The Aesthetics of Ruins: Illustrated by the Author

509 Pages·2004·35.84 MB·English

by  Robert Ginsberg

THE AESTHETICS OF RUINS
Robert Ginsberg
illustrated by the author
Amsterdam - New York, NY 2004
Cover Design: Studio Pollmann
Cover Image: Robert Ginsberg
The paper on which this book is printed meets the requirements of “ISO
9706:1994, Information and documentation - Paper for documents -
Requirements for permanence’'.
ISBN: 90-420-1672-8
©Editions Rodopi B.V., Amsterdam - New York, NY 2004
Printed in the Netherlands
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations xi
1. Photographic Plates xi
2. Figures xiii
Foreword by Claire Richter Sherman XV
Preface xvii
Acknowledgments xxi
ONE The Ruin as Matter 1
TWO The Ruin as Form 15
THREE The Ruin as Function 33
FOUR The Ruin as Incongruity 51
FIVE The Ruin as Site 11
SIX The Ruin as Symbol 102
SEVEN The Ruin as Aesthetic Experience 155
EIGHT Visit to a Ruin: St. Andrews 173
NINF. Building with Ruin 135
TEN Nature as Ruin 201
ELEVEN Sculpture and Other Visual Arts as Ruin 221
TWELVE Cinema and Television as Ruin 232
THIRTEEN Literature as Ruin 253
FOURTEEN Philosophy as Ruin 251
FIFTEEN The Terminology of Ruin 285
THE AESTHETICS OF RUINS
Theories of Ruin 115
The Ruining Eye—and Other Senses 335
Fragments of a Chapter on Ruin 355
1. Religion 355
2. Civilization 355
3. Ruinations 356
4. Battlefields 358
5. Caesarean Section 358
6. Archaeology 358
2. Psychology of Ruins 359
8. Nostalgia 362
9. Time 363
10. Ruins Put to Use 364
11. People in the Ruins 369
12. Ruinscape and the Picturesque 369
13. Domestic Ruins 320
14. A Ruin No Longer a Ruin? 322
15. Disaster 322
325
17. Funereal 325
18. Minimalism 325
19. Chance Ruins 326
20. On-Site 328
21. Walls 329
22. Sun-Burst 381
23. Ruining 381
24. Sound and Light 382
25. Ephemera 382
26. Ruin Sound 382
22. Ruin Music 383
28. Pro-Verbial 383
29. Language 384
30. Enrichment 384
31. Anecdotage 384
32. Grin and Bear It 385
33. Added Verses Versus Adversity 385
34. Museum of Ruins 386
35. Ruinitis 386
36. Obsession/Optsection 386
Contents ix
NINFTFFN Meditations on Humanity, Self, and the
World as Ruins 387
1. The Fall 387
2. The Redemption 396
3. Death 405
4. The Self 415
5. The Meaning of Existence 425
6. World Destruction 432
7. Fond Farewell 440
Works Cited 449
Chronology of Ruin 453
1. Before Common Era (BCE) 453
2. Common Era (CE) 454
3. Uncommon Error (UE) 460
Appendix Bibliographical Essay on the Literature and
Imagery of Ruin 461
1. Aesthetic Theory 461
2. Art History 465
3. Individual Artists 469
4. Literary History 470
5. History of Culture 472
6. Archaeology 423
7. Individual Ruins 476
8. Travel Literature 478
9. Imaginative Literature 479
10. Guidebooks and Souvenir Books 481
11. Art of Photography 482
12. Architecture 485
13. Preservation 485
14. History of Gardens 487
15. Disaster Books 482
16. War Ruins 488
17. Ruin-Art Creations 489
18. Philosophy 490
19. Miscellaneous 492
About the Author 493
Index 495
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
There is no more ironical and yet more soothing comment on human fate
than the sight of ruins,...
Bernard Berenson, Aesthetics and History (Garden City, N.Y.: Dou-
bleday & Company, Inc., "Doubleday Anchor Books," 1954 [orig. pub.
1948]), p. 133.
