Edges, Events and Excess

Abstract

Though the world may be considered holistic as Heidegger postulates we comprehend it through difference. This separation to distinguish can be described as ‘an intent of perception’ that subconsciously knows they are related “By disengaging two things from the undisturbed state of nature, in order to designate them ‘separate’, we have already related them to each other in our awareness” (Simmel G, 1994-09) Perception actively forms edges and perceptually we prefer a level of complexity in our visual field. “Humans prefer ambiguous, complex patterns in their visual field and that this seems a fundamental perceptual preference”. (Rapoport A & Kantor; R E 1967) The city as a spatial and cultural maelstrom of unfolding and interpretive ‘edge conditions’ constitutes our perceptually desirable landscape embracing and enabling its milieu to delve into its thickness. The edge is where happenings intensify it is the co-location of phenomena in place that catalyses events. “All human action takes and makes place. The past is the set of places made by human action. History is a map of these places”. (Edington P J; 2007) Topographic locations with dynamic edge-mental conditions tend to develop into serial places as city. The friction generated by the density of a city’s edge conditions generating overlap to gathered processes enabling an intensity of events. City is event-mental reflecting an underlying structured edge condition system associated with our activities and expectancies as preferences of perception. These perceptual preferences ap pear t o be in a aufhebung (Grier. J 1902 ) state