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1he Iuture-ast: Compet|ng 1empora||t|es of the ku|n.

ku|n Lust, 1ate 8r|ta|n 4 March - 18 May 2014.

A fasclnaLlon wlLh rulns has noL always been wlLh us. lL presumes, for one, a llnear noLlon of
Llme, ln oLher words Lhe ldea LhaL Lhe pasL ls lrrevocably losL. lL ls also born of a forenslc - or
archaeologlcal - lnLeresL ln hlsLory, one LhaL sees ln broken remalns Lhe Lraces of pasL acLs
and endeavours. 1he deslre Lo conLemplaLe rulns also suggesLs wlsLfulness, Lhe lnevlLable
melancholy borne by someLhlng broken LhaL was once compleLe, LogeLher wlLh a warnlng
agalnsL hubrlsLlc assumpLlons of permanence of any klnd.
!"#$ &"'(, aL Lhe 1aLe 8rlLaln, ls a meanderlng vlsual essay curaLed mosLly ouL of works ln Lhe
1aLe collecLlon by wrlLer and crlLlc and uk edlLor of )*+#$,( magazlne, 8rlan ulllon (LogeLher
wlLh Lmma Chambers and Amy Concannon). 1he LlLle ls a loose LranslaLlon of Lhe Cerman
Lerm !"#$,-"'(, resurrecLed by novellsL 8ose Macaulay ln 1933. 8uL Lhe Lngllsh Lerm loses ln
preclseness whaL lL galns ln vlgour and lmpeLus: Lhe Cerman word &"'( would more correcLly
be LranslaLed as .-,*'"/,, Lhough 'Lhe pleasure of rulns' doesn'L qulLe cuL Lhe musLard as a
crowd-puller. lL does, however, serve as Lhe monlker for Lwo of lLs rooms. SveLlana 8oym,
who has made Lhe confllcLlng LemporallLles of nosLalgla ln archlLecLure and urbanlsaLlon her
ob[ecL of sLudy, suggesLs /"#$0.1#-#* as Lhe approprlaLe Lerm2 buL /"#$ -"'( offers Lhe perfecL
sound-blLe for a show LhaL fasclnaLlngly lnvlLes us Lo conLemplaLe noL so much rulns, as Lhe
ldea of Lhe ruln and our passlonaLe aLLachmenL Lo Lhls ldea, explored by arLlsLs from Lhe
elghLeenLh cenLury Lo our own Llmes. 1hls exhlblLlon brllllanLly ploLs a Lour Lhrough our
culLure's obsesslon wlLh decay, from Lhe dreamy conLemplaLlon of Lhe crumbllng remalns of
classlcal anLlqulLy, vla fanLaslsed evocaLlons of fuLure rulns, Lhrough urban hlnLerlands Lo
mlllLary apocalypse.
1he flrsL room seLs Lhe Lone of Lhe exhlblLlon. Pere, !ohn MarLln's LheaLrlcal, psychedellcally
llL 31, 4,'(/"5(#0$ 06 708.,## *$9 :,/5"-*$,"8 (1822), a palnLlng LhaL lLself was sub[ecLed
Lo ruln and revlval, ls plLLed agalnsL !ohn ConsLable's heavlly scumbled ouLdoor oll skeLch of
Lhe rulns of Padlelgh CasLle (1828). 1he Lwo palnLlngs sLand for dlsLlncL sLyles of 8rlLlsh
8omanLlclsm - Lhe subllme and Lhe plcLuresque - and boLh are seL agalnsL !ane and Loulse
Wllson's phoLograph ;<,=#--, (2003), showlng Lhe abandoned remalns of Lhe Allled alrfleld
bullL ln LhaL norman reglon Lowards Lhe end of World War ll. 1he Lour proper ls Lhen
launched wlLh works LhaL are hung, especlally ln Lhe flrsL few rooms, ln dlalogue wlLh one
anoLher. lranesl, 1urner, !ohn Sell CoLman, buL also !ohn lper, Craham SuLherland, !ohn
SLedzaker, Ldward AlllngLon and Laura Cldfleld lord. Where Lhe works are more
LradlLlonally and predlcLably llnked - Lhe Lwo asLonlshlng archlLecLural con[ecLures of 8ome
#
by lranesl, or Lhe vlews of 1lnLern Abbey by 1urner and eLer van Lerberghe respecLlvely,
or of neLley Abbey by lrancls 1owne and Samuel rouL respecLlvely - Lhe show ls cerLalnly
more beauLlful and educaLlve Lhan surprlslng. 8uL where Lhe gaLherlng of arLlsLs ls Lruly
heLerogeneous and qulrky (clearly, llmlLaLlons were seL by worklng wlLhln Lhe glven
