Reading Response: Michel de Certeau

People’s common understanding seems contradict with Michel’s  “space is practiced space” which I think is because we don’t realize our practice’s contributions to surroundings. People are born with the sensitivity of their surroundings. Walter Benjamin also indicate that people can receive architecture without concentration as they can really touch it. When the film focuses on exploring this kind of space, it can dig out people’s lifestyles. As an example, Mateo Bendesky’s movie These Days shows people’s loneliness and depression during quarantine without capturing any figure. A tap that no one turned off, a crooked sofa, a handle on an unmade bed… Then we know this is not only a place “bedroom”, but has become a unique space.
Time seems rarely mentioned in the discussion of place and space, however it exists. Place is more stable than space, influence of time seems slighter and slower. However the change of space is more random which means time can have obvious influence on it. In special periods we can find different spaces in one place which indicates how people shifted their minds and how their lifetime flows. In that aspect, place is more like a big carrier carrying different clips of time period. At this angle, every space is a piece of film.
— Liu Yichu Chelsea, 3035773072

1 thought on “Reading Response: Michel de Certeau

  1. Jen Lam says:

    Enjoyed your example of how objects replaced humans to become the protagonists of an altered space. You have a great analysis of the effect of space/ place on time. Wonder if it is also possible that space is a carrier of different clips of places in different periods?

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