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This book provides the first recent philosophical account of how ruins acquire aesthetic value. It draws on a variety of sources to explore modern ruins, the ruin tradition, and the phenomenon of "ruin porn." It features an unusual and original combination of philosophical analysis, the author's photography, and reviews of both new and historically influential case studies, including Richard Haag's Gas Works Park, the ruins of Detroit, and remnants of the steel industry of Pennsylvania. Tanya Whitehouse shows how the users of ruins can become architects of a new order, transforming derelict sites into aesthetically significant places we should preserve.
List of contents
1. Prologue: Ruins, and "Ruin Porn," in American Cities.- 2. Fascination with Ruins.- 3. From Blight to Beauty: The Controversial Creation of the First US Industrial-Heritage Park.- 4. Detroit: New Ruins and Old Problems.- 5. Resolving Our Judgments: Understanding How Ruins Acquire and Exhibit Aesthetic Value.- 6. The Ruin-Industrial Aesthetic: Ruins, and Ruin-Like Environments, Acquiring Aesthetic Value.- 7. Assessing Function and the Ruin Category.- 8. Epilogue: Ruins Rising from the Ashes.
About the author
Tanya Whitehouse is a philosophy professor and arts student who has taught a variety of university and college philosophy courses, including Aesthetics and the Philosophy and History of Art. Her research interests include philosophy of music and architecture, environmental aesthetics, and aesthetic judgment and imagination.
Summary
This book provides the first recent philosophical account of how ruins acquire aesthetic value. It draws on a variety of sources to explore modern ruins, the ruin tradition, and the phenomenon of “ruin porn.” It features an unusual and original combination of philosophical analysis, the author’s photography, and reviews of both new and historically influential case studies, including Richard Haag’s Gas Works Park, the ruins of Detroit, and remnants of the steel industry of Pennsylvania. Tanya Whitehouse shows how the users of ruins can become architects of a new order, transforming derelict sites into aesthetically significant places we should preserve.