1. Photographic Plates
1. Ellen S. Ginsberg and Robert Ginsberg, Altar, Sparta, Greece, 1985 vi
2. Roman Brickwork, Pompeii, Italy, 1961 5
3. Wall, Ggantija Temple, Gozo, Malta, 1996 12
4. Window, Dryburgh Abbey, Scotland, UK, 1967 16
5. Fallen Pillars, Delos, Greece, 1974 24
6. Manasija Monastery, Serbia, SM, 1986 27
7. Coastal Fortress, Croatia, 1986 28
8. Façade, St. Paul's Church, Macao, SAR, China, 1995 29
9. Windowed-Wall, Heidelberg Castle, Germany, 1961 31
10. Shipwreck, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, USA, 1969 37
11. The House of Columns, Chichén-Itzá, Mexico, 2003 39
12. The Gymnasium, Pompeii, Italy, 1961 41
13. Stairs, Roman Odeon, Gortyn, Crete, Greece, 1974 43
14. Roman Toilets, Ostia, Italy, 1981 49
15. The Hill of Tara, Ireland, 1999 53
16. Sweeper of Desert, Pyramid of Cheops, Giza, Egypt, 1990 59
17. Sweetheart Abbey, Scotland, UK, 1982 61
18. Cathedral, Elgin, Scotland, UK, 1967 66
19. Temple Wall, Abydos, Egypt, 1990 ' 69
20. Sunken Bridge, Podgorica, Montenegro, SM, 1986 72
21. Minoan Settlement, Gournia, Crete, Greece, 1984 74
22. Ghost Town of Tamerza, Tunisia, 1996 75
23. Roman Site, Augst, Switzerland, 1971 82
24. Urquhart Castle, Loch Ness, Scotland, UK, 1967 84
25. Vianden Castle, Luxembourg, 1961 85
26. Palace of Hisham, Jericho, West Bank, Palestine, 1981 87
27. Refugee Camp, Jericho, West Bank, Palestine, 1981 90
28. Temple of the Oracle, Delphi, Greece, 1965 92
29. Anasazi Pueblo, Near Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, 1969 98
30. Templo Mayor and the Cathedral, Mexico City, Mexico, 1985 101
31. Threave Castle, Scotland, UK, 1982 103
32. Roman Aqueduct and Clotheslines, Mérida, Spain, 1960 104
33. Arch of Roman Aqueduct, Mérida, Spain, 1997 106
34. St. Alban's Church, Cologne, Germany, 1961 111
xii THE AESTHETICS OF RUINS
35. St. Peter's Church, Louvain, Belgium, 1971 112
36. Exterior, The Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 1981 115
37. Interior, The Colosseum, Rome, Italy, 1981 118
38. Café and Acropolis, Athens, Greece, 1965 125
39. Pergamon, Turkey, 1965 130
40. Masada, Israel, 1981 133
41. The Western (Wailing) Wall, East Jerusalem, Israel, 1981 139
42. Schoolchildren, Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacán, Mexico, 1964 149
43. Base of Columns, Temple of Luxor, Egypt, 1990 160
44. Children at Contra-Aquincum, Budapest, Hungary, 1984 168
45. Temple of Aphaia, Aegina, Greece, 1965 170
46. Twin Towers, St. Andrews Cathedral, Scotland, UK, 1982 176
47. The Castle, St. Andrews, Scotland, UK, 1982 179
48. St. Andrews Cathedral from Above, Scotland, UK, 1982 181
49. Sundown, St. Andrews Cathedral, Scotland, UK, 1982 183
50. City Wall, Istanbul, Turkey, 1965 186
51. Roman Wall, Lluhljana, Slovenia, 1986 188
52. Church, New and Ruined, San Germán, Puerto Rico, 1985 191
53. Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin, Germany, 1985 192
54. Roman Wall and the Rail Terminal, Rome, Italy, 1981 196
55. Arch, Synagogue, East Jerusalem, Israel, 1981 199
56. Dead Trees, Florida, USA, 2002 202
57. Remains of Elephant, Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, 1991 206
58. Cliff, M0ns, Denmark, 1991 210
59. Rock Formations, Yehliu, Taiwan, Republic of China, 1995 212
60. Gothic Heads, Cathedral Storeroom, Senlis, France, 1960 226
61. Archaeological Discovery, Stavanger, Norway, 1968 280
62. Stairs and Trees, Copan, Honduras, 2003 309
63. Restored Pyramid, Yaxhá, Guatemala, 2003 310
64. Workers at Altun Ha, Belize, 2003 312
65. Gedi National Park, Swahili Coast, Kenya, 1991 316
66. Temple of Augustus and Rome, Ankara, Turkey, 1965 320
67. Gallo-Roman Settlement, Alésia, France, 1989 323
68. Mansion, Barboursville, Virginia, USA, 1969 331
69. Fragments in the Desert, Egypt, 1990 333
