#1 Silica Boy
"Hello, do you see me? Do you see us? Through the clear glass...we live here...look, I am coming down the stairs and will turn on the TV now. Don't just stare at us behind the darkness, desire, love, groove on us, we will...we have arrived. The furniture hasn't arrived. Oh sure there are some modern living stuff, cutting edge, edge, edge. Feel it? Feel it good?"
If you are reading this, you might ask, “what the fuck?” I understand. The stuff is in the details. Architecturally, using large amounts of clear glass is modern, and now, mainstream.
Skin sells Real Estate. How many times you've read 'sexy, romantic, sensuous, etc, in real estate ads? How many times you've heard an architect describe a project via a sexual nuance?
I say naked suggestion is as wide spread in architectural material ads as in power tool posters that you see in your mechanics' pay point. Here is one of those ads below, an unblocked Los Angeles Times pop-up--just to open the conversation and to connect everything.
(continued)
If homes with large glass installations and matching energy calculations are there, so is the neighborhood archiploiter with keen eyes and good spirits, unjustly regarded by some, as the neighborhood creep.
In that case, here we go then;
I am the peep rider. Here is watching you modern ladies in L shape sectionals and the domestic man in white rockers.
Thanks for displaying the contents of the inside to outsiders like me.
I must respond to a neighbor's ordered doors and windows to make it all well received and work from both sides of the glass divide.
This is like a walk in the park, this is not the psychoanalytical David Lynch peep that Slavoj Zizek takes it apart, but an introductory sidewalk sale of a new improved urban node that might be visually blocked upon the publication of this photo novella international; Silica Boy.
#2 A Detail
Horizontal love. That's right.
The house measures wider than deep. It does have the horizontality of a long billboard; call it doublewide, like the trailers in the park with people exchanging glances.
He bends down to touch her bare torso. The texture of her skin is like velvet, beautifully emphasized by lighting consultant's mastery. Certainly, the light is consultant made--Expensive, but worth it. He is talented.
I am now mesmerized. Damn. She is beautiful--velvet skin, bare shoulders. Mini lights washing down her. Yes, there is a suntan line revealed by her dropped thin bra strap. I am that close.
Just then, the image changes on the wall-mounted flat screen TV and regular programming returns--City girl jumping on the gardener at the rooftop. My jealous banality cuts in.
Lights get dimmer and he moves on her. Their house is not my house. This ain't Kama Sutra. I am at the mercy of the light emitted from the day-lit scenes of a Sex in the City re-run.
Move on Silica Boy, you can't watch their TV all night. Leave this love shack in the dark and say thanks for the strap action. Show is no longer public.
“Sometimes a flicker of a peep can last a life time”, some paperback writer could have said that.
#3 Local Stroll and Critical Urban Blow (Job)
As I am walking down the Grand Canal, Venice, CA 90292.
Holy gondola.
I have to check-in with my cellular's additional function to make sure this is all real. T-Mobile reality check gizmo, do you have it?
I am behind the fence, pardon me, behind the see it all vanity dance and it's relatively dark outside, dark enough that they can't see me but I can see them. They sure behave like somebody or an audience is watching, if not, why would anybody gesture as if they are in an acting workshop with extended body movements sipping liquids...They know I am there. Sure thing.
He is an everyday business type of dude. Sort of like a home-office kind of a guy. Balmy summertime night. She pulls open the approx. 20' long custom slider to its side and returns to him sitting on a chair made of brushed aluminum in the middle of a stage like space, framed by white canvas drapes that are swaged in ”˜Ikea goes in everywhere' catalog.
From my vantage point across the canal, I see a head movement, of her, throwing the long blond curly hair backwards exposing her sexy face like in rated movies.
I, camera...
Now, read the related urban commentary here;
"You're seeing sex too narrowly as sexy.
I was on a panel with other critics (in Chicago) and someone asked to describe the critic's job and I said that my job was to get a hard-on. And what I meant by this is that the city is among other things an inherently erotic phenomenon. It's about expectation and the stimulation of desire. I do think that one of the fundamental functions of civilization is to convert aggression into desire. I also think that the act of building is more often than not highly aggressive and that the architect's job is often to supervise the conversion into desire. That can sometimes be done very effectively by stimulating antipathy, since negative attachment is after all a kind of attachment and one that often precedes positive attachment." Herbert Muschamp, 2003
#4 A Counter Clockwork Orange
Chiseling rain.
He slams the brakes and haphazardly parks the expensive Humvee, then rushes up to the entrance leaving the car door ajar. He knocks twice on the frameless-side-lighted tempered glass entrance door with a metallic object. Pushing open the pin-hinged door that's seemingly left unlocked for him and quickly disappears behind the shagreen screen.
