This is not what most professors would say during a lecture when speaking of homes. <\/p>\n
But then University of Copenhagen assistant professor Mark Vacher is not like most. Vacher explains to the University Post that the kitchen is where children consume their parent\u2019s love, in the form of tasty meals lovingly prepared for them by mom and dad, which is one of the ways a house is transformed into a home for the residing family.<\/p>\n
It is this unique ability to understand how people live and experience their home that landed Vacher the position of consultant for the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art\u2019s exhibit, Living Frontiers of Architecture III-IV.<\/p>\n
Drawing on extensive research on houses in Denmark, Mark Vacher, who teaches and researches at the Saxo Institute, Faculty of Humanities in Copenhagen, used his expertise to help the museum visually display the intangible notion of home and explain the processes, tools, and behaviours people use to create a dwelling or home. <\/p>\n
\u00bbThis cup tells me I\u2019ve been in this room, my things tell me I\u2019m here. They give testimony to my existence,\u00ab he says.<\/p>\n
The use of material objects helps a person control space, which in turns allows them to create a home. <\/p>\n
Humans use a variety of materials to create homes and the exhibit showcases a dizzying variety, including the wooden Dali-esque structures of America\u2019s Burning Man Festival to the metal 4m2 cage homes of China\u2019s impoverished underclass.<\/p>\n
In addition to material objects, homes are created through repetitious rituals, ranging from the elaborate like a julefrokost, the traditional Danish Christmas dinner, to the mundane, like washing one\u2019s hair.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe certainty that we can expect continuity and repetition [\u2026] gives us the feeling of having a solid platform from which to involve ourselves in the world,\u00ab he explains.<\/p>\n
In addition to the attention grabbing structures, the exhibit also contains pieces that showcase everyday rituals in creative and imaginative ways, including video installations and interactive models.<\/p>\n
Those interested in learning more about the notion of homes are advised to get to the Louisiana quickly, the exhibit ends 23 October and the museum has limited supplies of the accompanying catalogue.<\/p>\n
In the meantime check out a subtitled interview with Mark Vacher here.<\/p>\n[video:http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=fkPuoYiKq4c&noredirect=1 width:525 height:380 align:center]\n
uni-avis@adm.ku.dk<\/p>\n