But he "''35 really inco It. He was in this whole tunas}' ",-odd.And no one was Iookins at tum like he "'"as stran~.To me thatwas strange, but nobody else seemed ro~, or att. ~

Ah:hough~,the ideaof~mking in a place- md ~having

a story come (0 you~~ fiuniliar phrases, used as ohm by land­scape architectS articulating a design process as by the generalpublic (0 descri~ the meaning or vatU(' ofa landscape. Thesephrases, and their corollaries, belie a distioction berv.'een -space~

and "place,~ (0 borrow the words ofgeographer Vi Fu Tuan. Oneis purely physical, while the other has rel~-ance and connectionco someone. It is this distinction that d~~Cooperman (0 situ­ate~ film in Bryant Park wben she could have JUSt as easilyworic:ed in East RiVet Park or Morningside Park. Brrant Park ismtegraJ to the scoC')'. Or, foraccuracy, perhaps it is bet­ter to say that her StOry is integraJ (0 Bryant Park.~ is a loo5dy defined group cidw:orist:s and prac­

mionets woo~ lookil18 at this~ ci meaning in

bn<h<>p< '""'-'gh dr ""', """""y _gh, .. Ian·guagt'. They fed---eJrhough there is difkrern in thedetails.----that landscapes are composed of signs thu,likeanaetuallan~,canbe -read.~One only has (0

scud)' itS S}'Tuax, recogni~ itS vocabulary, and pracriceitS diction (0 learn the language oflandscape. BeyonditS a1literati\'e allure, "the language of landscape" hasappeal in that it combines into a single, containedidea--01.'O very slippery and complex ones. Lmguagehas baffied civilizarion (~..et since the first literate ex­pressIOn (c. 15,000 B.C., the date ci the a.\~ paintingsat A1wnira and Lasa.ux, seems as good a~ asany). AIguably.landsape has lUrrov.-m brows for~"'CO

longer. (Can we affix the due wtx-n H_1a(JtmI fustcupped~ eyes and kloked OUt O\'er the savannah?)

Ifthe languageoflandscapevi'ere a lIlO\'UTlmt, AnnrWhisron Spim, ASIA, v.'OlI.Id be itS leader. A. professorcilandsa.pearchit(CtUte at the Uni\-m.ityofPennsyl­\-ania, Spim has recently published a book on the sub­ject tided, appropriately, TM Langllogt ofLandJ(a~(Yale University Press, 19(8). In it she codifies thislanguage on twO I~'els, First there is the syncaaical1~'CI, in ",'hich she compares the Strucrurt oflandscape

t 82 I

and the Stf\lC'tUfe of \~rbaI Ianguaae: features are like nouns.~ like \-rms. their intctaecions like- subJ«(S and predi­a.tes inttrrWining. &neath the syntaCttallS the metaph;>ricalI~~I where,like \~rballang!.Ja8e,acolYrent structUtt can b<'ginto take on meaning. Here Spiro's examples~ abundant. Shelooks at the politically comentious landscape of Skamling Hilloonh of the Slesvig-Holstein region of Denmark. For dose to a

LITERAL SIC:-:S m tIN landscape provide mark('rl and duesabout a culture, such as Trenton, NewJerrey's proud dietumo/mdustry': TRE.''TOl\' MAKES, TIiE WORLD TAKES, above. In adfflgn for an 10W0I mt stop, fuR Conu.'O)' I'nd Mart)' Schulte-are

urmg tM word "pwn«rr" to Ilruaurr tM rpaa, bdcN..

A.'>r.\'E \'('H1S'I'O~ SPIR:', mils!Iln~ npmJl(IfI~JUdJ flS thISgrOf:~on tkbigbplainrofColcr~ord«p(1)ntt'%J,·u~

tk LmiJi4~o/!Il~bIJS • shmng. panicqw/.tl)' In tIN VIIlt

cpuu~, thu IhOng p/mttmg p,fJf:idn ". tktmlon~ am !IlJdJ onto, •

the purpose c:Jeducating people about their~vironmem,I'1aw it is shaped. by~ and,~ imporouuly, how residentS can usethose forces to chan~ It. 1be idea. has Its

roots in the phil050phy c:J the Gvil RightSMO\"m'leflt, mat lireracy equals empovov­metlL In this contlCXl:, the Ianguag.e is nor: drlingual pov.'tt strueture c:J laws and rights.bur the spatial povo"t'f stnJC£W'e c:J the builtenvironment; and the illiteracy Spim hasfOund is as much an ignorance of how land·scape is shaped as it is the misapprehensionthat it cannot be refonned in other ways,

West Philadelphia, like a lot of poorurban areas, ....-as built in the floodplain. orbottomS, ofa wat~, Although todayMill Creek is piped underground, duringhard rains it makts appearances, &odingStreets, bascm~ms, and ~t lots, as it

In this context,the language

is not thelingual power

structure of lawsbut the spatial

power structureof the built

envirornnent.