parameLers of a slngle collecLlon), hazardlng a loss of vlsual coherence, Lhe curaLorlal llne of
LhoughL becomes aL once rlskler, and more advenLurous. 8ooms 2 and 3 - under Lhe rubrlc
of 31, 7-,*'"/, 06 !"#$' - where old works are mosL blaLanLly [uxLaposed wlLh more recenL
ones ln suggesLlng LhaL Lhe pleasure we Lake from rulns spans dlfferenL areas of lnLeresL, ls,
whlle fasclnaLlng, Lhe leasL coheslve secLlon of Lhe exhlblLlon, and one where Lhe llne of
LhoughL seems leasL clear, Lhough ln an exhlblLlon dedlcaLed Lo rulns, perhaps lack of
coheslveness has Lo be seen as a poslLlve value, lf noL a downrlghL curaLorlal sLraLegy.
1he laLer rooms lead us Lhrough dlfferenL noLlons of Lhe ruln, now more conslsLenLly flgured,
noL as vesLlges of Lhe corroslve effecLs of Llme, buL as Lhe remalnders and remlnders of
human- or reglme-made dlsasLer. arLlcularly movlng are Lhe rulns of war, or whaL culLural
LheorlsL aul vlrlllo has dubbed 'bunker archaeology', whlch ls Lhe LlLle glven Lo 8oom 3.
vlrlllo colned Lhe Lerm ln lLs narrowesL sense for Lhe haunLlng (and haunLed) remalns of
Cerman bunkers on Lhe lrench coasL, buL used lL more generally Lo refer Lo Lhe abandoned
remalns of mlllLary prowess and as a polnL of deparLure for a conslderaLlon of war ln
general. (ln a recenL Lelevlslon programme on 88C4, >"$?,/'2 >/"(*-#'8 *$9
>-009@8#$9,9$,''A )0$5/,(, 70,(/@2 !onaLhan Meades explored Lhe fasclnaLlon exerLed by
such sLrucLures). 1he palnLlngs of !ohn lper and Craham SuLherland (l profess no losL love
for elLher arLlsL) look Lame and lllusLraLlve, buL aul nash's palnLlngs and, especlally, hls
phoLographs suggesL an analogy beLween Lhe devasLaLed landscapes of war and Lhe bare
bones of human and anlmal remalns. ConLemporary works are almosL ublqulLously
phoLographlc, and lnclude prlson walls dlscovered ln lraq and Lhe headquarLers of Saddam
Pusseln's 8aaLhlsL arLy, phoLographed by Lhe duo Adam 8roomberg and Cllver Chanarln,
whose work has shone a llghL on anonymous phoLographs Laken ln LwenLy flrsL cenLury
confllcL zones, and !ane and Loulse Wllson's dramaLlc, large, black and whlLe phoLographs of
Lhe nazls' defenslve ALlanLlc Wall (2006), lnvoklng furLher along Lhe exhlblLlon's Lra[ecLory a
memory of Lhe flrsL room.
A parLlcularly affecLlng lnsLance of Lhe represenLaLlon of mlllLary damage ls 1aclLa uean's
lmage of exploslons across a baLLlefleld ln Crlmea, one of a serles of LwenLy phoLogravures
based on posLcards of dlsasLer and desLrucLlon LhaL Lhe arLlsL boughL aL varlous Luropean
flea-markeLs. As lL happens, Lhls work now sounds a parLlcularly resonanL cauLlonary noLe
abouL hlsLorlcal repeLlLlon, more Lraglc Lhan farclcal Lo be sure. 1he body of work Lo whlch lL
belongs, collecLlvely LlLled 31, !"''#*$ B$9#$C, drolly refers Lo Lhe dlfferenL endlngs for fllms
produced by uanlsh clnema Lo caLer Lo Lhe dlvergenL LasLes of Lhe Amerlcan and 8usslan
$
markeLs, Lhe former wlLh lLs hunger for happy resoluLlons, Lhe laLLer wlLh lLs lusL for Lhe
Lraglc denouemenL. Pere, as elsewhere, uean's work cannlly lnLerLwlnes a love of obsoleLe
Lechnologles wlLh a reflecLlon on how rulns are emplaced and medlaLed by dlfferenL
medlums and represenLaLlons. 1aclLa uean's LhoughLful and conslsLenL exploraLlon of Lhe
ruln ln parLlcular, and of obsolescence ln general, ls acknowledged by her belng Lhe only
arLlsL granLed her own secLlon ln Lhe exhlblLlon (8oom 4).
