ' , but r e j e c t t he no t ion of a bs o l u t e andindependent e s s e n t i a l exper i ence . Ins tead they look fo r

)i n t e r su b j ec t i v e s t ru c tu re s of such exper i ence .

Other wri te r s have more s p e c i f i c a l l y a t tempted to l i n kphenomenology with s t r u c t u r a l and m ate r i a l aspec ts of l i f e ,and to i n v es t i g a t e the var ious forms and mediums4i n t e r su b j ec t i v e under s t and ing .

1. E nt r i ken , p.621-622.2 . Sayer, p . )3 . Also,

3. Entr iken, p.623.

1Eyles , J . 'Why Geography Cannot BeMarxis t : Towards an Unders tand ing ofLived Exper ience ' . Envi ronment andPlanning A, Vol. 13, 1981. p.1385.

4. See fo r example Eyles , J . 2 ' Senses o f Place ' 1985.Cf, p.26, of t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n .

of


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The concep t o f i n t e r su b je c t iv e and cont ingen t unde r s t and ingr a i s e s a number of i s su e s , such as how such unders tand ing i sco n s t i t u t ed , what forms it t akes , and how it o p e r a t e s .

INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETY

One dimension of t h i s i s the r e l a t i o n between i n d iv id u a l andModernism t ended to adopt abso lu te models of t h i soc ie ty .

r e l a t i o n . On the one hand was the model of abso lu tevo lun t a r i sm - such as the romant ic i dea of the a r t i s t - inwhich i n d iv id u a l s ex e r c i s e independent pe rcep t ion and wi l l .On the o th e r hand wereas developed in Marxis t

the models of abso lu te s t r u c t u r a l i smt heory . Marxis t s t r u c t u r a l i sm saw

such t h ings as va lues , consc iousness and p o l i t i c s as p a r t ofa super s t ruc tu re t h a t was de te rmined a t its base by economics t r u c t u r e . So an i n d i v i d u a l ' s consc iousness was de te rminedby h i s /h e r economic ro l e . l

Postmodern t h eo r i e s , however, adopt cont ingen t models of thei n d i v i d u a l - so c i e t y r e l a t i o n sh ip . An impor tan t such model i st h a t of s t r u c t u r a t i o n . 2i n h e r i t and r eproduce so c i a l

According tos t r u c t u r e s ,

t h i s i n d iv id u a l swhich in tu rn ac t

back on i nd iv idua l s , but t he r eproduc t ion i s never exac t ,and i n d iv id u a l s can a l s o ac t consc ious ly to a l t e rs t r uc t u r es . These s t r u c t u r a t i o n processes inc lude a v as tand complex web of ex te rna l and i n t e r n a l i s e d sys tems , from

11. Eyles , p.1373.2. Gregory ,D. 'Human Agency and Human Geography ' , Transac t ionsof the I n s t i t u t e of B r i t i s h Geographers , N.S.Vol. 6, 1981. p .8 - 1 .


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i n s t i t u t i o n s such as work, l anguage , t he NZILA, norms ofbe ha v i ou r , ways o f i n t e r p r e t i n g t he wor ld , l a nds c a pe t a s t e s ,and more obvious fo rma l p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s .

nPeople do not crea te so c i e t y for it always p r e - e x i s t sthem and i s a neces sary cond i t ion for t h e i r a c t i v i t y .Rather , s o c i e t y must be regarded as an ensemble o fs t ruc tures , pr ac t i ce s and convent ions whichi nd iv idua l s reproduce or t rans form, but which wouldnot e x i s t unless they d id so . Soc ie t y does not e x i s tindependent ly o f human a c t i v i t y . But it i s no t theproduct o f it e i th e r . N 1

Fig . 4.

PHYSICALENVIRONMENT

LANDSCAPE

SOCIETY

INDIVIDUALS

IA model of the i n t e r s u b j e c t i v e and c on t inge n t c o n s t i t u t i o nof the landscape as a t h r e e way d i a l e c t i c between:

1. Bhasker.

A. I n d i v i d u a l who a re produced by t h e i rphys ic a l and s oc i a l env i ronmen ts , but whoa r e a l so purpos e fu l and d i s c r e t i o n a r y .

B. S oc i e t y which i s r ep roduced by anda l t e r e d by i nd i v i dua l s .C. P hys i c a l Environment which i s de f i ne d andshaped by peop le , and in tu r n deve lops and

r e i n f o r c e s the na tu r e and i d e n t i t y of people .

quoted 2in Ey1es, p.4 .


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PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENTSimi la r p a t t e r n s can be seen in models of r e l a t i o n s betweenpeople and envi ronment . Modern i s t i deas t ended toward thoseof an abso lu te d u a l i t y , between people on the one hand andan o b jec t i v e and n e u t r a l environment on the o th e r .

An ex t reme example of t h i s i s r ega rd ing l a nd as geometr ics p a t i a l ex tens ion . Van Thunen and Marx for example, bo thregarded s p a t i a l p a t t e r n s of human l and use as de te rminedp r im ar i l y by a b s t r a c t economic pr oc e s s e s . The ' q u a n t i t a t i v er e v o l u t i o n ' in geography dur ing the 1960s and 1970s wass i m i l a r l y concerned with s tudy of t he envi ronment as as p a t i a l sc ience . 2 The d e f i n i t i o n of Landscape by the NZILAp laces Landscape as the product of a number of pr oc e s s e s ,. b ' 3~ e as an 0 ] e c t .

More r ecen t ly , however, w r i t e r s have s h i f t e d back to rega rdenvi ronment as a c on t i nge n t phenomena, be ing no t a n eu t r a lr eco rd o f processes , i n t e r e s t s , and i deas , nor s imply as tage , but be ing i n t i m a t e l y invo lved .

1 .2.3.4.

