Writing yesterday, echoing around in the back of my mind was Chtchglov's sublime 'Formulary for a New Urbanism' - there is a theme there of building a new world in the ruins of the old which I like, but also one of remaking the things and places of this world as an opportunity to experience differently....
Endlessly quotable - dear departed old Tony Wilson took the bit about the Hacineda quite literally - a brave move, even if it did end up as just another nightclub - I still find the essay quite suggestive, immensely provocative.
Read the whole thing in full at http://www.bopsecrets.org/SI/Chtcheglov.htm but chew on this for the time being:
"A mental disease has swept the planet: banalization. Everyone is hypnotized by production and conveniences — sewage systems, elevators, bathrooms, washing machines.
This state of affairs, arising out of a struggle against poverty, has overshot its ultimate goal — the liberation of humanity from material cares — and become an omnipresent obsessive image. Presented with the alternative of love or a garbage disposal unit, young people of all countries have chosen the garbage disposal unit. It has become essential to provoke a complete spiritual transformation by bringing to light forgotten desires and by creating entirely new ones. And by carrying out an intensive propaganda in favor of these desires."
This state of affairs, arising out of a struggle against poverty, has overshot its ultimate goal — the liberation of humanity from material cares — and become an omnipresent obsessive image. Presented with the alternative of love or a garbage disposal unit, young people of all countries have chosen the garbage disposal unit. It has become essential to provoke a complete spiritual transformation by bringing to light forgotten desires and by creating entirely new ones. And by carrying out an intensive propaganda in favor of these desires."
I was also reminded of Adrian Henri's mad 'Entry of Christ into Liverpool' - only remotely Christian really. It's really about that transfiguration of the everyday and the mundane and the profane - building the Hacienda, building up Jerusalem...
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