ABSTRACT
Liminal space encompasses the time between what ‘was’ and what is ‘next’. It is an ambiguous moment of change that manifests itself in architecture as thresholds and transitions. The act of crossing a threshold is deeply rooted in our culture as a symbolic gesture of passage that incites both physical and psychological change. We encounter them throughout our daily lives, and they become cues that enable us to organise our environments.
The museum invites an abundance of liminal space. They are the spaces that lend themselves to gazing, learning, pause and reflection. Among the exhibitions, the visitor experience beckons a time for these activities in order to intervene and re-engage the individual. As museum design has evolved to become an architectural monument with a clear identity, so has the liminality within it evolved to become a palpable space of pause and reflection that enhances the visitor’s experience of the exhibitions.
This dissertation explores the influence of liminal space on museum typology through the theoretical framework of Arnold van Gennep and Bjørn Thomassen and evaluates the effectiveness of its application through an in-depth study of the Chichu Art Museum.
1
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge, with much appreciation, my supervisor Dr Alanya Drummond for her unwavering support, wisdom and patience.
To my friends, I owe my eagerness and enthusiasm, the same they have shown me.
And to my family, whom in the writing and completion of this dissertation, I am grateful to share my joy with.
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4
Chapter 1 The Theory of Liminal Space and its Foundations in the Built Environment -------------- 6
Chapter 2 The Application of Liminality in Museums -------------------------------------------------------- 10
Chapter 3 A Case Study of Liminal Space in the Chichu Art Museum ------------------------------------ 20
Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 28
List of References ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 30
3
INTRODUCTION
This dissertation will evaluate the application of liminal space to museum design. It will begin by investigating the theoretical concept of liminality and its relationship to the built environment. An analysis of museum design will be conducted with multiple examples to identify the specific elements of architecture that usher a liminal experience. A final detailed case study of a contemporary design, the Chichu Art Museum will be present to evidence the successful integration of liminal spaces that allow for liminal experiences to enrich the visitor experience.
The first chapter will introduce the concept of liminality, its origins and relation to the built environment. Ideas will be derived from a range of theorists from both fields of anthropology and architecture. Starting from Arnold van Gennep’s observations of liminality in small societies rites, then Victor Turners expansion of the concept from the abstract to the spatial dimension, the chapter will end with Bjørn Thomassen’s identification of liminality in the built environment. The first chapter establishes two frameworks in which museum design is analysed. The sequential structure of liminality; the initial state, the in-between state and the concluding state that is described by van Gennep assists in the dissection of liminal experiences in museums. In addition is Bjørn Thomassen’s layout of liminal experiences as the combination of three components; subject, time, and space. The purpose of this chapter is to establish the foundations of liminal space in architecture.
The second chapter observes liminal experiences in museum typology. It will briefly summarise the history of museum architecture and outline the characteristics that have evolved to allow liminal spaces to exist and influence the visitor experience. A range of museums will be explored in relation to its thresholds and transitions to grasp the types of spaces where liminality most commonly occurs. An emphasis will be placed on contemporary era buildings for its clarity in identity owing to the transformation of museums into monuments of architecture. The purpose of this second chapter will be to deconstruct the external and internal thresholds, the thresholds between two interior spaces, outdoor spaces and retail spaces, identify their differences and explain how those distinctions can promote unique ways of reflection and active learning.
4
The third chapter focuses solely on the Chichu Art Museum, merging the different types of liminal spaces onto one site for a holistic view of its positive effect on visitor experience. The analysis will be structured to chronologically imitate the visitors’ journey; from entry, to the exhibits, and through the exit. The purpose of this is to --- add up the experiences --- how one affects the other and how to end. In conjunction to the museum’s physical entry, entry within the larger context of the island that it is located on will be examined. The chapter will then detail the liminal spaces that exist between exhibitions such as the passageways, the courtyards and the museum shop and derive from them the architectural elements that work together to create an impact on visitor experience.
The purpose of these chapters is to form a definitive relationship between liminal space in museums and the enhancement of visitor experience. It is the aspiration of this dissertation to offer contributions to field of interior architecture where the explorations of liminality in museum design are distinguished although scarce.
5
CHAPTER 1 THE THEORY OF LIMINAL SPACE AND ITS FOUNDATIONS IN THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT
In the built environment, liminality is applied to stimulate active learning through reflection. By capturing the physical space in which transformation occurs, it’s design can be curated to facilitate a meaningful visitor experience. Arnold Van Gennep (1873-1957), an ethnographer, first explored the concept of liminality in Rites de Passage (1909) through his observations of rites in small-scale societies. He established a three-fold sequential structure; separation (preliminal), liminality and incorporation (post-liminal). The initial and concluding stages described the state an individual resided in before the transformation began and the one after the transformation had been completed. The term ‘liminality’ was introduced to characterise the middle stage where the change occurred and for that measure of time the individual was in a state of ambiguity (Szakolczai 2009: 141).