Each !a,..h(JlIJt 'J pla.ltdrwmd uuh IrfCJ. tlx IRIgt oId6tlWl di.""Jh'ng tIN b6MJtJ.oft"' hlilfgalou1 no .,,-r tho"-floor bigh: IrtItS arr plantedOJ dlMtlS 1mf-t from the~,

Jlraight t'tTtifal tnm/u'. JharplJmtrOJt 10 the broadbortZ/mtaiJUffp. markillg tnrh a JjJ«iaipiau. The farmhotlJtJ Jta11dagaimt tht skJ, ao/ated, txl."t/Jtff)f'thtHtms. I tltufmklnd uly)' thtwtlmplamedtrfCJsodlJYtf>­gtJhtr and nearlhe hNdt. a dttail f1IIt rolf IalCb (I1Ito. I dril't lJafitou'af"li thtal)' andS« trm agai.: tht) ta1IW Jht IattdJcape. gn't 10the tl/JDt1ltSl a 1fnJ.

Ct'flfW}' me aro was under Getman rul~ andthe Danish-speaking populat:ion forbiddmto speak their Iang~;when finally Iiber­~ in 1945. tbto landscape became ifl'UTle­diatdy rrinscrilxd \l..ith culrural ~ingby members c:J the Danish ~istaJn. Todaydrp~ is rnaJ'k«i by a memorial, a Singleto\\'ttc:Jsrones. HO\\~'tt, the entire region.allandsc:ape c:JSbmlingsb:mke has lxm in­vested with narionalistic symbolism-thelandscape is no less than a rnt'Clphor for Dan·ish pride.

Spirn comests [hat, like poetry, [hemeeaphorica.l meamng of landscapes variesin amplitude. Some, lik~ Skamling ate OVert

or Mpolentica.l.~Others are sulxIer, or whatshe ca.IJs Mdeeper,M such as me Great Plains c:JAmerica, wIleR the metaphors c:J the land­scape ate less rberorica.l. Spim teUs tbto stOtyof coming upon a house in agreat expanse c:J t~less plainssomewhere ~t of llin\'er.Around the~ ...."ere .§e'\mvery large rrees planted dose to

the structure to ptO\'lde shelteragainsr rhe unrelenting sun andwind. Bur Spirn also under­stands this as a structured re­sponse, a dialogue, wirh theMenduring d~ep context ofplace.~ She wmcs;

In thU exampl~, Spim's ability to discm1 the syntax rLland­scape--ttS fearures (nouns), procr:sses (\"t'tbs), and the principlesgoo.-em.ing their mteraction--ll.JJov.'S her to pettti""e how land­sa.pecan ha\"e metaphorica.l or S)'mbolic sIgnificance, how it anstand for the mlaCity c:Jli~ on the Plains.

Alrhough these musings have a lofty and t'SOtehc «X'Ie cothern.one c:JSpim's pnmary interestS is sociological: Iflandscape is lan­gua~, what is the stateofliteracy? For the last twelve years Spimhas worked wirh residents and studems in [he grirty westernneighl::orOOods c:JPhiladdphia on landscape literacy proiern with

r«reates itS natunl 60w, o..v rhe last th~ ).ea.tS, a. group c:Jsinh, SC'''mth, aJXl. oghth graders at Su1zberger Middle Schoolhav(' '\lo'llrled with Spim and herstudents in a Universityc:JPmn­Syl\1U1ia design studio to study and map Mill Creek. They fol­lowed its perambulations from where it runs abo\"e ground, to

where it descends, where it fioods sewffS, where it serdes in \'a.

cant lotS, and where it connectS with and defines the neighbor­hood. uWle teach th~m how to read th~ landscape of theneighborhood,Msays Spiro. She also reaches them how to be fiu·em in 1andscape, how to ~write~ landscape; and as pan of their

In this context,the language

is not thelingual power

structure of lawsbut the spatial

power structureof the built

environment.

