The byword here would seem to be subtlety rather than judgement. It is clear that when we read Berman's interpretation of Faust we gain many insights, one tumbling after another, as to our roles in a developing world. By that we mean an industrial world which has broken free of religion as it's only guiding light. We might find echoes of Faust in the defiant romantic artist; in Michelangelo, Velasquez, Goya, or Francis Bacon, as much as we can see it in our scientists. When it comes to architecture we can see the spirit of mobilisation, of organisation alive in L-C; and we can see echoes in our own lives. Berman was endebted to sixties counter-culture (sex and drugs) and we should read that in to his analysis. We will look at those dreams of escape next week.
Today we can see development gone wrong in China and Dubai, or as the Imperial War Museum becomes a shop, and we should recognize the emptiness this can bring.
But development as a personal thing as much as a physical thing, and a great, ongoing, challenge.
Goethe sees the challenge in the fact that development is unstoppable, that it means there will be victims, including those who develop themselves as well as those who are left behind, that speed is of the essence, and this, as a future for everybody, looks excessively exhausting, especially when enough is never enough. To change this notion of a life, even for yourselves, is going to be a hell of an effort.
No comments:
Post a Comment