For the purpose of this essay, the term liminality will describe the quality of ambiguity that occurs during a transformation; The preliminal and post-liminal stages characterise the states where the subject’s sense of space and time are clear. Liminal experience is used to define the human experience of liminality and liminal space will describe the physical space where this experience occurs.
Rites de Passage and its concepts were rediscovered by Victor Turner (1920-1983) in his publication The Forest of Symbols (1967). The essay within it, Betwixt and Between: The Liminal Period in Rites of Passage explored liminality outside its limited context of small-scale rites. He studied the spatial and temporal qualities of liminality; Single moments, longer periods, or even whole epochs can be liminal and liminal spaces can be specific thresholds, areas or borders and entire countries. According to Turner, liminality served not only to identify the importance of and in-between period, but also to understand the human reactions to liminal experiences. “The way in which personality was shaped by liminality, the sudden foregrounding of agency, and the sometimes-dramatic tying together of thought and experience” (Thomassen 2009: 14). The 6
identification of liminality outgrew the boundaries of a single definition however the many experiences conform to a central idea that uncertainty, fluidity and ambiguity are lived experiences that transform us “cognitively, emotionally, and morally, and therefore significantly contributes to the transmission of ideas” (Horvath, Thomassen & Wydra 2015: 2).
In The Uses and Meaning of Liminality, Bjørn Thomassen deconstructed liminal experiences and arranged their components onto three planes; subject, time, and space.
Experiences of liminality can be related to three different types of subject: 1) single individuals 2) social groups (like cohorts, minorities) 3) whole societies, entire populations, maybe even “civilizations”
The temporal dimension of liminality can relate to: 1) moments (sudden events) 2) periods (weeks, months, or possibly years) 3) epochs (decades, generations, maybe even centuries)
The spatial dimension of liminality can relate to: 1) specific places, thresholds (a doorway in a house, a line that separates holy from sacred in a ritual, specific objects, in-between items in a classification scheme) 2) areas or zones (border areas between nations, monasteries, prisons, airports) 3) “countries” or larger regions, continents (meso-potamia, medi-terranean; Ancient Palestine, in between Mesopotamia and Egypt; Ionia in Ancient Greece, in between the Near East and Europe).
The components Thomassen has listed will provide a framework for which this essay to explore the creation of liminality and the types of liminal experiences that are possible. The scale of the components does not necessarily correspond as an individual can experience a decade of liminality and a society can experience a moment of the same and therefore any combination of these are legitimate. Furthermore, they are not only legitimate but necessary as supported by Paul Stenner in Theorising Liminality Between Art and Life: The Liminal Sources of Cultural Experience. He writes: “There is nothing inherently liminal about thresholds, borders, frontiers, 7
margins and so forth. What may or may not be described as liminal must include the experience of passage or movement across such a threshold, and its management.” (2019: 12). It is interesting to note Stenner’s inclusion of ‘management’ which can be understood as the conscious design of a liminal experience through one or more of its components but also as a recognition of an experience and the clarification of its limits. This aligns with Van Gennep’s original identification of liminality as the in between stage of two distinct states. The liminal experience requires confirmation from its subject, either through quantitative and qualitative measures, of one preceding state and one following. For example, experiences that captivate entire populations are defined clearly with instruments such as calendar dates of primary events. Thomassen identifies wars and revolutionary periods as one such liminal experience and its clarification is evidenced in numerical dates that serve to mark a period in history (2009: 16). With individuals, liminal experiences tend to be qualitatively acknowledged. An example is the act of crossing the threshold that has symbolic power across all cultures (Unwin 2008: 2). From the disassembly of liminal experiences, two conclusions are drawn: The components themselves cannot be liminal; although they are subject to influence that will determine the type of liminal experience created. Finally, one can add this distinction: liminal experiences can be “artificially produced” (Thomassen 2009: 18).