,•!I!i

iii

centur}' the area "'as under German ruI~ andthe D.utish-sptaking populacion forbiddenro sprak chei.r lang~; whm finally lib«­attd in 1945. the 1andscape b«ame im~­diacdy mnscribed with cultural meaningb)' mmlbersofthe Danish ~ismn«-. Toda)'the place is marktd b). a memorial, a S1figJ~

rower ofscones. HO.....~"ef, the entire' lC'gion.a.J landscape ofSkamlingsbankt has b«n in­\"fSted with nationalistic symbolism--(helandsca~is no less than a metaphor for Dan·ish pride.

Spirn comens that, like poetry, thelTlffilphorical meaning of landscapes variesin amplitude. Some,liktSkamling~ ",'enor ·polemical.- Othets~ subtler. or whatshe caI1s -deqler.- suchas dleGmu PJainsofAmmca, whett the mecapbor.s of the land­scape are less rhetorical. Spim tells the stOI1'of coming upon a ho~ in agrett expaIR of (f~less plainssomewhere east of Denver.Around the~ \\'n'C' 5e'\"t't'a.I\"el')' large tnoes plamtd close rothe Structure ro prCl\'ide shelteragainst the unrelenting sun andwind. But Spirn also under­stands this as a Structured reospon~, a dialogu~. with the-enduring deep context ofplace.- She writes:

Each lannhtulJt ,s pla.ltd,."Jurrhlrrttl, rhtlutgtWkrtnllS ditRlnishing tM hoI/HI.

o/fttl Imtlgalou'S .., RttJn lhanOttt floor high: lrtJlJ mrplanlttlas dtMas 1mf«rfr-rhe~.Jlraight ,rrtical tnmks tlf sharproRrraSllfJ the broadhor,zontalIUn:P. markitlg tach a sp«ialpiau. The !armhfJlIltS sta1ldagaiwt tIN skj. isdattd. txaptfiwr~ lrtJlJ. luttdmrand ubJ lIN Mulm plaRrttl trm J(} dON tt;­gtthtr ami nwr tIN!xJJm. a ddail (}nt COli larch (jIlr().. I drit"t ha<ktDuard tlNcil) a"J_1rrttI again: rlx) ranw tht latrdscapt. glt"t totIN tifJmMU a /oaa.

In this aampk. Splm's abilit}' to disam the S}Tltax cIland·sape--irs feacures (nouns), processts (\'nbs), and the principlesp-eming chei.r imeraction---Wlo....'s her to perttiv~how Iand­scapeCUl hav~ metaphocical orsymbollcsignificance, how it CUlstand fOr the tenacity cIlife on the Plains.

Although these musings ha\'t'a lofty and esoreric ronetorhem,one ofSpim's primary interestS is sociological: Iflandscape is lan·guage, what is the stateofliteracy? For the last tweh·e rears Spimhas worktd with residentS and students in the gritty westernneighlxxhoodsofPhiladelphia on landscape lireracy projects with

"

the pwpasc oftducating people about theirenvironment, how it is sbaptd by fom:s. and,more imponandy, how residents can~d105e forces w change it. 1be idea has itsI'OlXS in the~y of the cn'il Rightsl\{O\'mlent, that litetaey equals etnp<)\\"ef'

ment.ln thiscoocext, the language is flO( thelingual fJO\\"ef StnICf\1lC' of laws and righrs,but the $pltia! PO\'o'erst~ of the built~nVHonment; and the illiteracy Spim hasfound is as much an ignorance ofhow land·sca~ is shaped as it is the misapprehensionthat it caruxJ( be reformed in ocher ways.

West Philadelphia, like a lot of poorurban areas, was built m the floodplain. orbottoms. of a watercourse. A1mough webyMill ermc is piped underground, duringhard rains it makes appearances, RoodingSt~, basements, and vacant lon, as it

