Material Culture Lab Book

A lab book for course Anth0001: Introduction to Material Culture

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Bibliography

Benjamin, W. and Eiland, H., 2003. The Arcades Project. Cambridge, MA: The Belknap Pr. of Harvard Univ. Pr.

Bourdieu, P., 1970. The Berper house or the world reversed. Social Science Information, 9(2), pp.151-170.

Buchli, V., 2002. Architecture and the domestic sphere. In: V. Buchli, ed., The Material Culture Reader. Oxford: Berg, pp.207-213.

Garvey, P., 2001. Organized Disorder: Moving Furniture in Norwegian Homes. In: D. Miller, ed., Home possessions: material culture behind closed doors. Oxford: Berg, pp.47-68.

All photos, videos and maps are my own.

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Reflection and theory

Garvey (2001) describes the importance of reorganisation in the creation of the home and as a way to crystallise the relationships present in the domestic sphere. In the case of the living room I studied the large objects rarely moved but each resident brought many items into and out of the room. Each member of the household exerts their identity onto the room through the items they place within in it. Garvey also focuses on routine as purposeful and as a representation of identity. This family uses the living room as the space in which to carry out many routines one of which is eating meals. By breaking the common etiquette and rules surrounding eating at a table in a formal way this family shows their rejection of formal living.

Bourdieu explores habitus, the ways in which our social practices are constrained and influenced (Barnard and Spencer, 2002), in the context of architecture. He explores the space through oppositions of light and dark, male and female, inside and outside (Bourdieu, 1970). My living room holds only female permanent residents. As I have already mentioned many routines of the living room are rejections of common practice; in this way the living room is organised to create its own habitus separate from society. The space is organised to encourage you to face the others in the room, the mess helps to reduce visitors anxiety about their belongings and both the residents and the blankets encourage you to relax.

One thing that must be considered about the family home I visited is that it has a stability that is not reflected in some of the temporary student homes that were discussed in my tutorial. Buchli mentions the effect of capitalism on our ability to dwell in places. This contrasts with the soviet ideal of the home reorganised to remove class and gender discrimination (2002). Increasingly the places we live in are not homes but instead simply a place to stay. Students in particular rarely have the time or ability to enact Garvey’s routines and create substantial identities in our houses (2001).

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Furniture and decorations

Inventory

This is not an exhaustive inventory of all the items in the room because every surface, shelf and drawer was completely filled with stuff. I have tried to give an idea of the room by categorising the standout objects by the person they belong to. This room is used as a communal space and most objects are everyone's. The living room is a space that is open to everyone. The items listed under no ones are those that belong to visitors. The living room is a shared space that is welcome to anyone. The ideal is that the room will feel like a home to anyone who visits.

Nearly every part of the walls are covered with photos, drawings, shelves or plants. These objects appear to be arranged by accumulation, with items grouped due to similarity. Objects are sometimes chosen for display due to their significance to one of the residents (plants, pictures, souvenirs from places the mother has lived). Other objects were simply their to be stored or had some forgotten shared significance like wooden animals that had fallen over and only found when I asked.

This room is in constant use. It is a place of rest, play, eating and interacting. The oldest daughter is in the room all the time when she is not at school, with the mum and younger daughter joining her in the evenings. The room is filled with pillows and blankets as well as snacks and plates that held meals. Benjamin describes dwelling as a “shell [which] bears the impression of its occupant” (Benjamin, 1999:pp 220) I feel that this is the best way to understand this living room. This room has not been designed for a viewer but a user, it is not neat and tidy but meets the needs of the family that live there. 

The main lights in the room are rarely used instead side lights create a softer and more intimate light. As a space this room is at the front of the house off of a short corridor. High ceilings provide more shelving space and thus more areas to display items. What was noticeable for me about the walls was how hidden they were. The only space on the wall was the subject of discussion and speculation over what decoration to put there with different members of the family suggesting their ideas.

Different parts of the room are cleaned with different frequencies; the floor and tables are cleaned everyday but behind the sofa is only cleaned twice a year. While this room was originally the bedroom of the two daughters, before the extension was built creating extra space, it has apparently been in its current state for about 7 years. I was told that the room is not rearranged because this is the only way to fit the large sofa in. While the general organisation of the room is constant the items in it change. Plates and bowls are used and removed, snacks and drinks are eaten and just before I had arrived the room had been filled with mattresses for a sleepover.

