the architecture of a gaze
PEEPHOLE
Independent Study & Installation
Professor Mitchell Squire
What began as a study of childhood fort building evolved into the scrutiny of deeper vulnerabilities that have always been present in my design.
“Loos once told me, ‘A cultivated man does not look out of the window; his window is made of frosted glass; it is there only to give light not let the gaze pass through.’”
-Le Corbusier
Architecture defines space, setting the boundaries between public and private and interior and exterior. The view across this boundary is an exchange of careful negotiation. Observation – voyeurism. The peephole is the pivot point. The architecture invites to forgo the mere glance, and indulge in the prolonged stare.
The view is the true architecture. The voyeur’s view becomes his cloak.
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The installation includes a series of gazing devices, inviting voyeurism while framing the voyeur.
A victorian curtain was used to build the architecture of the gaze, which reverses to become the voyeurs cloak.