A.'':\'E \\"HISTON SPIR.'l aJJs lmr~ncprnJtom-sw:h as thisgtOl..~on lkh,gh plamsofColorado--pl.am o/·tkrpQ)ntm," uYxre

tIN Imrgw~of ItJII~bas. mrnng, fXN11€qua/iJy. In 1MuuJ

ccptm~, Ibtl S170IJg p/Ilnlmg PlY)(-"dn •• tkwiJon~OI1IltJsth onto.·

rec~tes its natur.l.I Sow. (),."ef the last th~ )-eaIS, a group ofsixth, 5e'\'mth, and cighth graders at Sulxberger Middle Schoolhav~ worled with Splm and herstudenrs in a Univm.it}'ofPenn­Srh'aflia design studio to study and map Mill Crtd.:. They foI·lowed its perambulations from whett it NOS aJ:.oo,-e ground, to

whett it descends, whett it floods sewers, whett it settles in va·cant 10000, and where it connecrs with and defines the neighbor.hood. "We teach them how to lead the landscape of theneighborhood,- says Spim. She also teaches them how to be flu·ent in landsca~, how to "write" landscape; and as part of their

The postmodem debunking of the validity of texts needs to bework £he srudefUS have' also generartd. ideas for new landscapes,including a design for a minigolfpuk that karum the creek aspart airs program. According toSpim, dlt'~'sgro-...·jng supportfor the idra, arxl it looksas dIough Mill Cr«:k Mini-Golfmightactually be built. ~h's te.aching the kids to OQ( only know theplace they li\~ in, but [o~vision ~and kam how roidfcetchan~... how ro be df«tivecirizms. M

Spim says that \\-uKing on landscape literacy is important inplaces like West Philadelphia, where pcwt'rty and abandonmemhave broken down the community in ways d1at laws and rights

"

alone are simply pov.mess to deal with. Landscape archi[~,she says, is opportundy positioned to mah piaces that can -cre­ate' kJo,'!' and COlllleCtKJn M within a rommuniry fora~. h is ex­citing [0 think about the Iandsca~ that R:Sidenu ofWcstPtubddphia might create "'-ere thqempov."t'rM mOOso. Whatvocabulary ",-ou..Id dle}' ~? How would they StructUre theirIandsc:ape phrases? What stories v,.'ould they tdP

As much as West Philadelphia begs ans.....~ to these ques­tions. rne Lttino rlC'ighborhoods ofLos Angeles literally bubbleforth with them. In a current exhibition of photographs tided

El Nuevo Mundo, the sociologist and photographerCamillo Jose Vergara explores the rapidly changingneighborhoods ofeast and south Los Angeles. What Ver­gara found in Los Angeles was nol the palm-lined boule­vards of film and telt"'ision but rh(- duSty front yards,murals, and urban gardens ofa Tijuana or a Mexico City.Rather than living within the imitation McditenaneaJla&heric olaIlBlo Los Angdes, Winos,~Iy from Mex­ico, have ~reaced the I.andscape with a vocabulary and

~o~ .\1\' STREET f:f.~~ is J1"tty MIlCh m~Y)n~ Jy.'sbusinm, ~ UJs F.IItn4 WllWms, • studmt IltSU~"

Muidk SdJooi In W<!'ft PhtLuk/ph1tl For W,J1U1ms, h"block o/Union Str«t, leEr:, is Il L:mtfsa,~0/douhk Dutch

and Olb" gfJmn, noS] neigbbors, and tb~ ronllfJnl struggkwltb speeding cars. Anotlxrhome L:mdsmpe, Stonington

Harbor, Conn«llCUt, above, protJrd~s fJ ronnectlon with thepilst and Il bulu.vJr!e against nrCTOtJdJlng romm~lism

-I -'

carefully weighed against two millennia of moral philosophy.palette that is rJl()le familiar fO them. Murals of die Virgin ofGuadelupe prtdorninat(' Vergara's images, ohm rombinrd withmutal-likt: ad~isemenlS lOr 10cal bosinesse5---Q mnmon prac­tice in Mairo--writtm completdy in Spanish. ResKJential gar4dens also rdlect a conscious desire ro recreatC'a homesoum ofchrbotdn within the Los Angdes comot. Take. fOr instanCe, a manknown simply as Vincente who Vergaro. encountered in his frootyard where he had covered the din wirh a neat matrix of con­crete. When presS«l, Vincente explains that he has severalgrmdchildren and a dog, and that rather than have rodeal wjtha muddy yard after rain he's convertedto hardscape. A garden ofseveral dozenhanging potS surrounds his porch,adding color to {he lively and warmlandscape. ~People are used (0 seeingCalifornia in a urtain way, ~ says Vet-

