Utopia By Daniel Francavilla

Daniel Francavilla

Utopia

Utopia

Such a foreign concept to everyday people today, the dream, vision, and hope of Utopia is still alive and well within us all. Through this visual and typographical book I will demonstrate several aspects of utopia and utopian design.

This will encompass a variety of viewpoints with a foundation based on Walter Benjamin’s Arcades Project and other related works, including modern day examples of utopia. Through the concept of Utopia, I have discovered that it is possible to explore a vast range of cultures, religions, races, creation stories, and historical pasts, from the perspective of all society levels. You will notice the style in which this report is presented is similar to a montage, an organized collage of information and various details, not in any particular order but all related to the theme of utopia. This has been done specifically to imitate the montage format of Benjamin’s The Arcades Project.

“perfect

socio-politico-legal system”

Sir Thomas More, in a book written in 1516, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean

Peace Prosperity Happiness

“Walking into an arcade is like discovering a private universe – April Nieuwsma

thus, there’s the connection of arcades to utopia

what is utopia?

> an ideal community > a place of perfection > the concept of an ideal society > where everything works in harmony > social, legal, and political justice > an ideal state for all beings > an imaginary place?

Paradise

Paradise is a place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness. It is a state of supreme happiness and bliss. But it is not utopia, as a utopia does not necessarily include all of the luxuries and pleasures of paradise. Paradise is a place or condition that fulfils your desires - but utopia doesn’t necessarily do so; it’s just a great place where everything runs smoothly and your needs are met. A utopia is an alternate society, not a paradise.

Shangri-La

One of the legends of a specific utopia is from James Hilton’s novel Lost Horizon. In a tranquil haven in the mountains of Tibet, Shangri-La cast a spell on all who resided there. Today, many video games, films, and hotel and travel brands have been created on the idea of ShangriLa. For example, “Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts” is the world’s leading Asia-based luxury hotel group, and has even started building a hotel condominium downtown Toronto! Their branding brings the idea of Utopia to the urban citizens of Ontario’s capital city.

paradise

utopia

DOES NOT EQUAL

(UNFORTUNATELY)

Searching for Utopia

Condo and resorts aside, life would be just perfect in a utopia like Shangri-La, if only we could find it. Just like James Hilton discussed in “Lost Horizon” the search for utopia has been present throughout history. Christopher Columbus had been one searching for a better land, a utopia of sorts. Specifically, when he first encountered North America, he believed that he had found the Garden of Eden, one of the first and bestknown examples of a utopia.

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Finding Utopia some examples of

Always Coming Home (1985) by Ursula K. Le Guin Ecotopia: The Reports of William Weston (1975) by Ernest Callenbach Gloriana, or the Revolution of 1900 (1890) by Lady Florence Dixie H. G. Wells’s A Modern Utopia (1905) Halo (video game) (2001-Present) Island (1962) by Aldous Huxley Islandia (1942) by Austin Tappan Wright News from Nowhere by William Morris (1892) Plato’s Republic (400 BC) The City of God (413–426) by Augustine of Hippo The City of the Sun (1623) by Tommaso Campanella The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden, by Hieronymus The New Atlantis (1627) by Francis Bacon The Probability Broach (1980) by L. Neil Smith Utopia (1516) by Thomas More Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) by Marge Piercy Zwaanendael Colony (1631) by Pieter Corneliszoon Plockhoy >> “The Earthly Paradise, Garden of Eden” is a triptych painted by Hieronymus Bosch (Part of his 3-panel “Garden of Earthly Delights from 1503). Interestingly, the artist believed that Utopia could only occur after the forgiveness of Original Sin. Therefore, Bosch recognized that humanity could not be allowed to return to Paradise until after being forgiven, so this image represents an “if” situation.

Ruth Franklin “Brook Farm”

Attempts at Utopia in America

Plain Living

While we generally think of the idea of utopia as a far-off distant place, there were actually hundreds utopian colonies setup in the US during the 1700s and 1800s. “Plain Living” was the name of an experiment in communal living, organized by the Transcendentalists (self-reliance). A specific example of one of these communities is Brook Farm, located in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, USA. Because there were so many colonies being formed, their practices varied. However, their common beliefs of communal living are summarized by Robert Hine in his book “California’s Utopian Colonies”. Hine explains that an ideal utopian colony “consists of a group of people who are attempting to establish a new social pattern based upon a vision of the ideal society and who have withdrawn themselves from the community at large to embody that vision in experimental form.” Entering the 20th century, however, these colonies had to alter their way of life significantly as industrial, economic and scientific progress in regular society evolved so drastically.

