Architecture of waiting

Architecture of Waiting
Photographs by Ursula Schulz-Dornburg

The photo-collection of bizarre bus stops that Düsseldorf-based photographer Ursula Schulz-Dornburg brought back with her from her trips to Armenia in the years between 1997 and 2001 possesses an enigmatic power far exceeding its time and place of origin. The Museum Ludwig in Cologne has now acquired this series.



They are pictures of a rather unusual sad beauty and a comic element which is difficult to categorize. If you were to see one of these bus stops on its own, perhaps you would laugh at it as if you might laugh at a cartoon; taken as a whole, however, they have a certain metaphorical touch of existential loneliness. Schulz-Dornburg has managed – with composed conciseness – to capture on film these bus stops in austere black-and-white photographs. She puts her trust in the meaningfulness of this Architecture of waiting and her photos are left totally to the interpretation of the attentive observer.
All the structures that she captures on film are completely out of proportion. Practicality never plays a role and material is always squandered in abundance. It is as if there had never been any shortage of building materials and no door had been barred to the imaginativeness of those architects who designed them. So as to fill the emptiness with monuments for the waiting strangers, the architects’ work was carried out not with standardized economy versions but with neither expense nor effort being spared.

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Bushaltestelle, Armenien: Erewan-Yegnward, 1997

Ursula Schulz-Dornburg, Bushaltestelle, Armenien: Echiniadzin-Erivan, 2002 

Maison la Roche

Building of Paris

"Reality is not simply there, it does not simply exist : it must be sought out and won." ―Paul Celan

"I like my city, but I can't say exactly what I like about it. I don't think it is the smell.  I 'm too accustomed to the moments to want to look at them... I like certain lights, a few bridges, cafe terraces, I love passing through a place I haven't seen for a long time." ―Georges Perec. [Species of Spaces and Other Pieces]



Select and study one of the following eleven Building of Paris. Through a careful re-drawing, consider the project in relation to circulation, "the space of movement", and it's furniture. Prioritize drawings that are analytical, that have measure, and that are non-pictorial.


"I like the idea that creativity is in fact the art of reprocessing what already exists and not, after all, anything divine or mysterious." ― Jasper Morrison

memo

The space of waiting ＝　待つ空間

何かを”待つ”行為―　e.g.) at station..table before serving etc.
その先にある対象となる出来事によって、その空間の見方は左右される。
特に感情において。(火葬場など）

待つ事自体が目的になるよりもその先のactivityに付帯されうる。
様々な時間軸を包括する。

The space of waiting : in London

Wednesday 12 October

about one o’clock in the afternoon.

It is warm sunshine.

There is a constant stream of cars and buses on the main street facing the market. I go across the main street. Grocery stores are decorated with many kinds of vegetables and fruits that are contained in the box. I continue to walk further into the market. On both sides of the street is a string of butchers, dry-cleaning shops and supermarkets. Not so many customers. There are 3 wooden square-shaped benches and a young lady (she is wearing sunglasses) sits with busily tapping out e-mail messages on her cell-phone. When I go all the way through the alley, the markets and shops are located in the arcade.

The music played there is lively (maybe Asian ethnic music?) and seems to mismatch to the quiet market. The white shirts covered with plastic, colorful ethnic scarves and necklaces are placed on ramshackle hangers. Children are running round these displayed items and the clerks are waiting boringly for customers.

‘WINGS CHINESE CAFÉ’: in the corner of the market. There is a large shady tree next to the stall. I can sense the subtle smell of spice when I pass in front of the café.

The inside is composed of only small kitchen and counter.

Lots of colorful cups and a water container covered with vivid floral cloth are arranged on the shelves on the back.

The letter of the name board is printed on the roof in yellow on a red background and above the board is the menu. Many round steel tables are surrounded by white・orange plastic chairs, but they all are empty.

A Chinese woman dressed in a pale pink sweatshirt and red apron is waiting for a customer in the counter. She rests her cheek on one hand only occasionally. 

"The space of waiting"

Ordinary things contain the deepest mysteries ― Robin Evans


The first part of our work is about revealing and documenting. The work will be encouraging an openness towards exploration, nurturing sensibilities in the observation of space in relation to both time and absence. As you progress through this project we expect you to develop a way of working that allows an understanding of the specifics of these kinds of spaces; also as a ground for later interpretation and intervention. The unit's intention is to exhibit the work at some time early this academic year as well as collect these prints and texts into the first of a series of bound documents. The project will demand a high level of curiosity and rigour in order to attain results that contribute with any significance.