Place i s a nego t ia t ed r e a l i t y ,by a purpose fu l s e t o f ac tors .i s mutual , f o r p laces in turnthe i d e n t i t y o f the s oc ia l group

EyIes , 1 p.1377.Ib id . p.1372.N.Z. I .L .A. Code of Conduct .Ley,D. quoted in Eyies 2 p. 4.

a soc ia l cons t ruc t ionBut the re l a t i onsh i pdeve lop and re i n f o rcetha t cla ims them. 4


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According to such amuch a cause , or aencompasses l i v in g

cont ingen t model, l andscape i s not soproduct , as a medium of l i v in g . Thisin its f u l l e s t sense , i nc lud ing such

t h ings as m ate r i a l needs , a e s th e t i c s , consc iousness , va lues ,p o l i t i c a l power and so on.

In t e r e s t in g work has been done r ecen t l y to concep tua l ly l i n kd i f f e r e n t aspec t s of t h i s cont ingen t model and t o dev i semethodologies to explore them. Eyles , fo r example, hasca r r i ed out case s t u d i e s to t r y and t i e t o g e th e rphenomenologica l ,o f p lace . l Pred

s t r u c t u r a l and m ate r i a l aspec t s of senseand T h r i f t have devised models of place

i nc o r po r a t i ng s ev e r a l cont ingen t p rocesses .t ime-geography - i t s e l f a cont ingen t model

They combinedwi th c e r t a i n

s t r u c t u r a t i o n proces ses between i n d iv id u a l and s o c i e ty suchas ' s t r u c t u r e of f e e l i n g ' . 'Sense o f Place ' i s seen as as t ru c tu re of meaning invo lv ing both s t r u c t u r a t i o n processesand s p e c i f i c t ime-geography processes . 2 )

1 . Eyles 22. Pred , A.I ' S t r u c t u r a t i o n and Place : On the Becoming ofSense of Place and S t r u c t u r a t i o n of F ee l i n g ' .

Journa l fo r the Theory o f S o c i a l Behaviour ,Vol. 13, 1983.Pred , A.2 ' P l ace as H i s t o r i ca l l y Cont ingen t Process :S t r u c t u r a t i o n and the Time-Geography ofBecoming P l a c e s ' . Annals of t he Assoc i a t i on ofAmerican Geographers , 74(2) . 1984.Th r i f t . N. and A. Pred . 'T ime-Geography: A New Beginn ing ' ,P ro g ress in Human G e o g r a p h y , S , 1981.

3 . For an example of an a t t empt to apply t hese t h eo r i e s top r ac t i ce see Aling ton . C. and G. Li s t e r , 'Senses of Place :An Assessment of In n er C i ty C h r i s t ch u r ch ' . Unpubl i shedPaper , Linco ln College Landscape Arch i t ec tu re S e c t i o n , 1987.


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LANGUAGE

Language i s a key concep t and concern of Pos tmodern i s t sbecause it i s seen a t once as a medium in whichi n t e r su b je c t iv e unders tand ing i s c o n s t i t u t e d , which can bes tud ied to i d e n t i fy the forms it t akes and how it opera tes ,and which provides a medium to c r i t i c a l l y dea l with suchunders tand ing .

Modern is t s tended toward a model of language t h a t regardedit as a neu t ra l medium of communicat ion and as a n e u t r a ll a b e l l i n g of our unders tand ing of t he world . The aim ofmany modern wr i t e r s , esp ec i a l l y i n New Zealand Modernism,was to use language as a ' c l e a r window' onto r e a l i t y - i.e.

1to be n eu t r a l recorders or mir rors of r e a l i t y .

Pos tmodern i s t s , on the other hand, see language as p r e -organ i s ing our unders tand ing and communicat ions . The windownot only has a frame, but i t s g l a s s i s dimpled. 2 Language i sseen as a value and meaning l aden medium t h a t precedes us .We are born i n to language and reproduce it by l e a r n in g andworking with it.we speak . '

We a re c r ea t ed by l anguage . 'We a re what

Lowenthal has l i s t e d a range of examples to demons t ra te thecont ingen t r e l a t i o n sh ip s between JenV1ronment and language.On the one hand we see t h ings in te rms of our l anguage ' ssu b j ec t - o b j ec t dual ism:

1. Horrocks , R.1 'The Inven t i on of New Zealand ' , AND I , p.9 f f .1983. p . 9 f f .2. Lowenthal , p .255 .3. I b i d . p .252 .


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To say , theabsurd i t y o findependent o fbe a wind tha tapar t from its

28

wind blows ' perpe tra tes the t r i p l esugges t ing tha t the wind can bethe act ion o f blowing, tha t there candoes not blow, and tha t the wind e x i s t soutward ma n i f e s ta t io n s . l

On the other hand our languageenvironment .

r e f l e c t s cont ingenc ie s of

Tikopians , never far from the ocean, and unable toconceive o f a large land mass, use ' inward' and' seaward' to he lp l oca t e anyth ing . 'There i s a spo to f mud on your seaward c h e e k ' . 2

Also, l i k e othe r s t r u c t u r a l r e l a t i o n sh ip s descr ibed in t h i sd i s s e r t a t i on , language i s not f ixed or one way. Our spokenlanguage changes over t imeOxford Engl ish Dict ionary} .

(as recorded fo r example in theThe meanings and uses of the

word Landscape, for example, have changed over t ime and3d i f f e r between c u l tu r e s . Although we i n h e r i t l anguage , we

can ac t to a l t e r it and t r y and ' chea t it'. (Bar thes usest h i s i dea of ' c h ea t i n g language and chea t ing with language 'as a d e f in i t i o n of l i t e r a t u r e . 4 We might u s e f u l ly apply t h i sperspec t ive to the use ofarch i t ec tu re . )

language and mediums of l andscape

Within master languages the re arecommuni t ies . As New Zea landers wecommunity within Engl ish language.we are p a r t of another d i s t i n c t

sub- languages or speechform a d i s t i n c t speech

As Landscape A r ch i t ec t sspeech community aga in .

Each of these g ives us a d i f f e r e n t s e t of presumptions ,p r e ju d i ce s , and i n t e r su b je c t iv e meaningsthe group.

