"The study of landscape history contributes its share to the new approach by reminding us, among other things, that since the beginning of history humanity has modified and scarred the environment to convey some message, and that for our own peace of mind we should learn to differentiate among those wounds inflicted by greed and destructive fury, those which serve to keep us alive, and those which are inspired by a love of order and beauty, in obedience to some divine law. The whole inhabited world, from the highlands of Peru to the heart of Asia is marked by vast circles and parallel lines and spirals, great avenues of monoliths, many dating back thousands of years: signs of our sense of responsibility for the survival of the earth and its people. Could much the same not be said of our immense grid landscapes, our geometrically designed cities, our parks and wilderness areas ? "
J.B Jackson "A Sense of PLACE, a sense of TIME"
NOTE: Added a few more lines to mitigate the somewhat apodictic flavor. Many thanks to Mike for the pro :-D critique.
2 comments:
I'm not sure about the quote (I doubt any man-made marks on the landscape are as pure or neat in their motivation as the writer seems to suggest, and I doubt whether making his suggested distinctions would ease my peace of mind...) but that is one very nice picture.
Well I've been a bit conservative in carving out the piece. But you are right the general tone of JBJ is a bit on the optimistic side. What I really like is the levity of his descriptions. Reminds me of the pictures of Luigi Ghirri.
To be honest I was looking for an other one, but it is still missing ... Yes now that I think about it is far from perfect.
Thanks for the critique. That's real value.
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