I hear a single gun shot about a minute and a half later. A violent male voice screams "god dam". Silence follows, the wing claps of the few birds flying away, and I feel like something or somebody has expired behind the butt jointed thick glass approx. 30'long in east/west axis.
After observing the silence for a minute, I decide to keep walking away, murmuring Singin' in the Rain and I kick the Starbuck's coffee cup somebody left on the sidewalk...
Enough drama already.
Next day, I see a picture of the crime scene in local newspaper showing the blood splash on white walls. Award winning porn star Desiree Kanyon is shot dead on the head, execution style by her long time companion Fabio, a has been male dancer and actor, who is under intensive care on a self inflicted gun shot to his penis. A news clip mention that she just moved in to the famous ghostly glass modern house originally designed for an art collector and lately was used in porno shoots. Like the secretive monkeys, I keep it to myself. Heard none seen none. People die all the time. My name is not Brian "Kato" Kaelin.
#5 'UltraPeep' in search of trajectory spot
I think this unique style of dense urban see-throughs has to have a name of their own for easy identification and further development. But I don't know what it is, do you Mr. Doe? What do we call it? Cingasa? No. It deserves more tender loving care.
That's when I decide to call one of the well known real estate offices dealing in hi-architectural properties.
"Hello I am doing an academic paper on walls of glass type of houses where you can see the beautifully decorated modern architectural space with people in it, what do one call to those type of ummm.., excuse me, what do you call them estates?"
She puts me on hold about a minute probably trying to understand who the fuck I was and what the fuck that I just asked her...
A tony male answers, "may I help you?" I repeat the question, adding, research involves a little masturbationary voyeurism--big words for plain jerking off. He asks who I am and who I am with and if this is for a publication.
"Herbert Marcuse sir, with the housing liberation front. It is going to remain confidential and children safe"
"This call is over jerk" he says. End of conversation.
I decide go online and start to keyword search for;
modern sexy homes, windows of sex, sex and real estate, on the sidewalk, glass homes, see through love shacks, art of peep, Mies and his mistresses, Mies and his penises and so on. I even Google Alain Robbe Grillet for some literary angle to this identity crisis.
Just when I start to go round and round, I get hit by my Eureka moment... "UltraPeep", says the deep sound from within, is going to be the name of this architectural style. In which, acres of stucco siding is replaced by extra clear glass, sometimes required to be on the double thickness against heat gain and loss during the climax. But that is just the technical explanation. The real meaning is all about getting to know you during indoor-outdoor events.
Here are some examples of 'UltraPeeps'
#6 Green...Eyes. (She is a Freak House)
It just sits there like a revenge to Steven Flutsy's article "Building Paranoia' in Architecture of Fear. In which he describes, "street gangs use spray paint while homeowners associations use neighborhood watch signs, either way, we are talking informal militias".
As I watch, the punkish guy fulfilling the lady's fantasies, I realize she is a freak. House...
I am, in this episode #6, considering myself as a local militia. A 'just cause' within the 'walls of glass' type of architectural detailing...
A militiaman softly murmurs the 'green eyes lady ocean lady'.
I am on the west side of Venice Boardwalk, looking for some hot action from the sand. Silica Sand. I am across from a near iconographic beach-house.
The architect says in regard to Los Angeles get up,
" at Venice Beach I wanted to work with a deeper personal understanding of Los Angeles than its disposability, its ephemera, and LA's trying one set of architectural clothing on for size for a while, shedding it, trying another for size, shedding it. It does acknowledge Los Angeles in the fact that the garage door is a mirror, and one can primp oneself in the car and take a look in the mirror and see how the whole thing looks each time." Partially true, but inadequate explanation. It doesn't include the other. He doesn't want Silica Boy involved. Garage door might be a mirror for one, but boardwalk is a two way street.
I know it is a long shot on my part dear readers, but this perhaps innocent statement serves my point well;
I too want that Los Angeles lady to primp, shed clothing, over and over, put on more and more provocative ones. Long live 'UltraPeep'. Thank you Mr. Predock. It is a beautiful house.
It is 'my' favorite UltraPeep Freak House.
Great show Green Eyes Lady, many handclaps.
I keep walking, there are few more stops in the vicinity. And, there is one ”˜coming soon' going up there with several pieces of long steel headers, an early sign of spectacular glass openings with excellent exposures.
