The Ancient Man was a Romantic

I found the readings for class to be very enjoyable this week, evoking thought about how we “measure” landscapes. The readings showed that landscapes are often a reflection of a society’s values measured by very technical instruments to dominate and control the natural world (Corner, MacLean). For ancients, the numerical and proportional values of things proved evidence of divine creation, but Corner and MacLean argue that today precise instruments have moved the focus from existential and imaginative bases for human inhabitance.

Corner and MacLean make interesting arguments that modern society places an increased efficiency and utility in that “if things are not profitable, useful, or of immediate and measurable benefit, they are often deemed to belong to the domain of the romantic and deluded” (Corner, MacLean, xviii). The consequences of this has led to the despoliation of natural resources and homogenization of life (Corner, MacLean).

The final point I found most interesting in the article was that the numerical and instrumental values that guide the use of a measuring tool convey various levels of ethical and social propriety. The authors show that a landscape can divulge a “society’s ethos, expressed most poignantly in the interplay of appearance, usage, and cultural codes of representation” (Corner, MacLean xviii).

The authors make the claim on page xviii that number and utility can be conjoined with beauty and virtue, which I whole-heartedly agree with. Landscape architecture has vast potential to be the nexus of art, architecture, environmentalism, political activism and socio-economical issues. Therefore, designers must consider all these facets of society when designing space. No space is simple to design when the layers involved are pealed back and studied.  The world is overpopulated and human activity is increasingly a detriment to humans themselves and the rest of the planet. It would be irresponsible for any designer to craft place without creating a productive landscape environmentally, economically and socially.

That said I somewhat disagree with Corner and MacLean in that they argue ancient societies understood that number and utility may be conjoined with beauty and virtue, but is forgotten today (Corner, MacLean, xviii). I think what Corner and MacLean are trying to say is that our attention today has become so focused on precision and getting utility from the land we do not value human experience as much as the ancients. In this sense I disagree because I do not feel that ancient civilizations, in general, valued human experience and social well-being at all. For many ancient cultures life was about providing for the divine and those most associated with the divine like kings. Cultures of the past and today are products of the types of societies we live in and what those societies value. The major culture of the U.S. is to earn money and provide for the family. In this sense, the landscape reflects that. As stated earlier, an ancient civilization like the Incas were much more concerned about pleasing deities and attaining a satisfying afterlife.

The other readings from this week including “North America’s Wars” by Heather Pringle showed that people of the past fought extensively for natural resources meaning that resources would often “run dry.” Entire cities were built to protect these resources often violently. There is much evidence in the Americas of extensive logging and deforestation by the ancient people that ruined vast ecosystems and probably ultimately caused much hardship. Therefore, I think the idea of ancient man understanding the importance of human existence and being one with the earth is somewhat of a romantic idea. Their beliefs in the connection of the earth with the divine lead them to create landscapes that encompassed this notion and probably lead to a romantic idea about ancient life. These are very broad generalities about ancient life of course.

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I found Pringle’s article interesting in her discussion of ancient sites that were centered around water wells. Peoples then built their dwellings several stories high around these wells for fighting off offensive onslaughts by warring tribes. I could not help envision the modern plaza with buildings rising several stories high circumscribing a large fountain or water feature. I find it interesting to think these beloved spaces were originally designed for war-like scenarios – not for bettering the life of the civilians. Perhaps then and lasting throughout the modern world these plazas provide a sense of protected space and access to basic resources.