The role of the visual culture on the formation of architectural design taste "Examining the representation of interiors in the illustrated periodicals from mid-19th to the late 20th century"

Abstract

This thesis study aims to examine the evolution of interior design practice with a more holistic understanding by analyzing the role that the visual culture plays in the emergence of taste, which canalizes the design culture directly. The visual culture comes out of the image-based mediums that act as ideological tools utilized by various actors in all political, sociological, and disciplinary realms. Also, the undeniable presence of spatial representations in these mediums provides a substantial source to trace the relations between all these domains. Thus, it enables us to detect the effect of these multi-dimensional relations on the interior architectural discipline regarding continuities and discontinuities between diverse disciplines, as well as the cultural interactions. In other words, the fact that the space phenomenon turns into a notion generated by the visual tools and the ideological reasons underlying them, besides being a physical phenomenon represented by the same visual mediums, constitutes the main motivation of this study. When analyzing the representation process of space in image-based publications, it can be seen that space has simultaneously appeared with the production of images in printings. The reason behind this simultaneity is that space hasn't been only the practice of construction directed by professionals from the design practice, but also it is an evolving notion as part of advancing techniques, and ideational shifts. As the way of thinking and living of individuals and societies change, the space phenomenon goes into change. Especially after the 19th century, which can be regarded as the period of changes, alterations began to occur both in the economic realm that is related to the advancements in technology and production systems and included many social and political transformations that had taken place globally. This multi-dimensional aspect of the evolutions in the world's history dating to a certain period was demonstrated physically and concretized with several tools, two of which are space phenomenon and printed media. Therefore, these multi-dimensional alterations make it possible to investigate the interiors through visual representations, which is the foremost communication tool of the age, while transforming the space by ideological concerns and physiological advancements. Furthermore, from the late 19th century to the end of the 20th century, before the digital publishing era, periodicals not only work as interfaces of social practices but also enable to create, shape, promote, and disseminate the ideologies beyond just being communication tools for communities and individuals. Therefore, the definition of ideology in this study refers to a twofold terminology that gathers either communal acceptance as well as being a top-down process acted by political power. However, ideologies as a set of ideas, that determine the behavior of political, or social groups and individuals, need physical references to be expressed or represented in this new spreading media. The space phenomenon has taken part among the references reflecting ideologies in the new communication realm as already in the physical environment. On the other hand, interior space images existing in the non-disciplinary field are not often integrated within the scope of interior design historiography. However, before the specialization in the 20th century, designing interiors was an actual practice performed by people from the upper-middle class and manufacturers. Thus when we trace the formation of interiors in other genres out of the disciplinary realm, the gap in the historical timeline of interior space appears as a significant threshold. Accordingly, this thesis study proposes that the history of interior design practice, which is read in a major framework over the architectural profession, should be examined from a wider perspective that includes all the joined disciplinary inputs. When analyzing the periodicals, several parameters were specified to categorize the mediums according to the repetitive motives that became visible in publications. For instance, ideological concerns, technical and technological advancements, gendered discourse, and interior space with its components as part of professional recognition appear as repetitive motives in the illustrated periodicals. Accordingly, the publications divided into three main historical processes, which are pre-war, inter-war, and post-war period, have been classified into three main themes that are the political atmosphere of each period focusing on dominant ideology, a public realm that mainly includes gendered discourse, and professional recognition. Also, ideological concerns that emerge as a prerequisite of this transmission process will be clarified within the framework of request for an egalitarian society and assertions of rights by the public, the realization of modern identities, and standardization of the taste created on a global scale in connection with consumer society. As an output of the study, it will be revealed the relation of visual representations as being ideological tools with the evolution process of design practice over interiors. This research also supports the thesis that interior space has a higher autonomy to reshape itself rapidly in terms of responding to changing trends, styles, as well as production mechanisms, and promotion. Moreover, this thesis will provide alternative historiography of interior design practice by analyzing the depictions of interiors on printed periodicals spreading over almost 130 years period.