“Space and place are basic components of the lived world; we take them for granted. When we think about them, however, they may assume unexpected meanings and raise questions we have not thought to ask.” (Tuan 1977: 3)
Yi-Fu Tuan’s baanbrekende boek over ruimtelijke ervaring (Space and Place 1977) onderzoekt in wezen de menselijke capaciteit tot symboliseren. Net als het dier neemt de mens de wereld waar, maar de mens “is capped by an exceptionally refined capacity for symbolization” (5). Zijn centrale vraag is de volgende: “Given the human endowment, in what ways do people attach meaning to and organize space and place?” (5) Hij merkt op dat in literatuur, filosofie, antropologie, … deze ervaringen op een complexe manier worden neergeschreven.
Kort gezegd, is het werkelijke onderscheid tussen place and space deze: “Enclosed and humanized space is place.” (54) / “What begins as undifferentiated space ends as a single object-situation or place” (72). Verder maakt Tuan het rudimentaire onderscheid tussen instinctieve en conceptuele ervaring van ruimte, die ‘natuurlijk’ of geconstrueerd kan zijn. De mens geeft plaatsen een betekenis; “the human being, by his mere presence, imposes a schema on space” (36)
“Place can acquire deep meaning for the adult through the steady accretion of sentiment over the years.” (33)
De mens kan ruimte ervaren op een hoger, conceptueel niveau:
“The mind learns to grapple with spatial relations long after the body has mastered them in performance. But the mind, once on its exploratory path, creates large and complex spatial schemata that exceed by far what an individual can encompass through direct experience. With the help of the mind, human spatial ability (though not agility) rises above that of all other species.” (67)
“Spatial ability precedes spatial knowledge. Mental worlds are refined out of sensory and kinesthetic experiences. Spatial knowledge enhances spatial ability.” (74)
Kunst en literatuur zijn van belang in het expliciet maken van deze conceptuele kennis: “Literary art draws attention to areas of experience that we may otherwise fail to notice.” (162)
“Places can be made visible by a number of means: rivalry or conflict with other places, visual prominence, and the evocative power of art, architecture, ceremonials and rites. Human places become vividly real through dramatization. Identity of place is achieved by dramatizing the aspirations, needs, and functional rhythms of personal and group life.” (178)
Uit: Yi-Fu Tuan. Space and Place. The perspective of experience. Edward Arnold, London. 1977
Categorie: ervaring, plaats, ruimte, Verhalen, Yi-Fu Tuan