FOR SPlRN, 1M lil"gua~ 0/bl1/dsaJ~ iJmost n:iJe"J in dmgnd uorks,~. tIS

wtJh tJ/ina, u,'1OUght~ 1M Iaym 0{17fN/fing~~Juai1raandtkvdcptJ.Skpotnls to Richtzrd Haag's BIoftki~~ IlfUi FotnI Cmtn"y mSrockhoIm,below. 4I t'XJlmpln 0/tinlflls thtu/rom~ou&t wm'tonaivtJ tl1 produasO/ltmg,.,~. A/t6mJdmg tiN{.a 0/GoatRsxJe, mowtlllmdmtbm tm tmlJN10

~-o/&>ktI'a.,.......

gam. -(BUt winos in Los Angeles] ~ sum'ming lhis Waspparad~ ofgtem grass and lemon treeS. ~

During his work on EI NtJeYO Mundo, Vergara cravded roMex·teo and brought along some of his phocographs to show poopk.When he pasemod a phorograt:h ofa home that- had been adornedwith murals and larm ofcoI01fu1, plXtod plana to a restaurantowner in Tijuana, the restaurateur rmurked, 01bey do this 50 asrxx ro feel nosr:algia for their counuy, their rowns, their friends. 0' Inanothercase, Vergara showed a picture he'd taken ofa tire shop inSouth Unual Los Angeles toa Mexican. (ComimmJon Pagt 90)

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Language of Landscape(Cmlimm/rwt Page 65) The exterior of mebuilding was covered in muralsadvenisingthe shop's services. '"This is a hardworkingperson, someone with imagi- nation,~ he re­sponded, easily reading the Mexicanizedlandscape ofLos Angeles. In Spim's words,Vergara's photographs show how the im­migrants of"lDi Angeles are using thegram­mar and synrax of their native land [0

remake the Iandscl.pe.Manhew Poneiger wishes we would

talk about stOries ramer than language perse. In their book, Landscape Na"'alit~

(john \~Iey & Sons, 1998) Poneiger, aprofessor of landscape architecture at theSnue University of New York-Syracuse,and his coauthor, Jamie Purinton, writeabout the variety of stories that are com­municated by the landscape. Like Spim,Poneiger and Purinton write about boththe structure of landscape and the humanmeaning ascribed to it as literate Struc­tures, or Stories. P(){teiger says that in re­searching the book he interviewed dozensof people and posed the simple request:~Tell me the Story of this place." The con­versation that ensued might cover history,a story about something that happenedhere; or maybe the person would talkabom how the landscape changes over theseason, what she notices about thedimateand the wildlife, or even something asnebulous as the shifting panems of light;or maybe the conversation would veer in­to myth or spirituality, a belief that thelandscape is dear to one's hean or that itpossesses a soul.

Potteiger's methodology of soliciting"s[Qries~ abom landscape should be fa­miliar to any landscape architect who hasbeen involved in a public charreneprocess, ror what inevitably comes to lightin these processes are the stories that theresidents of a panicular place tell abomthat place. A haJlmark of the profession'senlightenment has been the emphasis onnO{ only gathering these stories but de­signing with them. Potteiger applaudsthis development, which he says helps tocreate better designs, ones that provide astrong and valid "relationship betweenusers and a plac~. You hear designers com­plain '\~11 people get it?· ... 1 think thereal question is 'Can we get it?'"

A popuJar trend nowadays is to attemptto tell these stories ofa community liter­ally, by using acruaJ text in landscapes. A

short !ist ofprojens that have appeared inLands<npt Arrhiunurt over the last severalyears ,,"'OUld include the Walker and Ma·cy S[Ory Garden in Portland (which gracesthe cover ofLandscnpt NnrTalitltS): GeorgeHargreaves's design for Lbrary SqI.laTe atthe University ofCincinnari, which cul­minates in a phrase from Oliver WendellHolmes; Halprin's FOR /lltml.Jria/: and thecorporate landscape of rhe Fannie MaeCorporation. This list should also indudea new rest area along Interstate 80 in Iowa,which has been designed by the Iowa firmConway+Shulte. In their work, Con­way+Shulte uses text both as a strucruringdevice and as an element in the landscape.The Iowa rest area (which will be con­suucroo this summer) contains playfulphrases etched into the hardscape that tel1

A popular trend nowaclays

is to attempt to tell these

stones ofa community

literally, by using actual

text In landscapes.