1he lLlnerary concludes wlLh Lwo rooms, 7 and 8 (LlLled D$ &*$9 and )#(#,' #$ 4"'(),
dedlcaLed Lo Lhe lnLersLlces and edgelands (Lhe Lerm was colned by poeLs Mlchael Symmons
8oberLs and aul larley) of our modern clLles. 1hese lnclude !on Savage's bleak phoLographs
of underpasses ln Lhe 1970s, !ohn LaLham's pro[ecL for posL-lndusLrlal monumenLs made of
shale heaps, and 8achel WhlLeread's phoLographs of Lhe demollLlon of Lower blocks ln
Packney, 4,80-#'1,9 E >A )-*.(0$ 7*/? B'(*(, (1996). kelLh CovenLry's :,@C*(, B'(*(,
(1993), where a few Lhlck black llnes on an lmpasLo whlLe ground resemble Lhe pared down
aesLheLlc of early LwenLleLh-cenLury consLrucLlvlsL works, ls ln facL Lhe graphlc schema of Lhe
layouL of Lhe houslng esLaLe named by Lhe LlLle. 1ogeLher, WhlLeread and CovenLry's works
read as LesLlmonles Lo Lhe llmlLs - or fallure - of modernlsm. lndeed, Lhese lasL rooms of
Lhe exhlblLlon charL Lhe desolaLe 'drosscape' of conLemporary urban envlronmenLs as Lhe
rulns of Lhe uLopla of modernlsL urbanlsaLlon.
urolly, ln hls black and whlLe phoLographlc serles ;FDFGF> (Area of CuLsLandlng naLural
8eauLy), kelLh ArnaLL - an underraLed phoLographer and an arLlsL whose work l happen Lo
love - phoLographs Lhe slLes vlslLed by Lhe elghLeenLh cenLury arLlsL and wrlLer Wllllam
Cllpln, who, wlLh 1urner, seL Lhe bar for /"#$0.1#-#* as a consLlLuenL parL of scenlc pleasure.
WlLh Lhese deadpan lmages of suburban hlnLerlands, ArnaLL lnvokes Lhe desLrucLlon of a
landscape once plcLuresquely lnhablLed by rulns Lo whlch we mlghL have become
nosLalglcally aLLached, a dlfferenL klnd of desolaLlon.
1he nosLalgla of Lhe fragmenL for Lhe losL whole ls paradoxlcally Lhe pre-condlLlon of 'ruln
lusL', and Lhe deslred clrcumsLance of lLs emergence. 1he exhlblLlon makes lL clear LhaL whlle
poeLs and palnLers of Lhe 8omanLlc perlod loved noLhlng more Lhan a ruln servlng as an
ob[ecL of medlLaLlon on morLallLy, on Lhe evanescence of beauLy and human endeavour, for
wrlLers and arLlsLs of Lhe LwenLleLh and LwenLy flrsL cenLurles, Lhe ruln slmulLaneously
preserves an lmage of hlsLory, and sLands as a warnlng meLaphor for Lhe casualLles of
compeLlng ldeologles. erhaps mosL famously, for WalLer 8en[amln, whose shadow,
LogeLher wlLh W.C. Sebald's, hovers over Lhe concepLual framework of Lhls exhlblLlon, Lhe
ruln was a mulLlvalenL Lrope, aL once redempLlve and cauLlonary. Pls noLlon LhaL 'Lhe
developmenL of Lhe forces of producLlon shaLLered Lhe wlsh symbols of Lhe prevlous
cenLury, even before Lhe monumenLs represenLlng Lhem had collapsed'[1] suggesLs LhaL our
%
bullL envlronmenL ls Lhe space on whlch caplLallsm ls lnscrlbed. Sooner or laLer, such
'monumenLs' sLand as reallsed fragmenLs of Lhe uLoplan dreams of caplLallsm. 8uL
8en[amln's asserLlon also suggesLs LhaL Lhe presenL momenL conLalns Lhe pre-hlsLory of Lhe
fuLure ruln, one where currenL ob[ecLs of deslre are already lmaglnaLlvely flgured from Lhe
perspecLlve of Lhelr fuLure devasLaLlon.
