Framed Again: The Picturesque Aesthetics of Contemporary Landscapes

Abstract

From provocative collages that splice aerial photographs, maps, and nudes, to park designs that play upon the associative imagery evoked by industrial artifacts, recent works of landscape architecture suggest that a new appreciation for landscape is emerging. Some scholars profess that these works break from the tradition of Picturesque because they do not look like Picturesque landscapes, nor do they participate in the ideology of the Picturesque that attempts to naturalize power. This article asserts, however, that aerial photographs of controlled agricultural burns, or parks that feature abandoned refrigerator towers, still tread upon the familiar territory of the Picturesque. While the formal and ideological aspects of recently acclaimed design works are discernibly different from Picturesque-style landscapes, the pleasures we take from them remain indebted to Picturesque aesthetics. This is an important recognition because ignoring the philosophical contribution of the Picturesque may limit discourse on landscape to a discussion of styles or its instrumentality in power relations, leaving out speculation on the rich and varied types of experiences that landscape offers. Historically, the subject of Picturesque aesthetics was landscape. Surely, if Picturesque aesthetics are at work in our appreciation of contemporary landscapes, then it is landscape architecture’s territory to reclaim.