In the built environment, transitions and transformations manifest as thresholds. They divide up our world, punctuating our movements and creating ‘fault-lines’ in our experience (Unwin 2008:2). They go unnoticed in their abundance until we pass through; into a crowded room, a silent exhibition or a long journey. In those moments where the changing of states is unmistakable, the threshold is endowed with the ability to cause pause as we step into the abyss of liminality (Wilbur 2013: 34). In the context of the built environment and this essay, the threshold defines the boundary between two physical spaces. It is multifaceted as explained in At the Threshold: Liminality, Architecture, and the Hidden Language of Space, “The threshold can be crossed vertically, as in a doorway, or horizontally, ….it is a boundary line between the in and out, here and there, up and down.” (Wilbur 2013: 34). Another observation can be made on its scale which ranges from an intangible line separating two objects or a transition from interior to exterior that spans an immense area. These in-betweens are thresholds “spanning urban transitions” (Ramaswamy 2005: 14). Therefore, it is possible for one structure in the built 8
environment to contain many types of thresholds that induce different experiences of liminality. Design, conception, construction and use are factors that directly affect the experience of a threshold and in turn, the liminal experience. The way a space is used cannot be controlled as it mutates socially over time however “the architecture of the space remains in its elements, form, material, details, joints and colors” (Ramaswamy 2005: 14). Threshold spaces can include passageways, doorways, facades, waiting areas, the space between items and the spaces that lend themselves to transformative activities such as gazing, strolling, pausing, reflecting and learning. Spaces that provide an opportunity to intervene and re-engage the individual are categorised as liminal spaces in the built environment.
This chapter has served to interpret liminality within the built environment through studying the components of a liminal experience and identifying their application in the built world. The following investigations will consider Van Gennep’s sequential structure and Thomassen’s scales of subject, time and space in order to confirm the presence of a liminal experience in museum design.
9
CHAPTER 2
THE APPLICATION OF LIMINALITY IN MUSEUMS
In the case of a museum, where we move through states of time, expression and memory, liminal experiences are prolific. When they are designed with the intention to allow the audience pause, reflection and the opportunity to learn, the visitor experience is undoubtedly enhanced. In a museum, exhibitions and art are powerful in their ability to inspire the audience. Their curation requires consideration so that each piece speaks volumes on its own and in harmony with the others. The gathering of so many significant works in one space commands the existence of liminality as an opportunity to reflect, learn and pause before moving onto other works and onto another state. This second chapter will analyse the types of liminal spaces present in museums. A range of examples will be presented with a focus on contemporary era architecture. In order to contextualise contemporary museum design, this chapter will review the evolution of museum typology and explain how its relationship with liminality has strengthened as museum architecture became a monument, “an item of display” (Bilous 2013: 51). Additionally, this chapter will analyse the thresholds between external and internal space and the thresholds between internal spaces. For each of these thresholds, there will be an analysis of factors that determine their design, how their design creates a liminal experience and the possible impact they have on individuals.
In art and historical museums alike, the primary objective is display and preservation. The works are suspended in an environment for viewing and experiencing. Unlike most built spaces that are purposed for dwelling, working and consuming, it may be argued that museums offer insight into the power of experience of memory and expression. The progression of museum design shows how form came secondary to the exhibitions before evolving to become one that is heralded as an architectural identity (MacDonald 2008). Milojković and Nikolić identify the “new museum… museums (that) are so radically distant from modern structures” (2012: 2). Among several ‘star architects’ they name Peter Eisenman, Daniel Libeskind, and Frank Gehry as employers of a “new, specific architectonic vocabulary”, one that “identifies the museum architecture and art contained within as an aesthetic whole. 10
The architectural diversity of museums particularly in the contemporary era provides the context for this chapter in which we will explore the application of liminal space. The contemporary era museum is defined by the period post 1945 to include the latter part of the modern period and to embody the subsequent transition to postmodernism. According to Sharon Macdonald in A Companion to Museum Studies, in the late twentieth century the museum was increasingly attempting to incorporate alternative visual technologies and practices of looking. This was part of a more pluralised form of address, related to a changing emphasis on the visitor in which the audience was conceptualised as more fragmented and multiple (2008: 221). The individuality of experience was powerful albeit unpredictable and unguided. Where controlling the mass audience's gaze was no longer applicable, it became crucial to allow exploration and learning in a way that was organic and instinctual so that each person had the freedom of experience despite being bound by the walls of the building. “We consider that the contemporary museum illustrates the interrelationship between space and people. Through the shifting that occurred in the design layout – from simply exhibiting to allowing interpretation – and through considering the visitors’ perception as determinant elements, the museum building admits now the personal transformation and initiation which happen through accumulating knowledge, in a manner close to van Gennep’s theory of passage” (Sfinteş 2012: 3). This is supported by Hillier and Tzortzi’s concept of space syntax; which encompasses a set of theories and techniques for spatial configuration. They write, “How space works for people is not simply about the properties of this and that space, but about the relations between all the spaces.” Gennep’s ‘passage’ then becomes the passing through of a museum and the associated sequential system of initiation, liminality and the accumulation of knowledge and enjoyment. “The passage implies the change of status from not-knowing to knowing.” (Sfinteş 2012: 4).
The first liminal experience that will be explored in museum design is the one created by the transition from the external (the surrounding outside environment that does not identify as part of the museum, since many museums feature gardens or outdoor spaces) to the internal. The most common way this transition appears is as a doorway. Simon Unwin writes “The power of a doorway is to permit (to allow passage)” Passing through doorways affects our states of being; who we think we are as well as where we find ourselves. Often these effects are small, but sometimes that can be dramatic (2008: 3). Due to the fact, the doorway is almost certainly the 11
first point of contact between the visitors and the structure, a person’s initial impressions of the museum stem from this point.