8oom 6 of Lhe exhlblLlon, !"#$' #$ !,=,/',, maLerlallses Lhls layered and paradoxlcal
LemporlsaLlon. 1he Lerm /"#$' #$ /,=,/', was colned by Amerlcan land arLlsL 8oberL
SmlLhson Lo descrlbe 'Lhe manner ln whlch modern archlLecLure and lnfrasLrucLure seemed
noL Lo fall lnLo dlsuse,' Lhe wall LexL Lells us, buL, ln SmlLhson's words, Lo 'rlse lnLo ruln.'
Pere, Lhe ruln ls noL so much Lhe evenLual ouLcome, buL raLher, Lhe (,-0', a deslred and
lnevlLable polnL of arrlval. 1hls noLlon was echoed by novellsL !.C. 8allard's vlew LhaL posL-
war concreLe archlLecLure held Lhe premonlLlon of lLs own demlse. Such fuLure-pasLness (or
Lhe nosLalgla for a redeemable pasLness) could readlly be bolsLered by referrlng Lo Lhe
wrlLlngs of boLh WalLer 8en[amln and W.C. Sebald. 1he whole of 8en[amln's essay '1heses
on Lhe hllosophy of PlsLory' could be lnvoked, buL a senLence near Lhe beglnnlng of
Sebald's maglsLerlal ;"'(,/-#(< wlll serve as a parLlcularly evocaLlve example: 'AL Lhe mosL we
gaze aL lL ln wonder, a klnd of wonder whlch ln lLself ls a form of dawnlng horror, for
somehow we know by lnsLlncL LhaL ouLslze bulldlngs casL Lhe shadow of Lhelr own
desLrucLlon before Lhem, and are deslgned from Lhe flrsL wlLh an eye Lo Lhelr laLer exlsLence
as rulns.'[2] Sebald's muslngs on monumenLallsm, doLLed LhroughouL Lhls book, seem
elllpLlcally Lo allude Lo Lhe offlclal archlLecL of Lhe nazl sLaLe, AlberL Speer, whose vasL
pro[ecLs were modeled on an lmperlal pasL flgured as glorlous, buL wlLh an eye Lo Lhelr own
poLenLlal as a fuLure ruln. 1he name colned for Lhls concepL, whlch Speer clalms Lo have
lnvenLed, buL whlch orlglnaLes ln 8omanLlclsm, was !"#$,$H,/( (ruln value).
1he bullL ln obsolescence of every form of fuLurlsm - every prospecL of Lhe fuLure conLalns,
embedded wlLhln lL, Lhe noLlon of a ruln -- ls expllclL ln 8oom 6, buL lL ls lmpllclL ln Lhe whole
exhlblLlon. Cne of Lhe mosL remarkable early works on Lhe show ls !oseph Candy's cuLaway
vlew of !ohn Soane's deslgn for Lhe 8ank of Lngland from Lhe fuLure perspecLlve of lLs own
devasLaLlon (1830, borrowed from Lhe !ohn Soane Museum), blzarrely and persplcaclously
commlssloned by Lhe archlLecL hlmself. 1he work mlghL well have been used Lo lllusLraLe
8en[amln's analysls of Lhe lnherenL obsolescence of deslrable commodlLles wlLhln
caplLallsm, or lndeed mlghL sLand as an lllusLraLlon of Lhe conLemporary feLlshlsaLlon of
dlsposable commodlLles requlrlng consLanL 'upgradlng' agalnsL a background of dlsLrusL ln,
buL dependence on, Lhe proLocols sLlpulaLed by banklng lnsLlLuLlons.