Utopian Community

Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist from the nineteenth century, created a few proposals of communities that are considered to be utopian. Oddly, these proposals were for communities to take place in the United States, which I find random because it was and is still such a familiar, developed, inhabited country. What is interesting about the proposal below, is that the community is dedicated to the landowners, as to make their land productive and rent payment secure, thus focusing on capitalism! However in Owen’s community, there would be no poverty or ignorance and therefore no crime. He also discusses the possibility of the government’s duties being taken care of, because here everything would be safe, easy, delightful, and not dangerous or difficult.

A community proposed by in Robert Owen to be set in New Harmony, Indiana, United States. Engraving by F. Bate, London 1838.

Money doesn’t just fall from the sky. It doesn’t in utopia, either.

Recreation in Utopia Sir Thomas Moore allowed the inhabitants of his fictional Utopia to play Rythmomachia for recreation, as one of several activities he created. “After supper they spend an hour in some diversion, in summer in their gardens, and in winter in the halls where they eat, where they entertain each other either with music or discourse. They do not so much as know dice, or any such foolish and mischievous games. They have, however, two sorts of games not unlike our chess; the one is between several numbers, in which one number, as it were, consumes another; the other resembles a battle between the virtues and the vices, in which the enmity in the vices among themselves, and their agreement against virtue, is not unpleasantly represented; together with the special opposition between the particular virtues and vices; as also the methods by which vice either openly assaults or secretly undermines virtue; and virtue, on the other hand, resists it.” - Thomas Moore

<< Rythmomachia

Land of Milk and Honey The concept of the land of milk and honey has been around since the Bible, when God asks Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt, promising them a land flowing with milk and honey - known as The Promised Land. In general, the term describes a country where people from other places want to live, with the idea that the living conditions are perfect and there is employment and prosperity. Today, people in less fortunate parts of the world still view the States as being the land of milk and honey. This is similar to an ideal land of utopia. “And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey: unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.” - Exodus 3:8 (KJV) The above painting is entitled “The Promised Land” by deceased German artist Maren van Riedhoven-Esser.

Poverty and misery removed.

Utopia of Doom

Utopia in the sense of perfect buildin and visual superiority, but unrealistic gs, organization, because it would be “too perfect” andand flawed eliminating the “lesser” members of even involve society.

Adolf Hitler had an interest in architecture and an obsession with his dream to build the ultimate city, somewhat of a utopian empire. As the Colosseum had been a symbol of political power of the Roman people, Hitler wanted to create similar buildings in a perfectly organized city he could call his own. In 1937 Hitler explained that these newly planned buildings would reinforce the Nazi party’s authority and also show “gigantic evidence of the community”. Signs of this authority through architecture was seen in Munich, Berlin, Nuremberg, and more. Overall, it is very evident that Hitler’s personal concepts and the architectural designs he commissioned were highly political and ideological. Although his vision was to establish Germany as the centre of the world for eternity, his plan was obviously never completed, as the war forced him to limit his attention to the project until his takeover and death, ultimately.

“Architecture is not only the spoken word in stone, but also is the expression of the faith and conviction of a community, or else it signifies the power, greatness and fame of a great man or ruler” - Hitler

Tolerance of All Religions

The Best of All Possible Worlds

In Voltaire’s novel Candide, the main character Candide, exausted while travelling with Cacambo, come across an amazing city. They are welcomed and very well-received in this incredible place called Eldorado. In Candide, Eldorado symbolizes the best of all possible worlds. Because Candide and Cacambo came from living a normal life in the regular world, they beleived they had found what every human dreams of finding in their life: utopia! Given its mysterious hidden location, it Is evidently as close to a utopia as one could imagine.

Everything is designed for purposes of utility, beauty and pleasure.

In general, Eldorado is considered to be the ultimate goal of mankind. With visions of dust being made of gold and rocks being made of precious stones, the idea of this utopia - like Eldorado - is an extremly wealthy land. However, back to Candide - in the novel, we discover that it is not about the riches, gold and precious stones that they have, but about their true happiness! In fact, Candide was so confused by the philosophy in this utopia that the character even suggests, “The children of the kings of this country must be well brought up, since they are taught to despise gold and jewels.” Unfortunately, Candide does not really want to accept the idea of simply “happiness”, and decides to take as much of their endless supply of gold as he can with him. All evidence shows that Eldorado is clearly a utopia, without social classes, and without the need for prisons or courts!

An imaginary place of great wealth and opportunity.

A screenshot from the animated film The Road to El Dorado, produced by DreamWorks in 2000. As a child I enjoyed this movie and own it.

utopia

Daniel Francavilla [email protected] www.danielfrancavilla.com February 2, 2009 | Toronto, ON