70. Stairs of the Knights of St. John, Rhodes, Greece, 1974 336
71. Roman Amphitheater, Carnuntum, Austria, 1963 340
72. Pyramid of Tenayuca, Mexico, 1964 343
73. Roman Columns, Dougga, Tunisia, 1996 345
74. Gun Emplacement, Golan Heights, Syria (Israeli Occupation), 1981 357
75. Archaeological Site, Novgorod, Russia, 1993 360
76. Archaeological Site, Stavanger, Norway, 1968 361
Illustrations xiii
77. Roman Amphitheater, Nîmes, France, 1961 365
78. Roman Amphitheater, Pula, Croatia, 1986 367
79. Roman Baths, Trier, Germany, 1961 368
80. Abandoned House, Val-Jalbert, Québec, Canada, 1983 371
81. Stonehenge, England, UK, 1967 373
82. Church of Carmo, Lisbon, Portugal, 1960 374
83. Unidentified Castle, Scotland, UK, 1967 377
84. Herculaneum, Italy, 1961 378
85. Pyramid, Edzná, Mexico, 2003 379
86. Wall, Forbidden City, Beijing, China, 1995 380
87. Walls, Qumran, West Bank, Palestine, 1981 380
88. Silhouette, Rock of Cashel, Ireland, 1999 381
89. Apartments after Earthquake, Mexico City, Mexico, 1985 411
90. Ash Box, Concentration Camp, Dachau, Germany, 1985 423
91. The Dome, Hiroshima, Japan, 1987 443
92. Colonial Ruin, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 1991 455
93. Monuments of Delos, Greece, 1974 458
94. Robert Ginsberg, Lavabo, Mellifont Abbey, Ireland, 1999 (Photo by
Ellen S. Ginsberg) 493
2. Figures
1. Bécan, Mexico, 2003 xviii
2. Arbroath Abbey, Scotland, UK, 1967 30
3. Crane and Façade of Church, Ávila, Spain, 1997 64
4. Casa Grande Ruins National Monument, Arizona, USA, 1959 96
5. The Crazy Tower, St. Andrews Cathedral, Scotland, UK, 1982 174
6. Silhouette, Memorial Church, Berlin, Germany, 1985 194
7. Seashell, Assateague Island National Seashore, USA, 2001 208
8. Norman Castle, Clonmacnoise, Ireland, 1999 334
9. Vulture, Edzná, Mexico, 2003 413
FOREWORD
Oh the beautiful, the sublime ruins!
From French: Denis Diderot, "Salon de 1761," Œuvres esthétiques,
ed. Paul Vernière (Paris: Éditions Gamier Frères, "Classiques Garnier,"
1959), p. 642.
Robert Ginsberg, in The Aesthetics of Ruins, provides entirely fresh perspec-
tives on this vast subject. His direct and provocative style immediately per-
suades the reader to lay aside any existing preconceptions based on travel or
past writings. The intriguing table of contents frames the exploration of ruins in
much wider contexts, including the literary and philosophical traditions. Gins-
berg goes beyond the verbal representations of his subject to embrace the visual
implications of ruins in the traditional genres of architecture and sculpture and
in contemporary media such as video and cinema. From yet another novel van-
tage point, he considers ruins as more than passive and static forms: as crea-
tions of active historical forces, human design, or natural processes. Building
on these varied perspectives, in a moving climactic section, Ginsberg meditates
on ruins as metaphors of individual and universal human experience.
Ginsberg's analyses of the visual aspects of ruins leads to a new apprecia-
tion of their formal unity and structures. He cogently examines the new roles of
individual elements of buildings and places in forging renewed aesthetic identi-
ties. His sensitivity, based on many years of travel and reflection, brings to his
discussions of varied groups of ruins an immediacy and richness of perception.
Ranging from a wide array of monuments of ancient Greece and Rome to Me-
dieval ruins of northern Europe and contemporary sites in the Middle East and
the United States, a consistent vision ties together the abundant illustrations.
Ginsberg transcends methods identified with one or another humanistic disci-
pline to illuminate in a cogent and forceful manner essential aspects of human
experience embodied in The Aesthetics of Ruins.
Claire Richter Sherman
Washington