michael-contento's Blog

Istanbul thrives on multi- and hyper-occupation; these are productive in the life of the city. Certain areas, however, repress these conditions. This repression is the catalyst for the production of Istanbul’s ‘double’; the production of underlying turbulence, which then produces conditions for the perpetuation of a new multi- and hyper-occupation.

When occupying the Art House, one is necessarily occupying the transitions/transformations operating across the thresholds of conflict; occupying a multiplicity of autonomous conditions simultaneously. In this way the Art House will publicize and make explicit the conditions of conflict within the city of Istanbul; it will present the users with a non-linear system of interaction to generate new occupations of space/Istanbul. Occupation is constantly rethought in terms of conflicts. The ‘other’ of Istanbul will be constantly revealed through this system that simultaneously alters the perception of the existing city. Users occupy a multiplicity of space dependent on interaction; individual understanding and interpretation determine the renegotiation of the conditions of conflict. The Art House will itself be a presentation of the multiplicity of conditions as well as a space to develop new discourses and representations [art] of those conditions.

The relation of the building to the understanding of Istanbul as having alternate or hidden realities works at different scales and speeds. When occupied, the art house presents a constant regeneration of the conditions of conflict through interaction with the specific mechanisms of each conflict. In this way new conditions are created that are simultaneously presented as the building itself as well as displayed as discrete pieces, or traces, of these conditions. As the autonomous conditions migrate through the city, the space in which the ‘double’ is revealed also migrates; the ‘double’ crawls through Istanbul, leaving traces of its conditions and discourse in its wake.

Occupation is of the dynamic, thickened thresholds in each of the specific structures of conflict. As the conditions of these thresholds are divorced from the situations they describe, they are allowed to recombine autonomously in new ways. The interaction of the users [dependent on individual understanding and interpretation] helps determine the renegotiation of these conditions and therefore the resultant multi-occupation.

representations/structures of conflict_

Double Meaning_
_Internal splitting; bifurcation; phase change
The structure of the double meaning is a constant rethinking of occupation and the generation of a multiplicity of ‘others’ as a result of phase changes/bifurcations. These phase changes are specific moments that occur within gradients of conditions. Occupation here is of the dynamic threshold across which the specific phase changes/internal splits/bifurcations occur.

Assimilation_
_Growth; graft; interface
Within the hyper-occupation of Istanbul, conditions are constantly being assimilated across conditions of opposition. These exchanges occur across a dynamic threshold, or interface, that is perpetually altered through interaction; of users, objects, space, images. Occupation here is of this interface, the persistent renegotiation of conditions of opposition; growth, grafting, assimilation. Space is no longer a static representation or singular object, but a presentation of multi-occupation through assimilation.

Dream/Collective Memory
_Mask; double
Here the dynamic threshold is a mask, or double, that contains a multiplicity of trajectories born of and catalyzed by collective memory. The masking object presents a threshold in which and across which these trajectories operate. The inevitability of collective memory, or dream, produces renegotiations of conditions.

Conflict
_Repetition; critical mass; juxtaposition; fissure
Occupation is of the fissure, a dynamic edge constantly being rethought through repetition working towards critical mass. The fissure presents the acquisition of the critical mass as well as its subsequent transformation.

The separation of these conditions of conflict produces a non-linear, non-hierarchical system to generate a new occupation of space, one that is no longer associated with static representations of particular conditions. As these conditions become independent, they begin to migrate throughout the existing fabric; different conditions in different parts of the city are allowed to affect each other. In this way the system begins to ‘crawl’ through Istanbul, leaving traces in its wake. Individual interaction, understanding and interpretation determine multi-occupation of the system, and this produces a perpetual renegotiation of conditions and [re]description of Istanbul through combinations and transformations of those conditions.

As Istanbul continues to grow, the city is and has been developing certain dialectical situations and conflicts, both physical and psychological, which live within the urban context and help shape the collective memory of the city. These oppositions form an invisible network of edges and thresholds within the urban fabric; lying dormant; perpetually haunting the city of Istanbul. As this latent condition lies continuously unchecked, the city continues to alienate itself from its own reality.

This does not necessarily produce a situation to be fixed, but instead presents a productive impetus and catalyst for the ‘new’; for the building up of this hidden network. These oppositions operate across ostensibly clear, inflexible edges; interfaces of exchange/obstruction. The same mechanisms that create the interface between opposing forces can simultaneously build up a unique occupation within those edges, rendering them as thick and occupiable thresholds. No longer are there simply conditions of A and B, but a new thickened threshold between; a new threshold that renews the collective memory of the city. The occupation of this invisible ‘other’, or ‘double’, is not governed by the same mechanisms as apparent space. This new threshold presents a non-hierarchical, non-linear system operating within interfaces of conflict.

The conflicts are represented by descriptive conditions of objects, and the interface of these conflicts is described by differences in these descriptive conditions. In realizing the ‘other’ or ‘double’ – the edge/threshold that is haunting Istanbul from within – these conditions are disconnected from the objects they describe and are renegotiated through autonomous interaction. No longer are the conditions of conflict effects describing existing space, but they are now productive; generating conditions that catalyze and strengthen new multi-occupation. Conflict shifts from being descriptive to productive; from negative to positive. This provides the opportunity for Istanbul to separate itself from its ostensible reality into the dormant reality where notions of the existing city are lost yet others are discovered within the underlying turbulence. Static conflict is reinvigorated into a productive force.

The separation of these conditions of conflict produces a non-linear, non-hierarchical system to generate a new occupation of space, one that is no longer associated with static representations of particular conditions. As these conditions become independent, they begin to migrate throughout the existing fabric; different conditions in different parts of the city are allowed to affect each other. In this way the system begins to ‘crawl’ through Istanbul, leaving traces in its wake. Individual interaction, understanding and interpretation determine multi-occupation of the system, and this produces a perpetual renegotiation of conditions and [re]description of Istanbul through combinations and transformations of those conditions.

Double Meaning_
Internal splitting; bifurcation; phase change

Assimilation_
Growth; graft; interface

Conflict
Repetition; critical mass; juxtaposition; fissure

Dream/Collective Memory
Mask; double