Figure 2.1. Art Gallery of New South Wales façade showing main entrance, Biennale of Sydney, NSW, accessed 26 November 2019, <https://www.biennaleofsydney.art/venues/artgallery-new-south-wales/>
In figure 2.1, which shows the facade of the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the doorway is humbled by the guarding presence of ionic pillars that bear the weight of the triangular pediment. The visitor experiences the gravity of the building as they approach the entrance, first through the sheer scale of the facade compared to the environment and secondly through the placement of the pillars that funnel them in. At the very top of the steps. before the visitor steps into the shade of the entrance the view into the museum through the doorway is obscured partially from the shadows that are cast. It is difficult to judge the details of what lies inside until one passes through the threshold and the lighting grants us the ability. The opposite occurs when we turn around to leave and the darker interior frames the light of the external environment. The visitor steps out into the harsh sunlight and takes a moment to adjust both physically to the sight of the bright external space and behaviourally to the external environment. The design of liminal space does not limit the execution of functional design. “A line of stones, a step or the frame of a door 12
may be there for functional reasons - to stop rainwater flowing insides or to hold a door in place but they also make the threshold between inside and out” (Unwin 2008: 84). Further in his book, Unwin discusses the concept of thresholds and defines it as the two-dimensional, invisible, insubstantial but sometimes unnerving screen through which we pass. Thresholds are points of introduction and control, where separated places meet. They are also points of anticipation and trepidation (2008: 79). Unwin’s idea is evidenced in figure 2.2 that shows the pathway leading up to the steps that provides an unbroken line of sight to the museum.
Figure 2.2 Art Gallery of New South Wales located next to the Royal Botanical Gardens, Art Gallery of New South Wales, accessed 26 November 2019 <https://media.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/thumbnails/uploads/rotator_images/H_Visit_location.j pg.770x314_q85_crop.jpg>
Vlad Gaivoronschi identifies three types of boundaries and associated thresholds: thick, discerning massive or opaque boundaries; thin relating to the transparent nature of thresholds; and multiple in which the threshold becomes spatial, requiring more time for crossing. The latter of which he qualifies as space of the limit (Sfinteş 2012: 4). We can see this type of threshold at the Art Gallery of NSW where the length of space between the visitors’ first glance of the building and the physical building resides in the liminal. The individual, in anticipation of entering the space, enters an ambiguous state between -mentally- acknowledging the space and physically being in it. This liminal experience provides the chance for preparation and perhaps more importantly for the escalation of enthusiasm that ultimately improves the visitor’s experience of the museum. As 13
mentioned above, there are numerous design components to doorways and thresholds and consequently the liminal space can be experienced many times differently. It should also be noted that the liminal experience is dependent on the visitor’s situation, the purpose of their visit, whether they are alone or with a partner or a group of people. There are many possibilities that could result in lesser or greater liminal experiences relative to the individual.
Passing through the entrance reveals a new world where individuals partake in observing, wandering and learning. “We find ourselves in a transitional stage as we no longer participate in the everyday reality but to a parallel one, by making contact with objects and ideas coming from another time and place” (Sfinteş 2012: 6). Among the liminal spaces in the museum’s internal this essay will discuss three in detail. Firstly, the design of spaces in between different exhibition rooms, outdoor spaces, and finally the inclusion of retail and hospitality spaces in the museum layout. Exhibitions are commonly punctuated by walls, doorways, halls, stairwells, elevators and ramps. While one encounters these elements regularly and regard them as purely functional, in the contemporary museum they align to form a route, a remarkable mode of transportation that moves us between time periods and between powerful expressions in art. The often polarising nature of exhibits commands a vehicle of similar calibre to bring us there. The route is present throughout the museum, from entry to exit, accompanying the visitor along their journey. It punctuates each exhibition and becomes a familiar device for orientation. As visitors move out of the exhibition into the transitional space, they are brought out of the state they were in when under the immediate effect of the display. The route provides opportunities for reflection and then the shedding of the thoughts and emotions connected to the contents viewed and refocus on the content ahead, following van Gennep’s rites of passage structure. An example is Frank Lloyd Wright’s spiral ramp in the Guggenheim Museum, New York: climbing it up requires making a continuous physical effort doubled by the symbolic meaning of accumulating knowledge (Sfinteş 2012: 6).
14
The route (figure 2.3, figure 2.4) guides and propels the visitor around the museum with purpose and a light sense urgency. “The spiral structure in the museum allows for exploring the whole expositional area of the museum and sets a circulatory movement of the audience” (Bilous 2013: 51). In comparison to other liminal spaces present in the museum, the route choreographs movement and the constant appearance of transitions.
