Thursday, May 17, 2012

architectural media

Media is not only a powerful tool. Media is powerful. And power corrupts. Indian architectural media is in a nascent state and given the coffee table approach of most architectural reader (really how many DO read?), they tend to be glossies either promoting some successful architects or products and hardly raising any significant questions. Critical analysis is woefully lacking. The photojournalism, which architectural media depend on, reduces architecture to visual images selectively chosen. The few professional journals available today are also beginning to succumb to the pressures of the publishing world. Glossies masquerading as design journals catering to upper society leisure individuals and to the real estate copy cats are not really educating or informing anybody, doing more damage than good. The myths of architectural voyeurism cannot be equated to serious media. The apathy of the media towards issues of built environment and cities echoes the apathy in general on matters that are not sensational.