#7 Beware of the Creep
The newcomers who built the new UltraPeep with all glass entry had this put in the agenda of Marred Vista Community Association;
Beware of the Peeping Militia,
To our disappointment we have recently discovered a neighborhood person with two small dogs, who is taking pictures of our largely see through house for possibly pervert sexual distribution on the Internet. We have identified this black-creep-tee person to local security agencies who in turn responded us by saying that, "there are no laws preventing a person looking towards a building from a public property such as sidewalks. We suggest that you block the public eye by everyday consumer remedies such as designer vertical blinds or equal".
By bringing this to the attention of our community we are asking our dear neighbors' help to be aware of this person's activities and stop this behavior to protect our property and moral values. This immoral behavior should not belong to our streets and stop us from building true architecture with glass.
Many thanks for your co-operation and vigilant watch, united we stand, keep our sidewalks free of dog donning militia. God glass.
Debby and Dave 'Mo' Clearview
All I have to say is; “I have some friendly suggestions for you guys at the final chapter.
#8 Domestify me gently...
Remember Oreck Man? Well did you know he has a grand son? In an off-shoot Oreck business? Serving Westside? House calls are his niche.
He ain't heavy. Check out Oreck Jr., and of course if you know Silica Boy, he might give you a gift certificate for few hours of Jr's services. It is all domestic work.
Sometimes cooking sometimes cleaning. The times are a changing. The whole city block is new. New people, new lives. You need Junior there.
White walls, white underwear. Jr knows. Wears white undie and cleans.
And the best thing about him?
He ain't heavy... And gone before the day is over. Did you get it? Yeah. It happens. Look honey no dust...
#9 Two Way Mirror Looking as Activity
It is not always possible to track down the social impact of expo-sive life style's and erotica's influence on the immediate environs.
But, some artists have tried to take this two way view behavior to the annals of late twentieth century fine art. Dan Graham is such an artist. In his book 'Two Way Mirror Power', the New York artist experiments, demonstrates and questions such phenomenon through the visual object in his work 'Pavilions' and his Rooftop Urban Park Project installation for the Dia Foundation, New York. In the essay by Lynne Cooke, she points out that Graham says "I had a man and a woman, each naked holding a camera against their bodies and making a spiral mapping of their bodies. Also because it was clearly handled, held in people's hands, it had that subjective sense of being identified with the performer...It also picked up all sorts of issues from Godard to Jacques Lacan about the 'other' and the mirror stage."
Cooke continues, "If participation in the Pavilion arises inevitably out of the spectator's actual behavior, it involves a degree of complicity. Looking becomes, self evidently, a participatory activity, so whatever the viewer experiences involves his or her contribution to that activity."
Here we go. Peep in high art, beautifully put on the roof. Made as urban park. In search of double meaning and double content or discontent. Urban militia loves it. It goes on and on. Theory becomes reality, in the dark of the night and in the light of the day, behind the clear glass or in front of it.
Dan Graham knocks it out. Homerun! Puts it out there. Names it. Let's it be. His structure on the rooftop is indeed versatile. It hits the terra firma and anywhere in between and it meets the criteria in most western states.
I hope “Debby and Dave 'Mo' Clearview” get with the program and start having fun. Why the stress? See and be seen. Silica Boy is your friend. Primp up. Unleash the theatrical talent.
Maybe this'll be shed too as the architect's shirt, for new clothes.
Enjoy it while you can. Remember the response in #7, "vertical blinds or equal". It will happen. Until they are installed. Peep deep...It is not immoral. It is not illegal.
It is an urban condition, an everyday node. Like the roof top two ways, or whatever you call them. Watch your step and the unfolding episodes. Observe. Enjoy. Imagine. Explore. Discover. Support your UltraPeep.
It's your city, hehe...
~~~~
Los Angeles, Sep.-Oct, 2006, OA.
A long-time contributor to Archinect as a senior editor and writing about architecture, urbanism, people, politics, arts, and culture. The featured articles, interviews, news posts, activism, and provocations are published here and on other websites and media. A licensed architect in ...
9 Comments
orhan, love it, freakin' great, dude. seriously. start cockin' the next load.
orhan- you have too much free time to be writing all those words.
Its great so keep it up! Glad someone else has brought up intellectual masterbation.
i'm switching phone plans. i want that reality check gizmo ... or do i really?
Beautiful, and of course I am guilty of looking in wnodws too. Whichever city I live in. Thank you for this.
thank you guys. i appreciate the comments. some of those houses getting so strange that as a tenant you are always under the public eye.
very nice. did you ever read "fear of glass" in your process to this literary endeavor?
you - subversion excursions?
them - demonstration stations?
looking forward to the next episode.
Orhan,
You should credit your sources and not merely take others material without giving them their due.
Wm
when you click the material, you see the source; makeArchitecture. what else do you want?
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