The Arcades Project - Operi

impinge impinge on on social social ones. In the formation of his private private environment, environment, both both are are
kept out. From this arise the phantasmagorias of the interior-which, for the
private man, represents the universe. In the interior, he brings together the far
away away and the long ago. His living room room is a box box in in the theater theater of of the world. world.
Excursus on on Jugendstil. The shattering shattering of the interior occurs via via Jugendstil
around around the tum of of the century. century. Of Of course, course, according according to its own own ideology, ideology, the
Jugendstil movement seems to bring bring with it the consummation of the interior.
The The transfiguration of the solitary soul appears to be its goal. Individualism is its
theory. theory. With With van van de Velde, the house becomes becomes an an expression expression of of the personality. personality.
Ornament Ornament is to this house what what the signature signature is to a painting. painting. But the real
meaning of of Jugendstil is not not expressed expressed in this ideology. ideology. It represents the last last
attempted attempted sortie sortie of of an an art art besieged besieged in in its ivory tower tower by technology. technology. This attempt attempt
mobilizes all the reserves of inwardness. They find their expression in the mediumistic
language of the line, in the flower as symbol of a naked naked vegetal nature
confronted confronted by the technologically technologically armed world. The new new elements of of iron iron conconstruction-girderstruction-girder forms-preoccupy Jugendstil. In ornament, it endeavors to win
back these forms for art. Concrete Concrete presents it it with with new new possibilities possibilities for plastic plastic
creation in in architecture. Around this time, the real real gravitational center of living living
space shifts to the office. The irreal irreal center makes its place in the home. The
consequences consequences of of Jug Jug ends til are depicted depicted in in Ibsen's Master Master Builder: the attempt attempt by
the individual, on ti,e strength of his inwardness, to vie with technology leads to
his downfall.
I believe . ... .. in my soul: the TIling.
-Leon Deubel, Oeuvres (Paris, 1929), p.193
The interior interior is the asylum of art. The collector is the true resident of the interior.
He makes his concern concern the transfiguration transfiguration of things. things. To him him falls the Sisyphean Sisyphean
task of divesting things of their commodity commodity character by by taking possession possession of
them. But But he he bestows bestows on on them them only connoisseur connoisseur value, value, rather rather than use use value. value.
The collector dreams his way way not only only into a distant or bygone world but also
into a better one-one in which, to be sure, human beings are no better better provided
with what they need than in the everyday everyday world, but in in which things are freed
from the drudgery of being useful.
The interior interior is not jnst the universe but also the etui of ti,e private individual.
individual.
To dwell means to leave traces. In the interior, these are accentuated. accentuated. Coverlets
and antimacassars, antimacassars, cases and containers are devised in abundance; abundance; in these, the
traces of the most ordinary ordinary objects of use are inlprinted. In just the same way, the
traces of the inhabitant are imprinted imprinted in in the interior. interior. Enter Enter the detective detective story, story,
which pursues these traces. Poe, in his "Philosophy "Philosophy of Furniture" as well as in his
detective fiction, shows himself to be the first physiognomist of tile domestic domestic
interior. The crinlinals in in early detective detective novels are neither neither gentiemen gentiemen nor
apaches, but private private citizens of the middle class.