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romanticism and idealization of our superficial world. design is lifestyle and for designboom it is philosophy : the idyll ....................................................
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idyll gunnar buttner, 1999 --- when speaking of idylls, one is dealing with a term used most often in romanticism and which has lost its credibility in the present day. fragments can be found in hotel and travel brochures, but the description is applied to such things as swimming pools, palms, or the blue sky. these objects give the impression that something exists, which is untouched by space or time in our superficial world. this idea, however, is just the latest rip off of the romantic idealization of nature. how can we speak of idyll in a way, which makes sense or is believable? in order to understand what comprises an idyll we must take a closer look at the way the word idyll is used and when a situation is accepted to be idyllic. the term idyllic is not only accompanied by ideas about the spatial surroundings, but also by the idea of temporal being. normally, we connect idylls with geographical places rather than with thoughts. Iwould like to concentrate on the latter. spatially, an idyll is a place where function gives way to psychological, momentary impressions. the idyll has an entirely positive connotation, as in a moment of utter emotional fulfillment. in everyday situations the word is less freighted with high expectations. we often experience scenes which might be described as idyllic, sometimes with a touch of irony or criticism. it is possible to find something idyllic about speeding in a sports car or a person sitting at a desk, deep in thought (even if he is enthusiastically pursuing something completely idiotic). if we relate something emotional to the idea of idyll, then it is likely that the present linguistic convention would describe it as kitsch. mood is the companion of images. if the evocation of mood is the prime motivation of the meaning of the word idyll, then it is generally deemed to be kitsch (a term, which is often used polemically.) an idyllic moment is one over which we have a great deal of control. the internal process, which accompanies an idyll, is bound to be different for the viewer of caspar david friedrichÕs moor landscape, and for the person who is actually lost in such a landscape. the art appreciator may find the situation idyllic, the stranded hiker less so. the leap from romanticism is release of the term idyll from a romantic evaluation and idealization of nature, without making the idea itself superfluous. it is possible to imagine the idyll in our everyday life, which is not concretely attached to nature of any kind. in this way a bouquet of flowers on the window sill, or people picnicking in a parking lot could convey an idyllic feeling, or to put it on other words, one does not have to seek nature to experience the inner process which seems to be the prime characteristics of an idyll. on the contrary, it is this deviant idealistic content which - when ethically disconnected from a romantic zeal may correctly correspond with the psychological components of today's individual. why should we continue to use the term idyll, now that it has lost its historical relationship to nature...? the word continues to be used in everyday language and the person speaking connects the term with a certain image and internal process. if one asks someone what comes to mind when the envision a certain idyll, they could probably give a meaningful and exact description of the image, without formulating a concrete name for the situation. if the person entered such a situation he would say, "this is my idea of an idyll". this kind if internal process is comparable to pain, which can be felt without really knowing its origin. both pain and the idea of idyll can be conveyed to others. the problem with this internal process is the fact that it is difficult to analyze. it is as if one were to flail about with oneÕs hands in order to find out what air is. in addition to the internal process, or taking emotional part in a situation, there is a more important characteristic propositional content attached to the term idyll. namely, idyll implies an ideal, as opposed to a pure description of a place or situation. this means it contains a particular idea or image, which is in opposition to reality. the term conveys intent, which according to how it is interpreted can or should be moralistic. perhaps one could say, that in the post-industrial age people have become disassociated and are no longer able to create the idyllic relationship to nature that the romantics attempted our view is influenced by machine oriented urban reality. the question should be, disassociated from what? have we lost our connection with the original state in which people lived in harmony with nature? if such an original state existed, an idyll is a sort of resonance of that ideal way of being, then disassociation has taken place. at this juncture, I find romantic idealism questionable. could it be that the ambivalent feeling which arises between an imagined ideal and deviant reality is a basic phenomenon? it seems to me that this chasm determines how we evaluate the world. the state of the world is ambiguous; nothing is really tragic or comic. the fact that we can even think in terms of utopia is a function of the human spirit, which allows us to develop new perspectives. I believe that it is here that idyll and their representations play a credible role in our lives today. ---  ------- monthly designboom newsletter ------- ------- ? comments and contact us ? ------- |
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