Maya: Homebodies on Vacation week 4

For tourism, the home (even retroactively) is the perfect vehicle of self-representation, and the ideal “auratic” tourist attraction (34).

Reciently Studio 115 went on a trip through southern California ending up in L.A.. There we went to visit many houses created by Architects and were especially moved by the Eames house. There was a great sense of presence in the Eames house. We were not able to enter, but the doors were opened and we were able to peer into the house to see everything as it was when they lived there. What is this obsession with houses like this? Do we really get an accurate view of who these people were and how they lived? The tourist certainly lusts for the authentic and tourism feeds that desire (34). The plants were still alive. To keep this sense of illusion it requires maintenance. “tourist time is reversible and touristic space is elastic.” Even though the experience may not have been authentic, in terms of really occupying the space with the owners, there was enough of an illusionary construct to convince us of its authenticity.