Site Insistence

Although Miwon Kwon has written "site-specific works, as they first emerged in the wake of Minimalism in the late 1960s and early 1970s..." (p. 85), I would have to question if site-specific works have not been around since the beginnings of humankind.

The Old Kingdom pharaohs from circa 2500 BCE were pretty insistent on their site. It HAD to be on the West bank of the Nile. It HAD to be located in the necropolis Valley of the Kings. It HAD to face East. Had the builders or architects in any way shape or form deviated from these requirements, I'm sure it would have been off with their heads.


The Romans were just as insistent as the Egyptians.


Monuments to the emperors (and his family), like Hadrian's Mausoleum, had to be built in the round (pun intended) and it had to be specifically located outside the city walls.

It's easy to forget that St. Peter's was once a site specifically placed in the periphery only because it has taken center stage today.

St. Peter's site is additionally important because it was also a sacred site where he was martyred. The sacredness of A Specific Site took on unprecedented frenzy during the medieval and Gothic times with the construction of the absolutely grandiose and monumental structures of the cathedrals.

We have always insisted on a specific site. Which is why my 80 year old aunt (not unlike kings and presidents) in Korea would have never considered purchasing her house without consulting the geomancy specialislt.

If our global society has "unanchored" us such that meanings of specific sites are being challenged and questioned by sculptural artists such as Antony Gormley (whom I will discuss further next Thursday), where the body has become its own justifiable site, is there a need for specific place anymore?

My own answer would have to be a contemplative yes. The most memorable sites seem to be those that are connected to memory and significant in personal and/or public history.



Humans have literally built one city upon an existing one, not always due to lack of space. This seems understandable and even valid for it is our innate desire to connect (physically, mentally, emotionally) new identities and emerging histories to our past identities and memories.