DTC 355 - Hook and Sturken

Hook's Dream House

I feel that Hook's high school art class assignment on which she was instructed to design her dream house, did infact take the attention away from "political realities, from class, race, and gender differences" (396-400). On the surface, these things are removed by placing the quality of fantasy on the dream house and by removing the dream house from the context of the designer's life and background. It is my assumption that the art teacher did not know an extensive background on each student, therefore taking away the context and the underlying motivation for the design of each dream house. Hook explains her realization that her dream house infact did illustrate the economic standing of her family; her dreams were the result of "class-based longings" (396-400). She explains that her dream house was designed in a way that was greatly affected by the house she grew up in. Though someone looking at the plans for her dream house might not gather this information, Hook knows it is there.

[Side note: Why exactly does Hook feel so inclined not to capitalize her own name?]

Architecture as a cultural practice.

Architecture is a cultural practice in every way, shape, and form. The materials we use are a reflection of our research. The style and structure of our buildings and dwellings are a result of our opinions on style or what looks good and the development of our knowledge in what works.

The Compton Union Building (CUB), for example, is a reflection of our current awareness (or you could call it an obsession) of the environment and what we as humans are doing to it. The CUB renovation used materials from the original CUB to "recycle" and they have implimented a system that should save energy throughout the building. The current culture of most Americans includes environmental awareness; our culture has created the "Green Movement." This building is a reflection of that.

Additionally, in Marita Sturken's essay The Wall, the Screen, and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, she describes the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.. The architecture of a memorial can be a reflection, a snapshot in time, of what culture cared about. In this case, the Vietnam Memorial represents a gash in the ground, a "black gash of shame" in our culture(Sturken 401-416).

Works Cited

Hook, Bell. "Black Vernacular: Architecture as Cultural Practice." Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World. Comp. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.

Sturken, Marita. "The Wall, the Screen, and the Image: The Vietnam Veterans Memorial." Visual Rhetoric in a Digital World. Comp. Carolyn Handa. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004.