04 March 2014

Conference: Façades: the Architecture of (In)Authenticity

Façades: the Architecture of (In)Authenticity
7th Annual Philosophy and Art Conference (Stony Brook Univ., Manhattan campus)
March 28th-29th 2014
Venue: Bathhouse Studios, 540 E. 11th St, NYC
More information here.

(I'll be a faculty moderator at this conference. ST)

Here's how the organizers describe the conference: 
The façade—the aspect of a building that both looks at, and is seen from, the street—erects a philosophically and artistically productive ambivalence. Depending on the building’s purpose and comportment, the façade may bear little or no resemblance to the structure within. A façade may clearly indicate the purpose of a structure—such as those of government buildings, restaurants, or grocery stores; they may function as merely surface covering—such as the prescribed façades of residential buildings in some historic neighborhoods; or they may be transparent, "invisible," or feigning—such as the façade of a "speak-easy". As a metaphor, the ambivalence erected by the façade seems to extend to numerous aspects of our engagement with the world. Just as the façade both reveals and conceals the depth of the building behind it, so the face we turn towards others both reveals and conceals our feelings, intentions, and character. We invite artists and scholars to the 2014 conference in order to explore the vicissitudes of the Façade—its place, importance, and structure. Is it pernicious or profitable? Is it necessary or elective? Is it universal or an instance of anthropo-centrism? Do the various structures of façades delimit or facilitate expression or identity formation? Other aspects of the main theme to be considered include: public/professional vs. private/personal features of façades; the relation between the façade and the human face; the politics and ethics of façades.

Further questions include (but, of course, are not limited to):
• The Human Face: what does the face allegedly disclose? Is there a parallelism between psychoanalysis and portraiture? What is accomplished by the self-portrait, particularly in the light of Freud's claim that self-analysis is impossible? Consider also: the beautiful/ugly face; the "virtuous/vicious" face; the head (the eyes, the mouth, the hand) in contrast to the face; the (trans)gendered face; the face of the Other.
• Public & Professional Facades: is there something about our public buildings such that their “faces” should be consistent with their interiors? In other words, does the idea of the public bear a particular relationship to truth? Consider also: user profiles (FBook, LinkedIn, etc); chat-room avatars (trolls, noobs, etc); audience reception; documentation (passports, driver’s licenses, Instagram); the public/professional intellectual/artist.
• Private/Personal & Deceptive Façades: how are our homes structured differently vis-à-vis their facades? Must one have a face? Does one have a right not to be seen, i.e. to be "invisible" or to "wear a mask", so to speak? Is there a socio-political advantage or a cost to "wearing a mask," or having a "poker face"? What does the veiled face allegedly conceal (wedding veil; the hijab)? Consider also: the simulacrum and the original; forgery; ownership and intellectual property; commercial branding; pen-names/ pseudonyms; the doppelgänger; the myth of Janus; the uncanny.
• The Facade and Architecture: What does it mean to talk about the "art" of the facade? How can we understand the relation between a building and its face? And how has the function and meaning of this element changed over the course of architectural history, from classical to modern and postmodern paradigms? Moreover, what does it even mean to talk about the facade in terms of architectural authenticity? 
• The Politics of the Façade: How can a facade be a place of resistance or domination, surveillance or invisibility, subjugation or power? How does one encounter a society's culture or power distributions when encountering these facades? How is one to break away from domineering subjugating facades? Can one ever escape? By what means? Is there the ability to resist and how in the face of cultures that produce the same? Are we only left with imagination to break through these barriers? How do memories and nostalgia play in to the impression of a facade?


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