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Floor Plan

PDF: https://liveuclac-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/zcsadwa_ucl_ac_uk/ERXtqFdaaqlIj4u-Y4xDGMEBzUKsE0wfkHPQAtdsLJ6AuQ?e=CElBiN

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The home

In order to explore the concepts of the home and the built environment I visited the house I will be living in next year and interviewed the people that live their as well as observing the use of the space.

The house I visited is in Finchley and was built in the early 1900′s. It is currently occupied by a family consisting of a mum and two daughters. They live on the ground floor of the building with the upstairs occupied by other people. While the family comprise the permanent residence there are often also visitors who may stay for several nights (friends and partners).

I visited on a Saturday around midday and hung out with the mother, older daughter and her partner in the living room for two hours.

The mother is in her 50s and works part time doing home improvement and the two daughters are 17 and 19 and both in their last year of college. The older daughter also volunteers at a vet clinic. They have lived in this house since the daughters were very young.

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Bibliography

En.wikipedia.org. 2020. Granary Square. [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granary_Square> [Accessed 15 February 2020].

King's Cross. 2020. Granary Square, King's Cross. A Fantastic New London Square. [online] Available at: <https://www.kingscross.co.uk/granary-square> [Accessed 20 February 2020].

RICHARDSON, M., 1982. being-in-the-market versus being-in-the-plaza: material culture and the construction of social reality in Spanish America. American Ethnologist, 9(2), pp.421-436.

Tilley, C., 1994. A phenomenology of landscape: places, paths and monuments. In: Space, place, landscape and perception: phenomenological perspectives. London: Berg, pp.7-34.

All photos, maps, videos and recordings are my own.

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Reflection

When I first came across Granary square I did not immediately realise I was there, the space is bounded by buildings and through pedestrianisation rather than by the typical fences. It is also much less natural than a traditional square. There is no grass and only a few trees.

Tilley explores the difference between place and space. Space as “involved in action” (1994: Pp 10) and place as producing identity. Space is also described as socially constructed with different people experiencing a space in different ways. For some people in my tutorial this square was not English but for me it was very familiar of the squares found in my home, Manchester. Which are all made of stone, whereas grassier areas of the city are referred to as gardens.

Granary square is part of a global city. I saw people speaking different languages and the the sculptures displayed were by non-British artists. 

The square is also a product of its historical context although it is not instantly obvious:

Industrial buildings

Environmental campaigning

No cars and places to lock up your bike

recycling bins

Some of the ideals and social values in the square were:

Cleanliness

Nostalgia for industry

As a privately owned public space it is possible the square can afford to invest more in cleaning than council run squares. Use of the space was also controlled though planting trees that can not be climbed and railings. However, road etiquette appeared to be subverted as several times I saw pedestrians and cyclists almost crash. 

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Visit Original Link

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Visit Original Link

Fountains

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Visit Original Link

Granary square 3:30 pm

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Phenomenology

Phenomenology provides subjective ethnographic material. It relies on personal experience of a site to create understanding. Tilley describes it as the “relationship between being and being-in-the-world” (1994: pp 12). Being is our senses and experimences and being-in-the-world is the way we sperate ourselves from the world.

Granary square reminded me of Manchester. The smell of the fountains, the sight of the canal and industrial buildings, the feeling of stone and brick, even the occasional sound of wood pigeons cooing that reminds me of walking home from school.

The square was mostly used as a thoroughfare. People passed through on foot, bikes and a skateboard. Some people walked slowly and observed the square, stopping to take photos. This increased in the evening when the lights came on in the fountains. There were also people sitting on the canal steps or on benches. Some of these were students who used the space both for studying and socialising. 

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Photos

The Sky:

I was surprised by how much of the sky you could see. This openness effectively differentiates it from its surroundings creating a boundary between the city and the square. This is also possibly temporary, in this photo you can see cranes and new tall buildings are being built around the square as we speak. As the city grows we lose sight of the sky.