Fig 2.3. Laurian Ghinitoiu, Lower spiral ramp of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Archdaily, accessed 18 November 2019 < https://www.archdaily.com/788914/gallery-franklloyd-wrights-solomon-r-guggenheim-museum-by-laurian-ghinitoiu>
Figure 2.4 Tim Head 1980, Drawing for ‘Project for Guggenheim Spiral’, Tate, United Kingdom, accessed 18 November 2019, < https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/headdrawing-for-project-for-guggenheim-spiral-t05714>
15
Another museum space which evokes liminal experiences are outdoor areas. Unlike the transitional spaces along the museum route, outdoor spaces invite occupation rather than movement which in turn invites pause and recollection. “The museum architecture is usually opaque (even if that means creating enclosed opaque spaces behind the transparent façade) because of the limitations that the objects and display imply: the natural light causes the degradation of the objects and may not permit a proper visualization. On the other hand, because of the difference between the time and place exposed and the real time and place, the understanding of the exhibition depends on the remoteness created from the outside world” (Sfinteş 2012: 5-6). A strong delimitation is created between inside and outside and as a result the introduction of an outdoor space provides the visitors a point of orientation. The outdoor space remains as part of the museum and is therefore separate from the external environment mentioned above, such that individuals do not completely exit the museum realm and enter another state but are held in an ambiguous state where the external environment is framed by the museum architecture. Furthermore, an outdoor space in this context of this essay is physically defined as a space that participants can enter and be in direct contact with the elements. One example can be found at the Benesse House Museum shown in figure 2.5, a photograph from the interior of the building looking out into the courtyard.
Figure 2.5. Dan Preston 2019, The courtyard of the Benesse House Museum viewed from behind the glass wall panels, Instagram, accessed 20 November 2019, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BtwwJXgHieb/?igshid=13oww6ta347yz>
16
Figure 2.6. Xia Zhi, Visitor experiencing the courtyard of the Benesse House Museum, Archeyes, accessed 18 November 2019 < http://archeyes.com/benesse-house-tadao-ando/>
High walls prevent daylight from directly entering the interior space, preserving the environment where exhibits are viewed. In conjunction with the heavy pivot door that is seamlessly integrated into the full-length windows, they maintain the idea that the outdoor space is more a part of the museum than it is the external environment. Entering the courtyard allows greater access to daylight. The opening and the provision of smooth stones as resting points encourage visitors to lay down and look upward towards the sky (figure 2.6). This draws their line of sight and effectively their attention away from the museum exhibits. The outdoor space serves as a point of recuperation and reorientation in the museum layout. In the Benesse House it appears past halfway along the route as an outlet for activities such as resting, pondering and viewing the sky in a unique way, where itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expansiveness is cropped into a rectangular section. Individuals leave with a clear sense of time and a renewed perspective of the natural environment. The third set of liminal spaces in the museum are retail and hospitality ones built for a specific activity (outside of required sanitary buildings and areas for processing such as ticket sales points). These are spaces that maintain function outside of the museum context for example cafes and shops. Their emergence and subsequent prominence in contemporary era architecture has garnered criticism on the basis that consumerism disrupts the integrity of the museum and its 17
exhibitions. Magnago Lampugnani argues that museums have become architectural playgrounds in which art is increasingly subsumed to architecture, to the extent that it risks - even in its ostensibly ‘quieter’ forms - ‘drowning out the art that it is housing’. “This is compounded by a greater emphasis, generally financially driven or at least accentuated, on museum visitors, which sees museum spaces and architecture being transformed to incorporate speedier temporalities, and functions such as shopping and eating.” (Macdonald 2012: 485). However, it can be argued that due to their recent inclusion in the museum interior, they have yet to be experimented with to a great extent and their adaptation to the typology can be improved. The connotations of retail, it’s profit centric spaces and mass production, are heightened when juxtaposed by the museum atmosphere. As it a result, it appears to disrupt the delicate world formed by the exhibits and “the shop suffers in relation to the cachet of the ‘authentic’ objects in the galleries” (Larkin 2016: 110). Much of this is contributed to the placement of retail spaces adjacent to the exit. This layout is so prevalent that it has spawned the phrase ‘exit through the gift shop’ (Larkin 2016: 109). The closer a retail or hospitality space resides to the external environment the more its draws from it. Both typologies in the contemporary world therefore visitors are familiar with their function, atmosphere and practices and react accordingly when entering one. The state of the museum shop is more distinct when placed at the exit. It anticipates the exit with more urgency as visitors state is transformed from observation to consumption. Whereas placement further away from external influence, its nature becomes more ambiguous. Rather than being commanded by consumerism it can be integrated into the route without disruption. Perhaps most significantly, as retailing becomes increasingly sophisticated and products represent site collections in a variety of forms, visitors are presented with opportunities to relate to culture in qualitatively different ways from those provided in the galleries (Macdonald, 2012). The intersection of consumerism and museum typology creates a point of transition and a liminal experience. When the visitor is not urged to purchase an item, the acts of browsing and reading, viewing increases engagement with the works. Retail display itself, shares commonalities with exhibition design. The method of display should align with the intention of the museum so that the liminal space reads museum to museum retail to external rather than museum to external retail.