1 . Piage t , quoted in Lowentha l , p. 255.2. Ib id . p .252 .3 . Swaf f i e ld . S. and i . O'Conner , ' P e r ce i v i n g , Conceiv ing .

to those o u t s id e

Pro tec t ing and Using New Zealand LandscapeSystems. Centre for Resource ManagementIn fo rmat io n Paper No.6. 1986. p.

4 . Bar thes , R. Se lec t ed Wr i t ings . I n t roduced by Susan Sontag ,1982, p .462 .


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A v i t a l l y impor tan t p a r t of the Postmodern concep t o flanguage i s t h a t it i s not r e s t r i c t e d to spoken /wr i t t enmediums. A vas t a r ray of c u l tu r a l phenomena can be seen inte rms of l anguage .

The product ion and reproduct ion o f mater ia l life i sn e c e s sa r i l y a c o l l e c t i v e a r t , media ted inconsc iousness and sus ta ined through codes o fcommunication Such codes inc lude not on lylanguage in its formal sense, but also ges tur e , dress ,personal and soc ia l conduct , music , pain t ing , dance,r i t u a l , ceremony and bui ld ing . Even t h i s list doesnot begin to exhaus t the range o f symbol ic product ionthrough which we sus ta in our l i v e d world, because a l lhuman a c t i v i t y i s a t once both mater ia l and symbolic ,product ion and communicat ion. The symbol icappropria t ion o f the world produces d i s t i n c t i v el i f e s t y l e s (genres de vie) and d i s t i n c t i v e landscapeswhich are h i s to r i c a l l y and geographica l ly s p e c i f i c . l

Norberg Schulz , fo r example,div ides

d i s cu s s e s the language oft opo log ica l ,r c h i t e c tu re and t h i s i n t o

2morphological and t y p o lo g i ca l components . He c la ims t h a t areason Modern a rc h i t e c tu reconsc ious ly reac ted aga ins tcomponent of t h i s language.

appears so f ace l e s s i s t h a t itthe t y p o lo g i ca l (or f i g u r a t i v e )

This language can be appl i ed to outdoor space .Ch r i s t ch u r ch ' s Cathedra l Square fo r example has a s p a t i a lmorphology - a space of propor t ions t h a t a l lows c e r t a i nfunc t ions to occur and in which people f ee l comfor tab le oro the rwise ; it has t o p o lo g i ca l meaning as a c e n t r a l node, andso r e l a t e s to the grammar of urban form,

21 . Cosgrove , D. 'Towards A Radical C u l t u r a l Geography:Problems o f T heory ' , Ant ipode , IS, 1983, p . l .22. N o rb erg -S ch u l t z , C. 'The Demand For A Contempora ryLanguage of A r c h i t e c t u r e ' , Art andDes ign,

a l lowing


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o r i e n t a t i o n . I t i s a l s ospace and co-ord ina te ,i l l u s t r a t e d by the f ac tf ac t not square . This

31

a t ype .it i s

t h a t intype hasform.

It i s not j u s t any olda ' s qua r e ' . This i s

geometr ic te rms it i s insp e c i f i c meanings in theThe square does not j u s testern language of urban

a l low ga the r ing of peopleplace of ga ther ing , of

in func t iona l terms, it means abeing seen and see ing o t h e r s , of

r i t u a l i s i n g ones i d e n t i t y with a place .

S im i l a r ly an oak t r e e has genera l meanings because of itsshape , t ex t u r e , deciduousness , e t c , and because it i s a t r e eand represen ts na tu re , l i f e , and so on. But it a l s o hastypo log ica l meanings . Oaks in our cu l t u r e a re as so c i a t edwith q u a l i t i e s such as s t ead f a s t n e s s , and in theChr is tchurch context they car ry add i t iona l meaning becausethey co n t r i b u t e to Ch r i s t ch u r ch ' s i d e n t i t y as ' t he mostEngl i sh c i t y outs ide England ' . A cabbage t r e e has d i f f e r e n ttypo log ica l meanings becauseZealand.

it i s d i s t i n c t i v e l y New

This i s not to say t h a t meanings be long to t he th ingsthemselves . As with spoken /wr i t t en l anguage , meanings area t t r i b u t e d and main ta ined by people and t hese can changeover t ime. The goth ic a rc h i t e c tu re of Chr i s t church mighthave had s t r ong s p i r i t u a l meanings fo r the CanterburyAssoc ia t ion founders . Nowadays its meanings are more l i k e l yto be those of s ecu l a r romant ic i sm, and t hose of ad i s t i n g u i sh i n g i d e n t i t y from Auckland and Well ing ton .


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MYTH

An impor tan t approach in the s tudy of the forms ofi n t e r su b je c t iv e meanings - as s o c i a t ed with the concep t oflanguage - i s t h a t of semiology (or semio t i cs ) .

Semio t ics oc c u r s whenever we s tand back from our waysof unders tanding and communicating, and ask how theseways o f unders tanding and communicat ing ar i se , whatform t hey take, and why. Semio t ics i s above a l l ani n t e l l e c t u a l c u r i o s i t y about the ways we represen t ourworld to ourse lves and each o th e r . 1

Roland Bar thes i s a seminal semio log is t . P a r t i c u l a r l y2impor tan t i s h i s concep t of Myth. He sees c u l tu r e as ac o l l e c t io n of myths which s t ru c tu re our unders tand ing of theworld . Myth i s not seen in t h i s use as a p e j o r a t i v e term -i . e . an u n t r u th because it r e j e c t sabso lu te t r u t h aga ins t which to measurenot n ecessa r i l y good or bad.

the no t i on of anit. So a Myth 1 S

A Myth used f requen t ly in Landscape Archi tec tu re i s a Mythof the Rural as represen ted bysuburban s t r e e t by Rober t Venturifrom a margar ine co n ta in e r (Fig . 3) .

t h i s i l l u s t r a t i o n of a(Fig. 2) and t h i s logo

1 . SIes s , D, 'Reading Semio t i cs ' , In fo rma t ion Design Journa l ,Vo1.4, N o . 3 , 1986. p .179 .2. Bar thes , pp. 93-149.


