After successful completion of the course, students are able to understand an urban space also from the point of view of the preservation of monuments, to analyse its external appearance and its representations, as well as to critically measure changes in the cityscape. and evaluate their impact. The focus is on the practical application of conservation theories, which, combined with research questions from art history, expand the subject area. The course also offers the opportunity to experience the different instruments, methods and approaches of art history and the preservation of monuments in dealing with the historical city.
The image of the city. The City in images.
Cityscapes and urban landscapes are a part of the everyday, but often we do not consciously perceive them – they are taken for granted, often without realizing their origin. Today's image of the city is not only a witness of historical development processes, but rather the result of a constant interaction on the planning, economic, cultural and social level. The grown or planned urban spaces must first be examined more closely. This analysis of the substance of the city, its images and imagery, which have existed for centuries, is an important basis for an appropriate (monument-preservation) handling of such structures.
- Which representations of the city exist?
- What is a cityscape and how does it come about?
- Is it more than the sum of its parts?
- What importance is attached to it?
- Is it necessary to protect the cityscape and, if so, what possibilities are there for its preservation?
- Has the perception of the image changed due to the influence of mass media?
- Is the image more valuable than substance in today's society?
In addition to the classical questions of preservation of monuments, the aspects of the pictorial value and its use are considered in the course of this seminar (e.g. social media and modification of images for the pursuit of different interests).
Other topics and important aspects of the course:
- City ideals and urban development processes
- Typologies and elements of the city and its imagery - from forum, piazza or green space to the city skyline
- City as image; city in picture - historical and contemporary forms of representation and their interpretation - city vedutes, paintings, graphics, photography, film
- About reading, understanding and analysing cityscapes
- The preservation of Monuments and the Cityscape - Questions of Conservation, Renewal and Revitalization
In addition to the theoretical introduction to the imagery of the city, exemplary studies on the handling of the historical city are carried out. On site, city walks are taken to interesting, sometimes unknown or sometimes unnoticed places. The aim is to search for and consider cityscapes, to illuminate their origins and to analyse their backgrounds.
The interdisciplinary cooperation of Art History (KU Linz, Univ.Prof. Dr. Anna Minta, History and Theory of Architecture) and the Preservation of Monuments (TU Vienna) promises an expanded range of ways of looking at things. The aim is to show how closely the disciplines are intertwined in preserving our historical heritage. Through concrete case studies in Linz and Vienna, we approach the two cities and try to grasp their essential image worlds, qualities and conservation criteria.
The LVA will be held as a block event, with one unit taking place in Vienna and the second in Linz.
