AbstractsPhilosophy & Theology

Architecture and arts practices were arguably kept apart during the first half of the 20th century, resisting an emerging overlap that was conducted by both artists and architects. Installation art has subsequently emerged as an art practice but has shared many qualities with architecture because of its creation of spatial territory. Thus, in contemporary art, installation art has been moving in the fluxes between art and architecture. In the case of installation art, a temporary space is created along with a new kind of engagement and perception of the places around us. It motivates the spectator’s imagination when they are inside, experiencing a shelter that is new to the context. At the same time, it motivates memories of that experience after the installation space is removed. Mediating architecture with a spatial medium like an installation invites a new reading of the space to be applied. This reading opposes the interpretation of architecture as still signs, objects or still images, mainly because of the continuous unfolding of the art installation and the close involvement of the viewer in the spectating journey. Consequently, mediating the exhibition space through an installation creates narratives that are subjective and context-specific, while their transition through other mediums continues to alter the original narrative after the work is dismantled. Driven from the proposition that the event of a temporary installation can be articulated by the ‘event’; a concept that French philosopher Gilles Delleuze addresses in his study: The Fold, which considers the accumulated influence of a number of perceptions of space, the thesis discusses the alternative scenarios of reading the temporary architectural space while focusing on the narrative of these architectural happenings by referring mainly to Mieke Bal’s ‘narratology’ as an approach to this new understanding. Before experiencing examples of installation art, a methodological technique; collage- de-collage-re-collage, is presented as a tool to negotiate the narratives collected from the case studies. It is formulated after a theoretical structure is set to investigate the case studies where a need to develop tools of analysis and representation becomes obvious to the work. The study then tests the proposed theoretical framework on three examples, each of which represents a level of temporality in space. As they unfold, the study tracks the encounters that may be further used as instruments to extend the understanding of installation art in particular and temporary spaces in general.