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F i g . l , . ' I h o f Rur a lk ' s u s e o f a .ytpa

F ig . 5 . . i cs V n t u r i a nd Br o wn .u uurball s em lO . . 36From Br uegemM n , 1 98 2 , p . .


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According to Bar thes approach, I t he re are two semiologica lsystems a t work. The f i r s t i s a s imple language system madeup o f th ree components: the s ig n i f i e r , which i s the shape ofthe h i l l s , house, r i s i n g sun; the s i gn i f i ed , which i s theabs t r ac t concept of r u r a l i t y ) i . e . out of town), and thes ig n which i s the r e s u l t of these two components workingt oge ther and which i s the l e v e l we are normal ly consciousof .

I. Signifier I 2. SignifiedLanguage 3. SignI SIGNIFIER II SlGNIPIEDMYfH III SIGN

The second-orde r semio log ica l system i s the mythica l one.This begins wi th and r e l i e s fo r i t s ef fec t iveness on - theseemingly innocen t completed s ig n of the s imple languagesystem. However, t h i s s ig n then r e f e r s to a mythicalconcept of Rura lness which inc ludes a range of va lues , suchas wholesomeness , n a t u r a l n e s s and so on. The s i gn i f i ca t i oni s the comple t ion of t h i s mythica l sys tem. So what seems aninnocent diagram ac t ua l l y car rys a range of seduc t ivemeanings, which of course i s why the a d v e r t i s e r has chosenit, r a t he r t han s imply saying " t h i s margarine i s wholesomeand na t u r a l " .

1 . Bar thes t I Myth Today t pp. 97 .


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An important myth of the Modern e r a , and of Modern LandscapeArch i t ec tu re , has been t ha t of Science . At a s implelanguage sys tem l eve l of meaning, sc ience r e f e r s to c e r t a i nmethods and ways of unders tanding the world , but a t amythical l ev e l Science c a r r i e s values of t ru th ,i mpar t i a l i t y , cor rec tness and e f f i c ac i o u sn ess , which i s whyScience too i s used of ten by adver t i s e r s .


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POSTMODERN CULTURE

Postmodernism has a spec i f i c h i s t o r i ca l and cu l t u r a ldimension as well . Postmodern theory , and the reac t ionaga ins t Modernism, i s bound with t h i s h i s t o r i c a l cu l tu ra lcontext . It i s par t of the prevai l ing moods, fee l ings ,as p i r a t i ons , p o l i t i c a l economies and technologies .

Elec t ron ic communications technology i s a cruc ia l pa r t of ,for example:

( i) crea t ing both world-wide disseminat ion of a wided ive r s i ty of ideas and world-wide f inancia l con t ro l .

( i i ) crea t ing both mass media/mass cu l t u r e and al lowing thecohering of previously d ispersed cu l tu ra l minor i t i e sand sub-cu l tu res .

Postmodern cul ture has a d i f f e r e n t space-economy. I ti s Pos t i ndus t r i a l . Serv ices ec l ipse manufactur ing. Ratherthan being a tool to produce commodit ies , in format ion i t s e l fbecomes the main commodity. Nat ional borders and na t iona lpol i t i ca l -economys l ose t h e i r i n t e g r i t y , as mult ina t ionalcorporat ions become inc reas ing ly impor tan t p o l i t i c a l andeconomic un i t s .

A Postmodern cu l tu re i s both a mass cu l t u r e and a cu l tu re ofindiv iduals im - of se l f fu l f i l lmen t . In the l a s t f i f t eenyears for example, Auckland has gained both the mass cul tureof McDonalds and a range of s p e c i a l i t y res taurant s fromAust r ian to Vietnamese.Postmodern cu l tu re i s one of consumerism and commodificat ion

not only of goods, but inc reas ing ly of in format ion ,exper iences , l i f e s t y l e s . A 'Nat ional Park Experience ' couldbe seen as a form of consumerism for example.


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Postmodern cu l t u r e i s p a r ad o x ica l l y both more i n t e r n a t i o n a li n ch a r ac t e r , and conta ins more d i v e r s i t y wi th in a place .

A Postmodern cu l t u r e i s one of p as t i ch e , i rony, k i t s c h .Postmodern cu l t u r e has been desc r ibed as p ess i m i s t i c :f ee l i n g s of power lessness , p o i n t l e s sn es s , f a i l u r e of e a r l i e rModern schemes.holocaus t ahead.

The Jewish holocaus t behind , the nuc lea r

Postmodern cu l tu re has a l so been seen o p t i m i s t i c a l l y , as abreak from the f a i l u r es of Modernism, from the hegemony ofor thodoxys and master n a r r a t iv e s , as a break from boredom.

Within New Zealand events such as growing awareness ofenvi ronmenta l degrada t ion , our involvement in t he VietnamWar, the emergence of chron ic unemployment, and growingawareness of the margina l i sed p o s i t i o n of Maori and Women,were a l l con t r ibu to r s to an awareness of Modernism as"dominant but dead" .

Aspects of i n t e rn a t io n a l cu l t u r e impor ted i n t o New Zealandare usua l ly acc l imat i sed and adapted to l oca l co n d i t i o n s .Franc i s Pound (ment ioned above) desc r ibed how n in e t een thcen tu ry pic tu re sque modes of landscape p a in t i n g were adaptedto the purpose (among othe r s ) of c o l on i s i ng a new l and inthe mind. 1 S im i l a r ly aspec t s of Modern p a i n t i n g wereadapted to a s t y l e of New Zealand landscape pa in t ing t h a tcan be seen as a conscious p ro je c t to crea te a New Zealandn a t io n a l i den t i t y .can be expected.