This chapter has explored different liminal spaces and their composition in the museum, with a focus on contemporary era museums. The first transition point was identified as the external to 18
internal threshold. This liminal experience occurs upon entry and exit and is an opportunity for preparation and anticipation as well as reintegration. Factors that influence these thresholds are distance and transparency as well as the footprint/ !! of doorways. The chapter then examined the spaces between exhibitions and their contribution to the route of a museum. Each of these encouraged move and physical transition, their impact -- by the direction and speed of movement. The chapter studied retail and hospitality spaces and the effect their popularity has had on the museum experience.
19
CHAPTER 3 A CASE STUDY OF LIMINAL SPACE IN THE CHICHU ART MUSEUM
Chapter 3 is a dedicated study case, evaluating the application of liminal space in museum design specifically within in the Chichu Art Museum. Transitions of physical and abstract nature occur with frequency in its spaces and their design influences the audience experience. It should be noted that audience situation is also a determining factor in the liminal experience, and we can only gauge its significance through the analysis is architecture and space and their known effects on human behaviour. The analysis of the site will follow a structure; the identification of liminal space as the interval between two distinct states, the description of architectural elements associated with the space, an analysis of the liminal experience and evaluation of its effect on the visitor experience.
Figure 3.1. Map of Naoshima Island which shows the locationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highly visited areas and the closest port from the mainland, Uno Slope House, accessed 4 November 2019 <http://unoslopehouse.com/rough-guide-Naoshima-island.php>
20
The Chichu Art Museum was constructed in 2004 as a site “rethinking the relationship between nature and people”. The museum was built mostly underground to avoid affecting the natural scenery. Designed by Tadao Ando (1941-present), the museum permanently houses works by Claude Monet, James Turrell and Walter De Maria. Its location on the island of Naoshima in Japan plays an important role in its ability to evoke positive liminal experiences. The remoteness of the site and the decision to construct a museum recessed into the earth creates an inextricable link between the building and its environment. Figure 3.1 illustrates the geographical context in which the building resides. It also maps the islands close relationship to art and architecture; showing three other projects/ museums. They, along with the Chichu Art Museum are only accessible by ferry from the closest port on the mainland. Upon embarking the ferry, visitors leave the clear border of Honshu (Japan’s main island) and anticipate their arrival at the museum via Naoshima Port. In this instance, the threshold of the museum does not only exist at its physical entrance but extends to cover the distance between the two ports. This distance becomes liminal space since the visitor has yet to reach the museum but has left the state they were in before their decision to physically embark on the journey. Utilising Thomassen’s scales of subject, time and space, this experience of liminality is the combination of a period of time taken to cross the border experienced by the individual.
Figure 3.2. A map of the Chichu Art Museum ticket centre and its distance from the entrance, accessed 4 November 2019 < http://www.checkonsite.com/naoshima-art-museum/>
The next liminal experience occurs between the ticket centre and the museum entrance. Shown in figure 3.2 the ticket centre which includes locker rooms and information desks are located a significant distance from the entrance of the museum building. Visitors must transit the uphill path, physically increasing their proximity from the functional facilities and consumer activities. By placing the entrance away from the sales point, Ando preserves the museum experience as an 21
opportunity for learning and enjoyment instead of a transaction. The ‘Chichu Garden’, featured off the path is a garden of plants cherished by Claude Monet (figure 3.3 and figure 3.4). Drawing inspiration from Monet’s garden, roughly 150 kinds of plants and 40 kinds of trees were selected to create seasonal impressions (Benesse Art Site 2016: 16). It is “where one can enjoy a relationship with nature and physically experience the beauty of nature” and simultaneously a precursor to Monet’s art inside the museum. The visitor’s experience of liminality along this stretch of road prepares them for the museum by deepening their understanding of the relationship between human and nature.