The art:

Situated next to Central Saint Martins art seems to be an important aspect of granary square. There were various sculptures spread around the square and I saw many people taking photos of and with them. The way we consider and use space is becoming increasingly influenced by the desire to take photos. People want to take selfies and they want to do so in beautiful spaces. As a privately owned square the designers and owners of granary square want people to pass through, visit and linger, by incorporating art and sculpture that create appealing photos they can increase profit.

The industrial buildings:

The square is also nostalgic for its industrial heritage and this has inspired its design. Most of the buildings surrounding the square are refurbished industrial structures. The change from industry to leisure reflects the general changes in the ways people work in the UK. We have turned from heavy industry to service and that affects the way we inhabit the spaces in which work occurs.

The fountains:

These fountains are both a way to demarcate the space within the square and thus create controlled walkways and a source of chaos on warm days when many children will play within them. They are also linked to the way technology is part of our cities. These fountains are linked to an app that allows people to use them to play the video game snake (Granary Square, 2020). The layout of the square affects the way it is used and the types of interactions that can occur (Richardson, 1982).

The plants:

Granary square is a controlled space. The design of the square is open plan but the movement of people is constrained in various subtle ways. This control is exemplified through the lack of rubbish and the cleanliness of the square. It is also shown through nature. Granary square contains very little nature. These trees and some ivy constitute the totality of plant life. And as we can see in this photo even the trees are controlled, trimmed into squares reflecting the design of the square and also the control of man over nature.

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Maps

PDF: https://liveuclac-my.sharepoint.com/:b:/g/personal/zcsadwa_ucl_ac_uk/ERlIWiE1c49Ip4ZFRx13TcUBcrT4iOxZc25CMEmcPwlHnA?e=xU0BCg

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Landscape, Place and Space

I visited Granary square on the 4th of February at 3:30 pm for 2 hours.

The square smells like the city no particular scents stand out, although occasionally I smelt cigarette smoke or the fragrance of herbs. The textures of the square were hard and rough. As expected of a place built from brick, stone and metal.  The longer I stood in the square the colder I was; the open space giving little shelter from February winds. The square was quiet, surrounded by small roads but I could hear people talking, some birds, and occasionally building work, bikes and cars. I feel that it would taste new and clean or perhaps like the food from the fancy restaurants.

This section of the lab book will apply theories of place and space to Granary Square a relatively new part of London opened in 2012 (Granary Square, 2020). Situated next to Central Saint Martins, a developing retail area and Kings Cross.

It is comparable in size to Trafalgar square, the official website advertises the square as a place to hang out, eat lunch and hold events(Granary Square, King's Cross. A fantastic new London square, 2020).

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Bibliography

Gershon, I., 2010. The Breakup 2.0: Disconnecting Over New Media. London: Cornell University Press.

Miller, D., 2015. Photography in the Age of Snapchat. Anthropology and Photography, [online] 1. Available at: <https://www.therai.org.uk/images/stories/photography/AnthandPhotoVol1.pdf> [Accessed 18 January 2020].

Miller, D., 2016. Social Media In An English Village. London: UCL Press.

Miller, D., Costa, E., Haynes, N., McDonald, T., Nicolescu, R., Sinanan, J., Spyer, J., Venkatraman, S. and Wang, X., 2016. How The World Changed Social Media. London: UCL Press.

All photos and graphs are my own.

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The digital world

While I have focused on twitter alone a major theory within digital anthropology is that of polymedia (Miller et al. 2016), the idea that social networks cannot be understood in isolation and that people use different sites to communicate in a variety of ways.

Research looking at social media from different geographical locations have found that some of the uses of social media reflect the preexisting cultural ideas of the local context. Miller describes Facebook as appealing to the British desire to be close but not to close to others (Miller, 2016)

Personally the use I make of different social media sites is influenced mostly by who is able to view and connect them to me. It is also a factor that has changed through time.

High school = friends used twitter and Whatsapp

still how I interact with friends from then

Youth group = Facebook and messenger

later also Instagram

College = Facebook and messenger

Instagram used to share images of parties

now to see clips of lives around the world

Don’t use Snapchat as my friends don’t

How I present myself on these sites is affected by who I am sharing myself with. I present my truest self on Twitter and Tumblr where hardly anyone I know follows me. On Facebook I am constrained by the eyes of family, old friends and school acquaintances. I only post temporary stories on Instagram as they are less stressful than a permanent image that I would want to make perfect.