The same adopt ion of Postmodern c u l tu r eWilcox, in f a c t , has di scussed the

impor ta t ion and modi f i ca t ion of aspec t s of Postmodernism fors i m i l a r purposes of c r ea t i n g n a t i o n a l i den t i ty .2

2 . Wilcox. L.2 'More Versions of the P a s t o ra l : Postmodernismin the N.Z. Contex t ' . Jou rna l of PopularCul tu re . Vol. 19. N o . 2 . 1985 ___


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LOCATING POSTMODERNISM BY FIELD

A f i n a l method of d e f in in g Postmodernism i s to descr ibe itby f i e l d .This i s done on the 'Map of Postmodernism' by l i s t i n g arange of examples from d i f f e r e n t d i s c i p l i n e s , and t r y i n g tocompare them to Modernis trange of d i f f e r e n t forms

examples . This i l l u s t r a t e s thet ha t have been regarded as

Postmodernism, and t h e r e f o r e problems for d e f i n i t i o n s basedon forms a lone . Dispa ra te forms may o f t en express a s imi l a rimpulse. For example a common theme of LandscapeA r ch i t ec tu r e Postmodernism i s contex tua l i sm . By d e f i n i t i o nt h i s i s going to l ead to a v a r i e ty of forms. But on t op oft h i s , contextua l i sm has been v a r i o u s l y i n t e rp re t e d asvernacu la r contex t , s oc i a l con tex t , h i s t o r i c a l con tex t ,b io lo g ic a l process con tex t , and so on. More fu l ly developedforms of postmodernism might be expected to r e l a t e to a moret o t a l con tex t .

Conversely , s imi la r forms might express d i f f e r e n tmot iva t ions . I s an eco lo g i ca l park fo r example, respondingto its n a t u r a l context , or to an a b s t r a c t and a b s o l u t i s tmodel .


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A common phrase used when t a l k i n g about Postmodernism i s' complex i ty and co n t r ad i c t i o n ' corning o r i g i n a l l y fromRober t V en tu r i ' s book of t h a tt hese were the q u a l i t i e s of

name, in which he cla imed t h a t1 h ' 1 h 'ppea 1ng a rc 1 te c tu re . T 1Sphrase i s a usefu l d esc r i p t i o n of many Postmodern works, and

a l so of the f i e l d of Postmodernism as a whole.

Another d i s t i n c t i o n t h a t has been made between Modern andPostmodern forms t h a t might u se f u l l y be appl i ed to Landscapedes ign i s t h a t between ' c l o s ed t e x t s ' and 'open t e x t s ' . Inthe former " a l l the e lements o f the work a re d i r ec t ed towarda s i n g l e read ing of the work. Each element conf irms t h a tone read ing .... In the open t e x t a l l the e lements of thework a re maximally ex c i t ed ... " .

J e l l i c o e ' s work, for example, might be seen as Postmodern tothe degree it t r i e s t o mul t ip ly the number of r ead ings one

2can t ake from it. S im i l a r ly with the work of Pamela3 4 5Bur ton , George Hargreaves, and Richard Haag.

Another c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Postmodern work i s wider range oftone . Modern work tended to be se r ious and ea r n es t .Postmodern work o f t en uses othersuch as i rony and wryness .

tones , esp ec i a l l y humour

F i n a l l y , Hassan has proposed a so p h i s t i c a t ed d e sc r i p t i o n ofthe c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Postmodernism based on two ca t eg o r i e sof ' Inde te rminacy ' and ' Immanence ' .

1. V en tu r i , R.l 'Complex i ty and Cont r ad i c t i on in A r ch i t ec t u r e ' ,1977.2. J e l l i c o e , G. 'The Landscape o f Analogy ' A r c h i t e c t u r a l Press ,March, 19B3.3 . Douglas , W.L. e t a l . ' Pame la Burton ' in Garden Des ign, 19B4.4. Hargreaves . G. 2 'Lakewood H i l l s : A F u tu re fo r Memory L an e ' ,L.A.M. Mar. 1984, pp. 45-51 .5. Campbell , C. ' S e a t t l e s Gas Plan t P a r k ' , L.A.M. Ju ly . 1973.pp. 33B-342.

c f . pp. 59-60 of t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n .


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' Inde te rminacy ' inc ludes the t endenc ie s of "openness ,heterodoxy, plura l i sm, e l ec t i c i sm , randomness, r e v o l t ,deformat ion" - " the many a s se r t i n g t h e i r pr imacy over theone". 1 Immanences ' on the o th e r hand, i s de f ined as " thecap ac i ty of mind to g en e r a l i s e i t s e l f in the world, to ac tupon both s e l f and world , and so become more and moreimmedia te ly ,t endenc ies

i t s own envi ronment" . This inc ludes suchas "Disseminat ion , i n t e g ra t io n , ecumenism,

communicat ion, i n t e rp l a y , in te rdependence , rr 21 n t e r p e n e t r a t 1 0 n . Hassen cla ims t h a t t hese two ca t eg o r i e sare not complete o p p o s i t e s , but ope ra te in the manner ofwhat he terms an ' a mb i l e c t i c ' . They can be nega t ingco n t r ad i c t i o n s , d i a l e c t i c a lparodoxica l co n t r ad i c t i o n s .

11. Hassan, p .12S.2. Ib id . p.126.

co n t r ad i c t i o n s , and ambiguous,


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IMPLICATIONS

It has seemed t h a t t he a t t empt to provide a comprehensived e f i n i t i o n and d esc r i p t i o n of Postmodernism fo r t h i sd i s s e r t a t i o n has i n t roduced more complex i ty and u n c e r t a i n t ythan t he r e appeared to begin with . However, the nega t iveconsequences of the confus ion and vagueness as s o c i a t ed wi ththe term, have been outweighed by the energy of t h i nk i ngt h a t Postmodernism i n t roduces and the i m p l i c a t i ons of t h i sfor our work.

Urt ~ not so i n t e r e s t i n g to look for an a u th o r i t i v ede f i n i t i on o f Postmodernism as to consider theimpl i ca t ions o f the very complex i n t e l l e c t u a l brawl weare wi tness ing - and j o in ing - r igh t now. 1

A cen t r a l impl i ca t ion i s t h a t c r i t i c a l p e r s p ec t iv e s a rechanged. E xi s t i ng p o s i t i o n s are ques t i oned .