the Story of the state for passersby (SeeRiprap, February 1998). Each ofthe textSdescribe some famous pioneers from Iowahistory; however, the word "pioneer" writlarge also forms the underlying structureofthe sight. Ifone were [0 Ay over the restarea, he would be able [0 literally read theword as a series of plantings, landfurms.and architecture. On the ground, this leg­ibility is lost; yet Bill Conway, one of thedesigners, says there's "not a danger inthis, but a welcoming. \V/e're not lookingfor a kind ofalways-evident designer's im­print. You go [0 Englishgardens or otherdesigned landscapes, and over time youdon't say, 'Oh, I can see the first move; oryou don't ask for that kind of legibilityfrom the first instance of the designer'sthought to the last instance ofexperience.\Y/e always expected our structuring de­vice of the word "pioneers" to gently giveover to becoming a landscape. The Struc­rure meltS away. In ran there is no place atrhe rest Stop where you can read the word'pioneer,' because you're in it."

Both Potteiger and Spiro lament theproliferation ofverba1language in currentlandscape architecrure--it "has become a

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Language of Landscapecliche," says Spiro. But Conway believesverbal language, if used rightly, can be auseful device in design because rather thanexplaining, language creates ambiguity,complexity, and hence wonder. "If we re­cite a poem twice we get a different mean­ing," says Conway... tr has to do withwonder. We're looking for the possibili­ties in language, and in that sense we'relooking for the possibilities in landscape."

Conway's view of language reAects apostmodemist interest in subjectivity andthe relativity of meaning, qualities thatare embodied in the theory of poststruc­turalism. A literary theory birthed inFrench linguistics, poscstrucruralismholds that language is an artificial Struc­ture applied [0 the world tather than de­rived from it, that words and the thingsthey signifY are not "narutally" connected,In LandJca~Narratlt'tS, Potreiget andPurineon refer (0 an example from Ferdi­nand de Saussure, in which he demon­Strated how there is nothing inherently"tree-like" in the word ttee. This simpleidea has grown and expanded over theninety years from when it was first ut­

tered, and in its wake it has spawnedcountless "deconstruCtionist" works,mosdy (0 the effect of making us uncer­tain ofwhat we're reading. As interpretedand transmuted by Roland Banhes,Jacques Derrida, Julia Krisceva, andcountless other academicians, poststruc·tutalism has pervaded almost every disci­pline, going beyond the boundaries ofliterary theory to ha\'e a profound effecton the social sciences. The connectionswith the language of landscape are obvi­ous, for there may be no more subjectiveexperience than that of landscape. Likelanguage, each person may read differenttypes and levels ofmeaning intodifferem

land="".The question that has plagued post­

structuralism is the question of universal­ism: Is the text that I read the same as thetext you read? \'Qimout universalism, whois [0 say there is any text at all? There areonly readers and their subjective readings.The same problem existS in landscape,which people seem to view in different\\faYS. The question is flO{ whether peopleha\'(" different experiences of1andscape-itis assumed they do--but whether theyread those landscape experiences in a waythat might construe a common language?

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to unckrsmnd ",-hat garnet schisc is. to un­d~tst;;l.nd how m~tamorphicgeologyoccurs. and fO perhaps ('l'm ha\'~a merlOllima~ ofwhat these things look like, As asci~ntist, Pearson can dissolv~ her d~­

scription into parricular signs that areshared among a group-sciemists, Land­scape architects do this all the time whenthey design to a particular context and at­tempe to tell Stories that perhaps only I~

cals will truly understand.A~ story might go like this. My fa­

ther li\'es in che prttty lutk cwstal~"I1ofStonington, Connecticut. E\'~ty day hedri~ duuugh dr hilly woodlands 00 hisway to work and he IlO{Keli dr details ofthe la:ndscape, dr dense decKluous \\'OCllk,droa:asionaI dearing. and dr ubiquitouSsoon~walls that~ divided dr land intoparcds. "lky remind mecifiums,M hesays."They take me back to earl ier generations,which issomerhing my mind loves towan­der back to. ri This pan: of Connecticut hasexperienced great change in recent years,

There may be no more

subjective experience than

that ofumdscape. Uke

language, each person may

read different types and

leveLs ofmeaning into

different landscopes.

Thr best answer to chis question depends00 whether a Story is panicu.lar or genera.l.

