BDN
This project situates itself formally, theoretically, and methodologically first and foremost, as black architecture. More specifically, this is a home and residency for baroque dance notation (BDN) in an existing French Court in Versailles. But how is the type of French Court and BDN black architecture? Using the bricolage as a starting point of the studio investigation, the outcome, in this case, BDN, was not foreseen but instead a result of what Claude Levi-Strauss describes as concrete connections between, in this case, linguistic signs. The horizontal connections in the same plane share a similarity (i.e., type, time, geography, etc.), while the vertical connections share only the sign. It is in the vertical relationships that Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and his explanation and, more importantly, diagramming of black language come into play. According to Gates, the power of black linguistics resides in the vertical direction, obscured by the projective two-dimensional x-y cartesian schema of standard linguistics. This vertical distance and the remainder of the single sign allow differences between the sign and concept to occur, revealing black linguistics. The doubling of the linguistic sign and the difference in its meaning enable this project to exist as black architecture.
By briefly examining the bricolage, it is clear that at one end, there are movements (i.e., constructivism, BDN, and phenomenology), while at the other, there are representations (i.e., a self-portrait of Basquiat, a painting of Josephine Baker, and The Lady and the Ermine). The plane which connects these two poles and locates this project is the architectural type that houses these concrete connections.
By briefly examining the bricolage, it is clear that at one end, there are movements (i.e., constructivism, BDN, and phenomenology), while at the other, there are representations (i.e., a self-portrait of Basquiat, a painting of Josephine Baker, and The Lady and the Ermine). The plane which connects these two poles and locates this project is the architectural type that houses these concrete connections.
For a more detailed explanation, please read
(S)ymbolic Projection: The Contested Symmetries of Language and Form
(S)ymbolic Projection: The Contested Symmetries of Language and Form
