Polyrhythmic landscapes : bodydresscity : a thesis prepared in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Design at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand
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Date
2010
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Massey University
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Abstract
Polyrhythmic Landscapes: BodyDressCity explores
the performative contiguity of body, garment and
environment to reveal, frame and question how
the city can be understood as a ‘space-in-action’,
constructed of multiple rhythms and temporalities
that occur in a multitude of places. Polyrhythm is
a musical term for the simultaneous occurrence of
two or more independent rhythms. This research
seeks to fuse Bernard Tschumi’s event-space
and rhythm, through an understanding of Henri
Lefebvre’s ‘rhythmanalysis’ (Lefebvre, 2004, p.
1). In this project, I spatially conceptualize the
combination of these terms as a polyrhythmic
landscape. As a spatial designer I construct a
series of embodied spatiotemporal interventions that employ
performance as a dynamic, active, operative and
responsive medium to reveal, frame and comprehend
how the city can be a ‘polyrhythmic landscape’.
The design-led project probes the disruptive effect of
a female figure dressed in a monumental ten-metre
red gown on the temporal condition of the city. As
the public bears witness to the metamorphosis of the
female figure, the spectacle of the dress confronts the
everyday patterns and movements of the urban fabric.
Has this glamorous flâneuse punctured the rhythmic
skin of the city to reveal a polyrhythmic landscape?
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Keywords
Performance art, Red dress, Polyrhythm in art, Wellington, Design