Figure 3.3. The Chichu Garden located between the ticket centre to the museum entrance, Benesse Art Site, accessed 4 November 2019, <http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>
Figure 3.4. At the entrance of the Monet exhibition with the Chichu Art Museum, Harper’s Bazaar Arabia, accessed 4 November 2019, <https://www.harpersbazaararabia.com/art/exhibitions/claude-monet-at-the-chichu-artmuseum-benesse-art-site-naoshima>
22
“The visitor, who upon entering the (subterranean) museum is transported to the ambiguous space between the ground and the architecture, transverses the museum mostly unaware of their spatial relationship to the ground plane.” (Medrano 2017: 69). In figures 3.4-6, we can see the main exhibition spaces are illuminated by natural light, in an figures 3.7-9, artificial light or a combination of both while the liminal spaces between exhibitions are in the subterranean and only permit a certain amount of light, the quality of which changes accordingly to the time of day.
Figure 3.5. and Figure 3.6. Featured exhibitions in the Chichu Art Museum: (left) Walter De Maria’s Time/ Timeless/ No Time, 2004 and (right) James Turrell’s Open Field, 2000, Benesse Art Site, accessed 6 November 2019, <http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>
Figure 3.7, Figure 3.8 and Figure 3.9. The spaces in between exhibitions in the Chichu Art Museum: (left) a passageway which runs adjacent to the triangular courtyard, (centre) the entrance procession, (right) a waiting area before the James Turrell exhibition, multiple sources, accessed 6 November 2019.
23
Further in figures 3.10 and 3.11, the alternation of light and dark spaces is clearly seen. It follows a pattern of light to dark and repeats which each space being a similar distance. The dark hallways appear longer although the time spent in them are the similar or shorter than the time spent viewing each artwork in spaces which are illuminated well.
Figure 3.10 and Figure 3.11, (left) a view of the Chichu Art Museum from above in its entirety showing where each space allows in natural light, Benesse Art Sit, accessed 6 November 2019, <http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>, (right) 2003, an illustration of the light and dark spaces within the museum identified by the shaded and non-shaded areas, Jeffery Clair Studio, accessed 6 November 2019, <http://jeffreyleclair.org/studio/page/7/>
The transitional spaces are also typically void, allowing darkness to fill the space and contrasts clearly against the light of the works. In addition, the circulation is controlled by limiting the number of viewers for each visiting round and noise making is prohibited when entering the exhibition space. These measures protect the art viewing atmosphere from any disturbance. To illustrate, the museum allows only one viewer at a time to see James Turrellâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works (Puritat 2010: 158). The liminal experiences of moving and waiting in the relative dark lies between states of light where visitors each artwork is revealed to the audience through a form of illumination. As well, the darkness and the routeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subterranean quality brings with it an instinctive feeling of apprehension which spurs the visitor towards the light. In the Chichu Art Museum, the route is a stimulus for the cleansing of one state in preparation for the next. 24
Among the exhibitions, the Chichu Art Museum highlights natural light through intervals of courtyards and voids that double as a showcase for the architecture of the building; “precast concrete, the highly articulated tectonics, the abstract geometries, and strikingly minimalist finish. They operate as a way to connect the person to a larger context and to reground them within the building’s own constructed landscape” (Medrano 2017: 69). The courtyards are weaved into the route of the museum. Moving from one exhibition to the next requires visitors to pass the courtyards, in particular the triangular courtyard captured in fig 3.10 and fig 3.12 that visitors must repeatedly encounter. The courtyard resides in a liminal state due to its ambiguous nature as both a symbol of movement and an invitation to pause and appreciate them. We also see the different perspectives of the courtyard offered to the audience each time they revisit it. Unlike figure 3.16, the entrance courtyard, where the connection between humans and nature is unbroken on their journey upwards along the spiraling staircase, in the triangular courtyard, movement less pursued. The experience of liminality is drawn from two points. “The ground in most of the Chichu Art Museum’s courtyards is made of white stones and pebbles that alternate in size and hue, formally abstracting theatrical ground plane of these courtyards even more” (Medrano 2017: 69). And when an individual or a group alternate light and dark spaces, the actions of waiting, contemplating, and appreciating develop into moving and anticipating the next artwork.
Figure 3.12 and 3.13. (left) The triangular courtyard at the centre of the museum journey, Benesse Art Site, accessed 8 November 2019, <http://benesse-artsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>, (right) Adam Friedberg 2017, The entrance courtyard of the Chichu Art Museum, accessed 8 November 2019, <http://www.adamfriedberg.com/blog/tag/tadao-ando/>
25
The Chichu Art Museum alternates its liminal and exhibition spaces to positive effect. The acts of movement and pause are encouraged throughout the visitor journey and end with the passing through of the museum store and café. The Chichu Store is a museum shop whose concept is “a place to provide commodities that can renew the feelings felt in Chichu Art Museum after returning to daily life”. Books and various products related to the architecture and artists of Chichu Art Museum, and the museum’s original postcards and stationery are available. (Benesse 2016: 17). The store is located deep inside the subterranean building and in a sense, becomes another exhibition for the visitor to experience. Its simplistic design that parallels the rest of the museum allows for a smooth transition from museum to retail and does not abruptly end the individuals journey before they exit. Another space that invokes liminality is the café pictured in figure 3.14.