As the curren t 'bad boys ' o f the academy,Postmodernis ts have u n i f i e d the r ight and left on whothey both love to ha te . 2

This d o es n ' t mean t h a t it den i es e x i s t i n g o r any p o s i t i o n s .Postmodernism i s not n ih i l i s m .theory c la ims a cont ingen t world ,

But because Postmodernit denies a bs o l u t e o r

autonomous founda t ions fo r e x i s t i n g p o s i t i o n s . ) A Postmodernpe r spec t ive i s cur ious about t he contex t s of p o s i t i o n s , thepresumpt ions behind them, and the i n t e r e s t s invo lved .

1 . Ewington, p . 8 .2. D'Amigo, p.13S.3. Ib id . p.145.


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So in t h i s sense Modernism and Postmodernism a re d i f f e r e n tin na tu re . Modernism proposed abso lu te and autonomousgoa ls .

We (modern arch i t ec t s ) were thoroughly o f the opin iont ha t if you had good ar ch i t ec tu r e the l i v e s o f peoplewould be improved; t ha t a r c h i t e c t u r e would improvepeople , and people improve ar ch i t ec tu r e , u n t i lp e r f e c t i b i l i t y would descend on us l i k e the HolyGhos t , and we would be happy for ever a f t e r . If 1

A Postmodern c r i t i c a lcheck the foundat ions .

p o s i t i o n , however, might ask you to

" (Postmodern) t heory i s l e s s a keys tone o r a caps tone ,than a keys tone kop who s l y l y su b v e r t s . 2

As such then, Postmodernism in i t s e l f i s n e i t h e r good norbad and it i s impor t an t to keep aware of t h i s . It i sc on t i nge n t on the response t h a t i s made.

One response i s a r eac t ionary s t ance t h a t appeal s e i t h e r toe x i s t i n g p r ac t i c e or to t r a d i t i o n a l fundamental bases . Thisi s p a r t l y evident in academic c i r c l e s as a resurgence offundamental ism 1n both conse rva t ive and r a d i c a l t r a d i t i o n s .D'Amigo has examined c r i t i c i s m s from both theseper spec t ives , and main t a in s however t ha t t h e i r argumentscannot s i d e s t ep the b as i c claims of Postmodern c r i t i c i s m ,which has r a i sed se r ious ques t ions .p r ac t i c e and foundat ions a represumpt ions and i n t e r e s t s . 3

appeal s

1. P h i l l i p Johnson quoted in Hughes, p.16S.

Appeals to t r a d i t i o n a lto concealed theory,

2. Hassan, r . 2 'Making Sense: The Tr ia l s of PostmodernDiscourse ' . New Li t e rary Hi s to ry , Vol . I8 ,N o . 2 , 1987. p.448.

3 . D'Amigo, p . I3Sf f .


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There i s much moral f inger wagging - Postmodernism i sdecadent , s e l f indu lgen t , i r respons ib le , a sub ter fugeo f la t e cap i ta l i sm imperia l i sm - which dismisses anygenuine theore t i cal deba t e . 1

Another re sponse might be one of p o in t l e s s n es s when e x i s t i n gfounda t ions and goa l s begin to seem l e s s so l i d .

However, the con t ingen t emphas is of Postmodern theory c la imst h a t people a re unavoidably impl i ca ted in t h e i r s o c i e t y andenvi ronment . People a r e not independent and autonomous,but /and a l s o t h e i r a c t i ons do have e f f e c t s t h a t a re no t p r e -de te rmined . Postmodernism i s ag a in s t the abso lu t e p o s i t i o n sof both vo lun t a r i sm and s t r u c t u r a l i s m , of both i n ev i t ab l eProgress and hope le s s f u t i l i t y . So people have noj u s t i f i c a t i o n f rom Fostmodern theory to e i t h e rthemselves to sys tems or to withdraw from them

r e s ig ni n t o a

hermet ic p o s i t i o n . In t h i s sense it i s a human approach .

F os t e r has d i s t i n g u i s h ed between a 'Fos tmodernism ofr eac t i o n ' and a 'Fos tmodernism of , 2r e s l s t a n c e . Reac t ionr e in f o r ces e x i s t i n g i n t e r e s t s and ex i s t i n g s t r u c t u r e s ofmeaning. Res i s t ance would p e r s i s t e n t l y tr y to ou t manouevret he s e . Hughes, fo r example, sees Fostmodern Archi t ec tu re asr e a c t i ona r y :

The t rouble i s that 'Post-Modern a rc h i t e c tu re ' i sj u s t the same old i n t erna t iona l s t y l e s , cur ta in -wal lsha f t with a funny hat on top, and maybe a b i t o fmarble in the foyer . 3

1. D'Amigo, p.136.2. Fos te r , p .x i i .3. Ford, G. 'Tame Cockatoo in "Time" : A Conversa t ion with

Art C r i t i c Robert Hughes' N.Z. Lis tener , Hay 3,1986. p.31.


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C r i t i c a l Regional ism, however, could be seen as anArchi tec tu re of r e s i s t a n c e .

A c r i t i c a l media t ion o f the forms o f modernc i v i l i s a t i o n and o f loca l cu l ture , a mutualdeconstruc t ion o f universa l techn iques , and reg ionalvernacu lars . 1

Another impl i ca t ion of Postmodernism, i s t h a t the u n se t t l i n gof dominant ways of see ing al lows a l t e r n a t i v e ways of see ingmore accep tance . Dominant ways

I Master n a r r a t i v e s ' , ' e p i s t o m es ' ,of see ing have been termed

and regarded as opera t ingin a hegemonic f a sh ion , us ing a l l s o r t s of t r i c k s to keepa l t e r n a t i v e s out , o r to subsume them. Under a mastern a r r a t iv e th a t regards sc ience as t r u t h and the Europeanworld view as the r i g h t one, Maori world views, for example,

They area t b es t as

regarded as myths in aembe l l i shments to the t rue

a re marg ina l i sed .p e j o r a t i v e sense ,p i c t u r e . However, a decons t ruc t ion of sc ience , as Foucaul t

