themetropolisandmentallife

“Nolongerwasitthegeneralhumanqualityineveryindividualbutratherhisqualita9veuniquenessandirreplaceabilitythatbecamethecriteriaofhisvalue…itisthefunc9onofthemetropolistomakeaplacefortheconflict..”

‐GeorgSimmel1903

differencesintemporalexperiences

•  thecityisswi*lychangingexternalandinternals2muli

•  thesmalltownandperipheryischaracterizedbyalifestyleofamoresteady,slowpacethatisbuiltupfromlas2ngimpressions,an2‐the2caltothemetropolis

•  punctuality/pushingawaysovereignins2nctssuchasirra2onality

emo9ons,psychologicalstrife,therapy

•  theintensifica2onofconsciousnesswhichiscausedbythenecessityofreac2ngtositua2onsinara2onalmanner

•  cultureoftheintellectualis2cqualityofthemetropolisisprotec2onoftheinnerlifeagainstdomina2onbythemetropolis

•  Simmelcomparesthistomoretradi2onalformsoflifethatarerootedintheunconsciouslevelsofthemind

money

•  tyingintora2onalis2ccultureofci2esisthedifferenceofthetypeofrela2onships,emo2onalvs.IntellectualthatSimmelseesasbeingtheproductofamoneyeconomy

•  producerandconsumer•  branding•  “Londonisnevertheheartofthecity,butalwaystheintellectandthemoneybag”

•  poli2ckinginruralareas

spa9al(?)experience

•  “Apersondoesnotendwithlimitsofhisphysicalbodyorwiththeareatowhichisphysicalac2vityisimmediatelyconfined,butembraces,ratherthetotalityofmeaningfuleffectswhichemanatefromhim,temporallyandspa2ally”

•  theexperienceofthecitytranscendsitsimmediatesphere

•  movies,yelp/craigslist,facebook

formsofresistance

he’sgotagreatpersonality•  blasé

–  typesofadver2sing/ironicsenseofhumor–  amodeonemustbein(orisamodethatisrewarded)whenin

conversa2ononline–  disengagementduetooverdevelopmentofnerves,andkindofwillful

numbness•  reserve/aversion

–  elevatorswithneighbors/subways/wheretolook?The‘A’linecouchstyle

•  exaggeratedindividuality–  ‐foodie,sharedobjectfe2shists,breakdancing–  peoplewhostartbands

•  philosopherswhoaddressedtheyearningsunderpinningthesemodesofresistancetothesocialtechnologicalmachine,e.g.Nietszche

someconclusions:

•  Simmelobservedhumaninterac2ons,notthetechnology,thisiswhyhisanalysisholdsupandisflexible.

•  hedidn’tlookatthetechnology,helookedathowtechnologywasaffec2ngpeople

•  Cp.withMitchellwhofocusedonthetechnology•  Mitchellwashalfright:i.e.theinternetbeingGibsonianandnot‘Metropolis’intheFritzLangsense

mitchell

thecityofbitscirca1999

thecityofbitscirca2007‐8

gloriasuziekimservicedesignforpublicspacesNYU/ITP2009