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Bastiaan Arler - Observatory for the Study of Metropolitan Man 
 

Observatory for the Study of Metropolitan Man
Study for installation.

The project consists of a temporary structure made of easily available scaffolding that can be installed in any city square. It is open to the public and thus allows people to observe and to be observed in two distinct moments. The project has never been implemented but I have hopes it may be built one day. So far, it has raised much debate and speculation in its project form. In a recent talk with anthropologists Dario Magnani and Andrea Fantino, they noted how the structure has the potential to disrupt preconceived ideas regarding ‘existence’ and ‘appearance’.They furthermore recognize strengths in the low-tech and unmediated mode of observation the tower provides, as opposed to methods of mass communication which are heavily mediated. But ultimately, they see the tower as a manifestation of the blurred boundaries that separate the spectator from the spectacle.

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