Bosnian House Konak(2012 revised 2017)

    Danish Art WorkshopsCopenhagen

Konak [Shelter]

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproductionby Walter Benjamin(1935)

»Buildings have been man's companions since primeval times. Many art forms have developed and perished. Tragedy begins with the Greeks, is extinguished with them, and after centuries its 'rules' only are revived. The epic poem, which had its origin in the youth of nations, expires in Europe at the end of the Renaissance. Panel painting is a creation of the Middle Ages, and nothing guarantees its uninterrupted existence. But the human need for the shelter is lasting. Architecture has never been idle. Its history is more ancient than that of any other art, and its claim to being a living force has significance in every attempt to comprehend the relationship of the masses to art. Buildings are appropriated in a twofold manner: by use and by perception – or rather, by touch and sight. Such appropriation cannot be understood in terms of the attentive concentration of a tourist before a famous building. On the tactile side there is no counterpart to contemplation on the optical side. Tactile appropriation is accomplished not so much by attention as by habit.«

»Bygninger har ledsaget menneskeheden siden dens ældste historie. Mange kunstformer er opstået og forsvundet. Tragedien opstår med grækerne for at svinde bort med dem og efter århundreder blot at genopstår som ¨reglerne¨ for den. Eposet, hvis oprindelse ligger i folkens ungdom, ophører i europa med slutningen af renæssancen. Tavlemaleriet er en middelalderlig frembringelse, og intet garanterer det en forsat varighed. Men menneskets behov for tag over hovedet er vedvarende. Bygningskunsten har aldrig ligget brak. Dens historie er længere end enhver anden kunsts, og det er vigtigt for ethvert forsøg på at redegør for massernes forhold til kunstværket at gøre dets virkning klart. Bygninger bliver reciperet på en dobbelt måde: gennem brug og gennem betragtningen af dem. Eller bedre formuleret: taktilt og optisk. Man får ikke noget begreb om sådan en reception, hvis man forestiler sig den svarende til den koncentrerende reception, som er gængs for f.eks. turister over for berømte bygningsværker. Der findes nemlig på den taktile side intet modstykke til det, som på den optiske er kontemplationen. Den taktile reception sker ikke så meget via opmærksomheden som via vanen.«

Walter Benjamin, Kunstværket i dets tekniske reproducerbarheds tidsalder, 1935

Bosnian House Konak (2012 revised 2017)

Model House design in collaboration with Maria Engholm 2012 Iben Bach 2017

Photo credit: Torben Eskerod 2017 Marcel Stammen 2012 revised 2017 Anja Franke 2012

The project is supported by the Danish Art Workshops