Transitions of meaning in the Public Projection by Krzysztof Wodiczko

Abstract

Krzysztof Wodiczko started his Public Projection in 1980, by anatomical analysis of architectures on photographs. If we use the terms of Walter Benjamin, this new artistic presentation can be understood as a behavior to give an Exhibition-Value to architectures, which have their own Aura and Cult-Value. According to the terms of Alois Riegl, the writer of "The Modern Cult of Monuments," it also can be understood as a behavior to make known the intention of authors of architectures by projecting their symbolic images to Intentional Monuments. It changed, however, in the middle of 1980's, to a behavior to protect Monuments by projecting critical thoughts and reflections of inhabitants around them. Wodiczko seemed to regard their thoughts and reflections as Artistic-Will (Kunstwollen), one of the most important terms of Alois Riegl, but we must not overlook that there is a gap between them. Video Public Projections, which Wodiczko started in 1996, used architectures as transitional objects: a term of developmental psychology for silent speakers. Public Projection continued changing in the past quarter century in order to extract various abilities of architectures.