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FOLLOWING
THE TRACE-SPIRITS IN THE LANDSCAPE
Ada Kwiatkowska
Abstract
The idea of trace-spirit in Scandinavian
mythology is based on belief that deep place of footmark keeps something
from human being's spirit. It means, the features of man's spirit are
settled in space. But trace-spirit is not only a matter of belief. It
exists in reality in a sense. Trace is real deformation of
space-matter by someone or something, therefore it contains the information
about the features of person or thing that has been present in the space.
Trace is a witness to being. Trace-spirits determine the space. Space
is directed to certain goal and it is extended between place of departure
and place of arriving. Trace-spirits determine also the time, which is
directed to the future (forward moving) or to the past (backward moving).
Footmarks of nomadic cultures and nomadic way of living contain the information
about hierarchy of values and concept of landscape and settings. Trace-spirits of Nomads express
the worlds closed in small circles of mutual interactions and extreme
dependence of people on social, technological and natural processes.
The world of Nomads, in spite of the infinity of the surrounding
space, is minimized in spatial dimensions and reduced to basic human needs. Portable architecture
of Nomads is architecture of the containers; mobile, multi-functional
forms of exchange, which can be folded or dismantled, and rebuilt according
to the archetypical forms.
Article:
Kwiatkowska,
Ada (1998). „Following
the Trace-Spirits in the Landscape”, in: R.Kronenburg (ed.) Transportable
Environments: Theory, Context, Design and Technology, London, New
York: E&FN SPON, pp.19-29. (photos by Ada Kwiatkowska)
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