2a t tempted , t h a t shows it as 'narow r a t h e r than wrong ' ,a l lows these Maori world views g r e a t e r power. This i simpor tan t to Landscape, and the process can be seenbeginn ing to occur . A s imi l a r process i s t ak ing place wi thfeminism. Much f em in i s t c r i t i c i s m 1.S concerned withdecons t ruc t ing male o r i e n t a t e d ways of see ing the world t h a tare o f t en so embedded in our cu l t u r e t h a t they seem to be' n a t u r a l ' . They are common-sense. Femin i s t c r i t i c i sm hasemerged in Arch i tec tu re , but hasA r ch i t ec tu r e .

ye t to appear in Landscape

1. K. Frampton, quoted in Fos t er , p . x i i i .2. Refer red to in D'Amigo, p .141f f .


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Fol lowing from de c ons t r uc t i ve i m p l i c a t i ons of Postmodernism,are new o p p o r tu n i t i e s of r eco n s t r u c t i o n . LandscapeArchi t ec tu re has sought to be h o l i s t i c . In the p as t ,however, t he re have been conceptua l and methodologica lproblems in jo in ing va r ious d i sp a r a t e components t o g e th e r -o b jec t i v e and s u b jec t i v e aspec t s of the l andscape f o rin s t an ce .

Postmodernism provides a t h e o re t i c a l impulse to provide acon t ingen t h o l i s t i c sys tem. For ins tance , the o b j ec t i v e ands u b jec t i v e aspec ts a re seen as i n t e r p en e t r a t i n g andcont ingen t , as are i n d i v i d u a l - so c i e t y and people -envi ronmentand methods fo r exp lor ing these r e l a t i o n s as such have beena t tempted as ment ioned e a r l i e r .

F i n a l l y , a fu r the r i m p l i c a t i on of Postmodernism, if seen asan ' i d e a l ca tegory ' to Modernism, i s t h a t of ca r r y in g onwhat Hassan te rms the ' c o g n i t i v e impera t ive ' : the p rocess bywhich people have not on ly l e a r n t about t h e i r world, butl e a r n t to l e a r n , by r e pe a t e d l y undermining any equi l ib r ium,o r any c losed sys tem. He quotes Der r ida ;

This

Though t requ ires bo th the p r in c ip l e o f reason andwhat i s beyond reason, the arkhe and an-archy.Between the two, the d i f f e rence o f a brea th o r anaccent , a b l i n k o r a wink .

i s s imi la r to Foucaul t s exhor t ion to ' c o n s t an t l yr ehea r se a break wi th h i s t o r y ' . So fo r Hassan, progressi r o n i c a l l y depends now on Postmodernisms a b i l i t y to subve r tthe dominant h i s t o r y (or Myth) of Progress .

21. Hassan, p.448.


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CONCLUSION

This d esc r i p t i o n of Postmodernism i s a pe r sona l compos i t ion ,put t oge t he r from a range of w r i t i n g in s ev e r a l d i s c i p l i n e sof the l i b e r a l and appl i ed a r t s . It must be r e i t e r a t e d t h a tPostmodernism i s not a c o n s i s t e n t l y de f ined phenomena, andt h a t t h e r e are numerous d e f i n i t i o n s of it.

Some d e f i n i t i o n s dea l wi th Postmodernism in a s p e c i f i cd i s c i p l i n e , such as Frampton ' s 'Pos tmodern A r ch i t ec tu r e ' orH es t e r ' s ' P rocess Can be S t y l e ' , a l though it i s ac h a r a c t e r i s t i c of Postmodernism, because of its cont ingen tb i a s , to b lu r i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r y boundar ies . So, f o rexample, the re are j o u r n a l s of i n t e r d i s c i p l i n a r yPostmodernism. 1

Some c r i t i c s have proposed broadranging d esc r i p t i o n s , suchas t h a t by Hassan ment ioned above. Other works, such asF o s t e r ' s 'A n t i - A es th e t i c ' desc r ibe Postmodernism th rough ac o l l e c t i o n of essays by d i f f e r e n t c r i t i c s in ove r l app ingf i e l d s . This g ives a f e e l fo r the range , complex i ty ,co n t r ad i c t i o n s , and u n c e r t a i n t y of the phenomena.

Also w i th in d i s c i p l i n e s , s ev e r a l d i f f e r e n t s t r an d s can bede f ined as Postmodern. Char les Jenks i d e n t i f i e d s ix s t r an d sof Postmodern Archi tec tu re : His to r ic i sm, Revival ism, NeoVernacu lar , Design as

2Democrat ic Des ign. YetMetaphor, P a r t i c i p a t o r y Design,

to other a r c h i t e c t s it seems t h a t

1. For example ; 'Boundary 2. A Journa l o f Postmodern C u l t u re ' .2. Jenks , C. 'The Language of Postmodern A rc h i t e c t u re ' . 197B.


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postmodernism co n s i s t s merely of the use of ornament ,c h a r a c t e r i s t i c mot i f s , and a wider use of f a sh ionab leco lour . In fash ion and popular de c o r a t i ng magazines ,Postmodernism has been r e f e r r ed to even more narrowly as arange of f a sh ionab le co lour s , and in Garden Design the t ermhas been as s o c i t ed with a group of dramat ic t r o p i c a l p l an t s .

This d esc r i p t i o n of Postmodernism then i s a pe r sona l a t tempta t an imposs ib le d e f i n i t i o n , but a t l e a s t it might i n d i ca t ethe range of the debate . This has two use fu l e f f e c t s :F i r s t , it might save us from th rowing the baby out with theba thwa te r . The Postmodern debate i s uneven, but it i s aheav i ly i nves ted term. Second, it i n t roduces p e r s p ec t iv e st h a t I th ink w i l l be use fu l fo r unders tand ing and p r a c t i c ewi th in Landscape A r ch i t ec tu r e .