A panicular Story might go lik~ this.AJ~ Pcanoo is a groIogisc in San Fran­cisrowhospendsa lot of time rock climb­ing In NortMrn California_ Onr ofMrfa\'Orit~ spots is a plac~ called Goat Rocklocated in Bod~ga Bay, a coupl~ hoursnorth of tM city. Goat Rock is Dot a chal­lenging plac~ to climb, but Pemon likesit b«ause as a reward at the end of th~

climbshe is treated [0 a magnificent viewof the Pacific Ocean. When she describesthis 1andsc.1pe, she talks about the smallbits of shiny-m:!. garnet schist that coverche rock and that tdl a story about cheex­~metarnClrphic processes that formedthe Sto~. To unckrstand tM SfO!)'. onen«ds panicular knowled~ofgeology-

Language of Landscape

This 111111n/6, 1\lauhtu.' POlltig" u.;11 curaftan exhibition wltd Storied Land: Land­scapcJ Nar!aU\·c.lArt at Iht Slone Qua..,.,Hill An Park. CazmtJl1a. Ntu. York (315­655-3196J. EI Nuevo Mundo u.;11 br 011r-im'Jl(lIt 29-Srplt",kr 5. 1999 i" NtuYri CiI) ill ,htCooptrHm.,n National CN­Jigrt AIMJOlll (212-860-6890).

structure) Anne' Whiston Spim raisrsthis question o:plicidy in her book. al­£hough it S«ffiS laden in most e\-ef}' land­scape design that attcmpt'S to be goodand beautiful in general terms, to appealto morc than just a single ~rson Otgroup. Lke Conway, Spim sees the lan­guage of1andscaJ'(' as an ocpansi,~ forcc,ont' that conJlt'Ct'S and IOtl"lTeWes in sur­prising ways, MLanguagc is what linksWest Philadelphia to SOffit' of the grel.f1andscaJ'(' proj«ts of the world-ForestCemetery in Stockholm, or the Bloedc:lRrsen~,M saysSpim. MI u.sc eheword 'Ian­guagt· deliberately. \'<'hen \\~ shaJ'(' Iand­scaJ'(' we express meaning. LandscaJ'(' isnOf JUSt 'Iikc language; it is a language.And landscape' architects u.sc ie. M LA

"LAndscape is 1101 just

r[ike language,' it is a

language. And IandsClJpe

architects use it.·

amully "'-eighed against (91,'0 millennia ofmoaI philosophy. The larter might indeedargue, '"Yescertain~~good,~­Clin 1ando;capes~ uue.M

To say that landscape is a language in­evitably oJ'('ns the Aoodgaees for thest'rypes of questions about landscapeknowledge, landscaJ'(' J'('rceprion, andLandscaJ'(' value. Perhaps this is becau.sclanguage is so contentious. If there is onething the posesrrucruralist5 have suc­ceeded at in rhe last fifty years, if is mak­ing us quesrion our assumptions aboutthe power and tnnhfulness of language.But how far can this questioning pro-­ceed? Is it applicable not onl)' to thcrnetaphoricallC\-d oflanguage, but (0 thesyntactical as weill Do we ",,'Onder aboutthe realiry of nouns, \'efbs. and sentence

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most specifically in the deo.oelopmem ci a,~ Iargr casino thai: bas inc~ uaffic00 me tOIIIds and contributtd a bright glowto d~ horizon. In contrast, my f.uher fedslikeIrm'eS in a linkcmis that is somehowttSistinB thl:R changts.. The botdtr cLthisOlilSis is fOrm«! by rwo\'isibletdges.: a high­....-ayand acommm:iall)'mned atCl. BUt in­si<k of thlS demarcation. my father kelsInsulattd and prott'l"ttd from thto ~1"C8Ch­ing neon. ~Maybt this is naive, but I ftdlike \\'e.~ in a link romet.~ He imaginesputting acompm poim down in rown andswinging a radius se·..eral miles in lengththat would CUt JUSt inside ci a few garishcommen::ial districts, including d~ casino."'You swing cllaI: circle? "Thar'sa lin:le ha,'ro.Ic's an oosis ofbeaucifullandscape:'

Although he uses specificdetails to tell ie,the main (hrusrs of his 1andscape narrativeat{' irs themes ofbeaury,oosis,and rnecom­ron c:A history. As such, it is a mom! suxythar nnphasizes valurs. On one I('\'d. suchvalues are sub,ecriYe-; bm on anomer theyat{' also uni~. This is tricky ground, apIaccw~ the pownodr:m argument de­bunking the ,'31idity ci text needs to be