Figure 3.14. The museum café overlooking an outdoor space accessible through the door on the left side, Benesse Art Site, accessed 13 November 2019, <http://benesseartsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>
26
While there are many factors attributed to the success of a museum, liminality should be considered due to its ability to usher a transformation (Gennep 1909). The success of the museum can be seen through quantitative data of visitor numbers before and after its opening.
In figure 3.15, an exponential rise in tourist transitions occurs.
Figure 3.15. Survey by Kagawa Prefecture conducted by Carolin in a chapter included in the book “Tourism in Transitions, Recovering Decline, Managing Change”, edited by Dieter K. Müller and Marek Więckowski. Note: Data for all years not available.
This chapter has explored the liminal space through architectural elements of light, proximity and materials to derive the positive influence thresholds and liminality have on the visitor experience. The Chichu Art Museum was specifically chosen for its abundance of liminal spaces and its holistic approach in their combination and effective use.
27
CONCLUSION
Through this dissertation, the theory of liminality and its connection to the built environment has been explored and analysed through the museum typology. The first chapter provided an explanation of liminality through the works of Arnold van Gennep, Victor Turner and Bjorn Thomassen. From each of these authors, a method of understanding and framing liminality was achieved. Van Gennep’s three-fold sequential sentence was subsequently used to identify liminal spaces within the built environment by distinguishing the initial state a subject is in and the concluding state they will be in. While these states are quantitively marked in larger scale liminal experiences such as war and revolution (Thomassen 2009: 16), with individual moments of liminality experienced by one person, the recognition is qualitative. As such, it is noted that qualitative assumptions of visitor experience are derived from qualitative results. The actual experience cannot be recorded or compared to another due to its uniqueness. However, Thomassen provided a list of subject, time and space that was used to understand liminality as the combination of three components (2019:16).
The second chapter explored museums with reference to Sharon Macdonald’s A Companion to Museum Studies and Anda-Ioana Sfintes’ Rethinking Liminality: Built Form as Threshold Space. The chapter provided an analysis and explanation of the evolution of museum architecture and its effect on the prolific appearance of liminal space. It also provided a framework in which liminal space can be explored. A catergorisation and identification of specific thresholds and their design was provided. Liminal space exists in abundance in museums due to the nature of its purpose; to guide the visitor through objects that represented a time and expression. However, with further research, it can be applied to other typologies such as public space and other exhibition spaces where the visitor’s participation in liminal activites; gazing, pause, and reflection are beneficial to their experience.
The third chapter was an in-depth study of the Chichu Art Museum. The design decisions of the architect, whether focused on liminality or not, created space that allows for the intervention and 28
re-engagement of visitors. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s location, use of natural and artificial light, and layout are crucial to the liminal experiences however not the singular factor in its success. Many variables are attributed to its popularity and rise in visitor attendance.
It was the purpose of this dissertation to propose and provide evidence of the enrichment of visitor experience through the application of liminality in museum design through the theoretical concepts of Arnold van Gennep and Bjorn Thomassen. Its contribution was in the deconstruction of liminal experiences into architectural elements to discover how liminal spaces are created and be used for the enhancement of visitor experience.
29
LIST OF REFERENCES
Bilous, Y, (2013), “Evolution of contemporary museum architecture”, Geodesy, Architecture & Construction 2013, p. 50-51, Lviv, Ukraine Horvath, A & Thomassen, B & Wydra, H, (2015), “Breaking Boundaries: Varieties of Liminality, Berghahn Books, New York; Oxford. Macdonald, S, (2006), “A Companion to Museum Studies”, Blackwell Publishing, Malden, MA; Carlton, Vic Maric, M, (2011), “Liminal Field of Architecture”, International Scientific Journal Architecture and Engineering, Milojković, A & Nikolić, M, (2012), “Rethinking Museum Architecture – Art Museum at the Beginning of the 21st Century”, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Niš, Serbia. Sfinteş, A, (2012), “Rethinking Liminality: Built Form as Threshold Space”, International Conference on Architectural Research 2012 – Rewriting History, Bucharest, Romania. Szakolczai. A (2009), “Liminality and Experience: Structuring Transitory Situations and Transformative Events”, International Political Anthropology Vol. 2 (2009) No. 1, p.141-173 Thomassen, b, (2009), “The Uses and Meaning of Liminality”, International Political Anthropology Vol. 2 (2009) No. 1, p. 5-27. Wilbur, B (2013), “At the Threshold: Liminality, Architecture, and the Hidden Language of Space”, University of Texas, Austin
Benesse Art Site Naoshima, “Chichu Art Museum”, accessed 1 Nov 2019, < http://benesseartsite.jp/en/art/chichu.html>
30