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in :lilndscape .Archlteeture

. ,

r o . C O I t ~ ~ . b, )1.1111. h ' the Gr Dpbo Ion'.AQc_laa' Uat re c, 1 _ 984


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EXPLICIT POSTHODERNISM IN LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE

There i s only a smal l body of w r i t i n g e x p l i c i t l y onPostmodernism in l andscape a r c h i t e c t u r e , and t h i s ex i s t swi th in the genera l ly weak framework of c r i t i c a l w r i t i n g ortheory wi thin the d i s c i p l i ne . One r e s u l t i s t h a t thediscuss ion can be somewhat confus ing . At ten t ion has l a rg e lyfocused on th ree s ty l e s or methods of des ign ing ; theEcolog ica l Approach, P ar t i c i p a t o r y Approach, and what mightloose ly be termed exper imenta ldesign.

l andscape a r t or con tex tua l

The l ack of a c r i t i c a l and t h e o r e t i c a l framework inLandscape Archi t ec tu re i s wel l . 1recognl .sed. Two d i s t u r b i n ge f f e c t s of t h i s in r e l a t i o n to the Postmodern d i s cu s s io n i s ;F i r s t , the d i f i c u l t y in t r a n s l a t i n g and us ing t h e o r e t i c a ldiscuss ion from other d i s c i p l i n e s ; and Second, thed i f f i c u l t y of su s t a i n i n g a coheren t discuss ion on suchtheory wi thin Landscape Archi tec tu re i t s e l f .

These poin t s are i l l u s t r a t e d by the discuss ion in a s e r i e sof f ive a r t i c l e s on Postmodernism publ i shed in 'LandscapeA r ch i t ec tu r e ' magazine between 1982 85, with anaccompanying number of l e t t e r s . As f a r as I know, t h i s i sthe only ac t iv e d iscuss ion on t he s u b jec t in landscapea rc h i t e c tu re , al though the re are a few other i s o l a t e da r t i c l e s in o ther j ourna l s .

1. See for example; ( rog , 1985, p56.Eastman, 1982, p55.Radmall, P. 'Landscape By Defau l t 'Landscape Journa l . Feb.1986.pp 17-19.


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The a r t i c l e s are ch a r ac t e r i s ed by nar rowly and poor lyde f ined d es c r ip t i o n s of Postmodernism. I t sems c l ea r t h a teach w r i t e r has a d i f f e r e n t i m p l i c i t d e f i n i t i o n . Respondinga r t i c l e s a l s o o f t e n p ick one aspec t of an e a r l i e r a r t i c l e asso t h a t the d i f f e r e n t w r i t e r s of ten

c ross purposes .the b as i s for rep ly ,seem to be t a lk in g a tcon fus ion and l ack of communicat ion i s

This impress ion ofr e in f o r ced by the

l e t t e r s w r i t t en in r ep ly .2Hes t e r d o esn ' t de f ine what he means by Postmodern l andscape

a rc h i t e c tu re , but i d e n t i f i e s t he te rm with exper imenta ll andscape a r t , such as Martha Schwar t z ' s Bagel Garden andNeeco/Tyre Garden, and wi th the view put forward by StevenKrog in h i s a r t i c l e " I s it Art" . Hes t e r r ega rds t h i s , whathe c a l l s , "con t r ived Postmodernism" as " f r i v o lo u s " and"elitist a e s t h e t i c j okes" , its only value be ing anexpress ion of f r u s t r a t i o n with Modern is t p ra c t i c e , which hesees as no longer ap p r o p r i a t e 1n a t ime of eco lo g i ca l andc i v i l r i g h t s c r i s e s . Such ' Pos tmodern i sm' , however, he seesas a misguided r eac t ion . Ins tead he appeal s to what hemain t a in s 1 S Landscape Arc h i t e c tu re ' s r o o t s in boths t ewardsh ip and ' adap t ing l and fo r human use r a t h e r than fo ra e s t h e t i c purposes ' , to provide a more a pp r op r i a t efoundat ion fo r a new l andscape a r c h i t e c t u r e . He proposes atwin approach based on ' c o n s e r v a t io n des ign ' and' p a r t i c i p a t o r y des ign ' re sponding to the eco lo g i ca l andc i v i l r i g h t s c r i s e s r e sp ec t i v e l y . Concomitant with t h i swould be the need to deve lop a new a e s t h e t i c to accommodatet hese new s t y l e s .

1. 'Four Let te rs on Postmodernism' L.A.H. May 1982. pp16-30.2. Hester ,R.T. ' Process Can Be S ty le ' L.A.H. May 1983. pp49-54.


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H e s t e r ' sde s c r i p t i on andc l a s s i f i c a t i o n ofModern andPos t Moderns t y l e s of des ignin Landscape Arch.

51

Mod.rnN.tlon.1 g_1 efficientunderlying growthNatlon.1 Urban re'newal,m.nd.t . Federal fundingfor suburbaninfrastructurePrlm.ry be. l . economicother th.n h.tlcDecl.lone from lop down. r . mad.Prlm.ry power.ymbollernCoh.r.nc. other directedITh.d gn.r form giverlIe technician

Description of Style:Ov.rall pl.n master planSiz. virtu. bignessEdg. unified, cleardelineationSpatial clearlyarticulation articulatedColor, t.dure unifiedM.t.rl.l . universalActivity separatedIntegrationFlexibility fixed

Focal point., natural orviet manmade

Verbal descriptionsfunctionalsimpleefficientcleanspecializedharmonious

I

unifiedorderlyactivecorporatestylizeduniformimpersonalsegregatedsterileanonymous

M.lntenanc. highThe .rtl.t I. designerC . . . lv. form, educationI.nd.cape.rchltecture.llpree.ed InArchetyp.' Deere andCompany

AdministrativeCenter (Moline)Conslilulion Plata(Hartford)Forecourt Fountain(Portland)

Con v.tlon P.rtlclp.toryconservation citizen involvementot resourcesNEPA, Coastal Community Develop-Zone Management, ment Grants requiringForest Service citizen participationscience user

from top down from bottom upnon-consumption idiosyncraticbased on aware- inner directedness of ecologyprotectorl facllitatorltechnician technician

capability plan open-ended plansmaltness smallnessfuzzy, compl ex undelineated ,

complexnatural indistfnct,gradation multi

: natural unity , varietynatural, recycled indigenous, recycledcarrying capacity integrationlimited, layeredlimited, mixed adaptableuse if pos

post mod&landscape architecture

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