Summary of the articles about the theory in landscape architecture:
The author of article ’social formation and symbolic landscape’ Denis Cosgrove is a professor at university of California, Los Angeles. His father used to work in a bank. When Denis was a child, his father discouraged him from continuing with Geography saying it was girls’ subject. His father told him that he should take Greek as well as Latin. He schooled at oxford and university in Toronto. The work of Denis focused on the concept of landscape. He also concentrated on intricate interconnections regarding different facets of landscapes.
Denis Cosgrave’s interests in research evolved from focusing on cultural and human geography to wider concern with communication and creating arts. In his articles, he has shown how landscape imaginations have been depicted using images that are visual in nature.
The iconography of landscape (1988)
Palladian landscape: geographical change and its cultural representation (1993)
Recovering landscape(1999)
Social formation and symbolic landscape is not mainly about explanation of landscape but rather a sketch of concepts about landscapes as they have changed in North America and Europe since fifteenth century. In summarized form it states that landscape idea represents the feeling of people about nature and how it interconnects with social relations in the real world situations.
William J. Thomas Mitchell, the author of the article ‘landscape and power’ was born in 1942. He is a distinguished service professor of English and Art history at the University of Chicago. He also edits Critical inquiry and contributes to journal October. His Monographs, picture theory and iconology (1986), centers on visual culture and media theory. He borrows ideas from Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud to show that we must consider pictures to living things. He won modern Language association’s prestigious James Russell Lowell prize in 2005 for his collection of his essays what do pictures want?
Some of his published works include;
Cloning terror(2011)
Critical terms for media studies(2010)
Picture theory(1994)
Politics of interpretation(1983)
Language of images(1980)
The article Imperial landscape is found in the book landscape and power. The author says that there are at least three major facts about landscape; that it is in its pure form a western European and modern phenomenon, that it emerges in seventeenth century and reaches its peak in nineteenth century and its is originally and centrally constituted a genre of painting associated with new way of seeing. He also speaks about the sacred silent language where he says landscape is best understood as medium of cultural expression not genre of painting or fine art.
Mike Davis was the author of the article city. He was born in the 1940s.He is a Marxist based in the United States of America and a theorist who mostly majored on urban issues. More so, he participated a lot in social development and politics. Mike spent most of his teenage life in California. He had engaged himself in meat cutting and driving. In addition to this, he was a student activist. His wide knowledge in creativity has enabled him to work at the University of California. In this institution, he has worked as a professor. Mike makes some contribution to one of the British review magazines. He has frequently written for nation and UK’s new statesman among others. He is a well known socialist and writer in the world who has emulated the styles of architects like Lewis Mumford and Garret Eckbo.
His style has been praised by many article reviewers. These reviewers argue that he has argued his ideas in a consistent manner. In addition to this, most of his articles have attracted the eyes of keen readers who search for new knowledge. A good example of this is the Planet of Slums, which acted as an inspiration to many readers and reviewers across the globe. Some of his other published works include;
Beyond blade runner (1992)
Prisoners of American dream (1986, 1999)
Ecology of fear; Los Angeles and imagination of disaster (2000)
Lake Victorian Holocausts; El Niño Famines and making of third world (2001)
The article fortress L.A is found in the book city of quartz. In this article Davis try to highlight the shortcomings in the landscape of Los Angeles. He talks about how defense of luxury lifestyles has led to repressions in space and movement. He also speaks about sadistic street environments in Los Angeles. He argues that the corridors of Los Angeles have been filled with many art works at the expense of the welfare of the pedestrians. According to him, there should be enough space for passers-by and pedestrians to relax. Some of the art works that have filled the space that would be used for pedestrians include fountains, exotic architecture and public designs.