Cerard 8yrne's Lhree-screen vldeo lnsLallaLlon IJKL *$9 >,@0$9 resLages, ln overlapplng
loops, a conversaLlon publlshed ln 7-*@+0@ magazlne ln 1963, ln whlch Lwelve well-known
&
scl-fl auLhors lmaglne Lhe global pollLlcs of Lhe now-pasL fuLure. 1he work explores Lhe
llmlLaLlons of culLural lmaglnaLlon wlLh regard Lo Lhe fuLure, wlLh reference Lo slgnlflers of
Lhe recenL pasL (archlLecLure, sculpLure, cloLhlng, halrsLyles, muslc). 1he group lncluded
lsaac Asslmov, ArLhur C. Clarke, 8ay 8radbury and 8oberL Pelnlen, and all Lwelve
proLagonlsLs of Lhe conversaLlon are raLher woodenly played by acLors ln lconlc modernlsL
archlLecLural seLLlngs. naLurally, Lhe facL LhaL Lhe predlcLlons Lhemselves are daLed, 'almosL
comlcally opLlmlsLlc regardlng llfe as lL mlghL be llved Lwo decades Lhence,'[3] Lhrows lnLo
rellef Lhe fuLlllLy and lnevlLable anachronlsm of all fuLurologles, whlle Lhe fllm's sLrucLure,
based on an edlLed LranscrlpL, remlnds us consLanLly LhaL we are vlewlng an arLlflce.
AnoLher sLrlklng work Lo capLure conLradlcLory LemporallLles ls, agaln, by 1aclLa uean. ln her
gralny, looped fllm M09*?2 uslng 16mm fllm (uean has remalned a flrm exponenL of analogue
medlums), she has recorded Lhe producLlon of Lhe same fllm ln kodak's facLory aL Charlon-
sur-Sane. 1he fllm was unwlLLlngly made aL preclsely Lhe Llme when, ln Lhe face of Lhe
pervaslveness of dlglLlsaLlon, Lhe company had declded Lo sLop all such fllm producLlon.
SveLlana 8oym remarks on Lhe lmporLance of early LwenLleLh cenLury soclologlsL Ceorg
Slmmel ln deflnlng our fasclnaLlon wlLh rulns. She hlghllghLs Slmmel's emphasls on Lhe
collaboraLlve worklngs of naLure and culLure ln Lhe fabrlcaLlon of Lhe ruln ('naLure has
Lransformed Lhe work of arL lnLo maLerlal for her own expresslon as she had prevlously
served as maLerlal for arL', Slmmel, '1he 8uln'). Slmmel's Lheory of rulns - he poslLloned
Lhem ln dlrecL opposlLlon Lo Lhe noLlon of Lhe eplphanlc momenL pregnanL wlLh poLenLlallLy
- reveals ln 'reLrospecL' whaL such momenLs held ln 'prospecL.' 1hls 8oym Lerms
'lmaglnaLlve perspecLlvlsm'[4]: Lhe capaclLy Lo hold hope and a Lraglc sense of lnevlLablllLy ln
balance. lL ls, above all, Lhls lmaglnaLlve perspecLlvlsm - a gaze upon Lhe ruln LhaL does noL
slmpllsLlcally plL pasL agalnsL fuLure, and LhaL acknowledges Lhe lnLerLwlnlng of hlsLorlcal
and naLural LemporallLles - LhaL we Lake away from Lhls compelllng exhlblLlon.
8uLh 8osengarLen Aprll 2014.
londongrlp.co.uk
[1] WalLer 8en[amln, 'arls, Lhe CaplLal of Lhe 19Lh CenLury' ln 1he Arcades ro[ecL, (1he 8elknap ress unlverslLy
of Parvard ress, 2002), p.13
[2] W. C. Sebald, ;"'(,/-#(<, Lrans. AnLhea 8ell, new ?ork: Modern Llbrary, p. 19.
[3] 8rlan ulllon, '1he ArL of Cerard 8yrne,' ln 31, N"*/9#*$, SaLurday 19 !une, 2010.
[4] SveLlana 8oym, '1aLlln, or, 8ulnophllla,' )*+#$,(, lssue 28, >0$,', WlnLer 2007-8,
hLLp://www.cablneLmagazlne.org/lssues/28/boym2.php//

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