Task 5 - Lefebvre & Space

Social Space - Photographic Studio based in Leeds College of Art

'Every space is already in place before the appearance in it of actors: these actors are collective as well as individual subjects inasmuch the individuals are always members of groups or classes seeking to appropriate the space in question. This Pre-existence of space conditions the subject's presence, action and discourse, his competence and performance; yet the subject's presence, action and discourse, at the same time as they presuppose this space, also negate it.'
Lefebvre, H (trans 1991) The Production of Space. Oxford, Pg 57

The above quote from Lefebvre is a basic explanation of his Spacial Triad Theory, in this he attempts to explain the way that a space is assigned a purpose and a certain level of character regardless of the current state of it and the people in it, for example a photographic studio is always a photographic studio, regardless of whether a photo shoot is currently taking place or not. This partially comes down to the contents of the room and the layout, the lighting, white backdrops and organisation of the space ensure that one person or item is the focal point of the room and thus all people, lights, cameras or other objects are pointed at them. However if you walk into an empty studio, the lights, backdrop and empty space still define the room as a studio and thus we feel we must behave, or 'act' as Lefebvre puts it, in a way that would be acceptable in this space; this may be through making as little noise as possible and attempting to not make a mess or even jumping and flailing in the open space as a celebration and something to be looked at. Given an empty studio people will make the choice to either be the centre of attention and act as if the studio were currently in use or the polar opposite and stay quiet and close to the walls attempting not to disrupt an event that may not even be happening at the time. This is to say that the representation of a space and the implications of it have a long lasting effect on the inhabitants of the room, be it a crowd of people or an individual they convince themselves to act accordingly in regards to the room, this is elevated furthermore over time as people become more familiar with the space. A photographic studio is presented as that and during its use it is exactly that, this is coupled with our interpretations and assumptions of what it should be and thus results in the aforementioned behaviour. Overall a photographic studio is a space that denotes a certain response and regardless of your role in the studio, be it photographer, model, assistant etc, you still respond to the environment in a way that you feel is appropriate; this is a strong example in terms of Lefebvre's Spacial Triad but also of panopticism and the effect of a space on a person's behaviour.