Temenos

Student: Despina Zacharopoulou
NTUA Supervisors: Prof. Vana Xenou, Prof. Andreas Kourkoulas
Consulting Architect: Christos Papoulias
Presentation Date: March 9^th 2010
Dissertation Thesis at the National Technical University of Athens School of Architecture

I would also like to thank: NTUA Prof. Miltiadis Tzitzas

Summary

This project is an architectural proposal on the "Temenos[*]", a place envisioned by the filmmaker Gregory Markopoulos to be dedicated to his entire work as well as to his partner's work, the filmmaker Robert Beavers.

The proposed project is characterized by minimal architectural interventions-fractures in the landscape, which­ are unified through gaze and movement, in order to prepare the visitors/spectators before watching the Film.

 
Introduction

Gregory Markopoulos's [1] films are regarded as a turning point in the history of cinema, mostly, because they introduce a new narrative form through the use of single frames; fractured images succeed one another creating rhythm. As the spectator participates in the Film's rhythm he experiences a supreme vision that stimulates an intense introverted meditational procedure. Markopoulos, in his vision of the "Temenos", imagined the spectator participating in the Film whilst viewing it, just like the visitor of Ancient "Asclepiaea"[2], who was cured from his illness by watching therapeutic dreams/visions. 

 

Open-air screenings of Markopoulos's film "Eniaios" near Lyssarea village (2008), photos by Despina Zacharopoulou.

Markopoulos envisioned the "Temenos[3]" to be built in this specific landscape in Arcadia which is two kilometres away from the village Lyssarea, his father's birthplace; it is an "extreme" landscape, an amphitheatrical plane right beside a natural cliff. There, the two filmmakers organized open-air screenings of their films (1980-86).The open-air screenings continue after Markopoulos's death (1992)and are organized by his partner Robert Beavers (2004,2008). 

 

Inspired by Markopoulos's vision on the "Temenos", this architectural project has two basic intentions:

 

Α) Architecture aims to function mostly  in a "quiet way", in the background, as the frame within which there will be the proper circumstances for watching the two filmmakers' work.  The architectural proposal tries neither to compete with the Film nor to introduce a new narrative of its own through symbols and references.

Β) Architecture, expressed through simple and solid geometrical constructions, tries to investigate and express the presence of the "Temenos" within the natural landscape by using bipolarities such as: geometry vs. topography, architecture vs. nature, hardness vs. softness.  In addition, there is the effort to manage the relationship between architecture and time by using tough materials (concrete, iron) and thus expressing  Aldo Rossi's phrase: «Monument means  resistance over time» .
   

 

 

The Project's Concept:

Having the Projection Screen as the core-centre, permanent architectural constructions-fractures are placed in the landscape and are unified through movement and gaze, just like Markopoulos's films where single frames are unified through movement and vision. Through the use of the landscape's elements, a rhythm of hiding and revealing the view on the Projection Space is created, as the visitors move in the natural path following the topography while the existing vegetation either blocks or allows the view-supervision.

The ultimate goal is to help the visitors explore the landscape, and prepare them before watching the two filmmakers' works.

 

Clockwise from top left: 1) Visitors' Movement, 2) Basic Viewpoints, 3) Light emitted by the Projection Screen

 

The architectural proposal consists of:

a) The Open-air Projection Space
b) The Archive Building (containing all written material, diaries and films of Markopoulos and Beavers[4])
c) The Accommodation Building (for 5-10 persons) 

 

 

 
Α) The Open-air Projection Space is marked in the landscape by the presence of the Projection Screen, as this is the element that is mostly linked with the Film.  Before any other intervention, it is the Projection Screen that is placed in the landscape, as a permanent construction:  a vertical plane made of black iron. The position of the Screen is determined by:  a) the visitors' movement and gaze, as well as, b) the sun's trajectory in the sky.  During the screenings, the spectators are placed freely in the landscape, seated in portable chairs or laying directly on the ground[5].  

 

Above, left; image on the screen ©The Temenos.

 

Β)The Archive  building is placed in relation to the Open-air Projection Space. Besides, the "Temenos" expresses the unity between the Film and the Archive:  the one refers to the other without losing their autonomy. The building's outdoor space can cooperate with the Open-air Projection Space, while the blind front wall made of concrete can function as a neutral background and at the same time isolate those who study inside the Archive. 

 

 

 Γ) The Accommodation Building is placed in a distance from the "Projection-Archive" unity. The building can accommodate 5-10 people (organizers, researchers, distinguished guests/visitors). The criterion for the position of the building in the landscape is the view to the Projection Space.  However, this all-enclosing shelter made of concrete, blocks the view and makes it work mostly as memory-anticipation. In parallel, the atrium in every accommodation unit drives the gaze towards the sky and the thought in meditation. 

 

 

I would like to thank: mr. Robert Beavers, mrs. Lizzie Calligas , mr. Ntenis Zacharopoulos, mr. Konstantinos Giannaris.  

 

Notes
[*]In the Liddell and Scott dictionary there is the following definition on the word "Temenos": " I. Piece of land set apart owned by a
king or noble. ΙΙ. Piece of land set apart from any common use, dedicated to a God as Holy Ground. III. Piece of land set apart,
containing temple and altar, dedicated to a God or a king." (free translation by Despoina Zacharopoulou) See also: Temenos
("Τέμενος") derive from the Greek words "Τέμνω/Τομή" which means "(to) cut".
[1] Gregory Markopoulos was an American independent filmmaker of Greek origin (Arcadia). His work dates from the 1940s, while
he was one of the founding members of the New American Cinema group in New York in the 1960s. He co-existed or collaborated
with artists such as: Andy Warhol, Jonas Mekas, Gilbert and George, Jack Smith, Kenneth Anger.
[2] Sacred places dedicated to the Greek God Asclepius.
[3] For Markopoulos, the "Temenos" would contain: a) the open-air Projection Space, b) the Archive that would contain all written
material, diaries and films of Markopoulos and Beavers.
[4] This would be a copy of the Temenos Archive in Zurich.
[5] The position of the Open-air Projection Space as well as the placement of the spectators during the screenings, are inspired by my
personal presence in the open-air screenings of Markopoulos' film "Eniaios" near Lyssarea village (2008).

 

Selected Bibliography-Websites
1.       Gregory J. Markopoulos, Boustrophedon, transl. Natassa Chasioti, Agra, Athens 2004
2.       Gregory J. Markopoulos, Chaos Phaos II, Temenos publications
3.       Gregory J. Markopoulos, Chaos Phaos III, Temenos publications
4.       Gregory J. Markopoulos, Chaos Phaos IV, Temenos publications
5.       Gregory J. Markopoulos, ERB, Temenos publications
6.       Robert Beavers, SOTIROS-A sequence of notes, Temenos publications, 1980
7.       Robert Beavers, The Searching Measure, University of California, Berkeley Art Museum, Pacific Film Archive, February 2004
8.       My Hand Outstretched: Films by Robert Beavers, exhibition catalogue, Kaufman Astoria Studios Film and Video Gallery,
          Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, 7-30 October, 2005
9.       P. Adams Sitney, Visionary Film - The American avant-Garde, 1943-2000, Oxford University Press 2002, 1^st edition 1974
10.     Liddell and Scott dictionary    
11.     www.the-temenos.org