Bench in the Garden: An Inquiry into the Scopic History of a Bench

(Paperback)

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The bench, an apparently small and almost irrelevant object, appears to function as a significant object both in the specific places where it operates and in a more general sense, in the domain where aesthetics, garden history, architecture, spatiality and subjectivity interfere. The bench acts as a powerful visual machine and regulates the reception of the landscapes it has to offer to its visitors. By transmitting verbal messages (through inscriptions), citing other benches and being part of a complex walk circuit, by providing rest and inviting its users to discover new aspects of the site, this highly polysemic element orients and disorients the visitor at the same time. AUTHOR: Michael Jakob is Professor of History and Theory of Landscape at hepia (Geneva) and EPFL, Lausanne as well as Professor of Comparative Literature (Chair) at Grenoble University. His teaching and research focuses on landscape theory, aesthetics, the history of vertigo, contemporary theories of perception and the poetics of architecture. He is the founder and head of COMPAR(A)ISON, an International Journal of Comparative Literature. He produced several documentary films for TV and has longstanding experience as a radio journalist. SELLING POINTS: A remarkable foray into a niche subject, this book will transform your opinions of the humble bench Discover the ways in which benches orient, teach, create emotions and direct our 'ways of seeing' in the garden

Reviews

A bench is much more than a place to sit. "To sit on it means to share a view with the creator of the garden," write Michael Jakob. Benches are guideposts through the garden, they are markers of social status, and they are even political statements, he says. This book examines great benches in history (there are more than you might think) and their representation in literature and, especially, art. "The painted bench acts in other words as a scopic device built into the picture," Jakob notes. "Once 'occupied, ' once our eyes start to discover the other parts of the painting from there, we see the entire image in a different light."--Landscape Architecture Magazine

Author Bio

Michael Jakob is Professor of History and Theory of Landscape at Hepia (Geneva) and EPFL, Lausanne as well as Professor of Comparative Literature (Chair) at Grenoble University. His teaching and research focuses on landscape theory, aesthetics, the history of vertigo, contemporary theories of perception and the poetics of architecture. He is the founder and head of COMPAR(A)ISON, an International Journal of Comparative Literature. He has produced several documentary films for TV, and has long-standing experience as a radio journalist.