I was thinking more of similarities in terms of a design program; walls, towers, circularity.. etc.. I’ve never seen an International style sand castle, for example.
If you minimise social (a crowded beach may limit the size of a sandcastle) and personal (’I don’t care if the beach’s crowded, I’m making a large sandcastle’)factors, the most salient features are walls, either formed by hand or with containers of some sort; a ditch or moat, since the sand for walls are generally excavated right next to the walls; and the general absence of hard angles, mostly due to the granular nature of sand. The upside-down pail shape is very common, although now with the availability of cheap dedicated sandcastle toys (99 cents for a half-dozen, I assume this holds worldwide), there’s more diverse shapes to be had.
Exactly. And, what else is there that has this kind of universality across time and cultures (assuming that sand castles actually demonstrate an archetype)? I’m also interested in what the sand castle illustrates- what’s the narrative it reinforces? Protection, hierarchy, kind of medieval values..
John Miya | 02-Feb-09 at 8:07 pm | Permalink
sand, water, impermanance
Scott Constable | 02-Feb-09 at 8:32 pm | Permalink
I was thinking more of similarities in terms of a design program; walls, towers, circularity.. etc.. I’ve never seen an International style sand castle, for example.
Ben Llaneta | 05-Feb-09 at 9:54 am | Permalink
If you minimise social (a crowded beach may limit the size of a sandcastle) and personal (’I don’t care if the beach’s crowded, I’m making a large sandcastle’)factors, the most salient features are walls, either formed by hand or with containers of some sort; a ditch or moat, since the sand for walls are generally excavated right next to the walls; and the general absence of hard angles, mostly due to the granular nature of sand. The upside-down pail shape is very common, although now with the availability of cheap dedicated sandcastle toys (99 cents for a half-dozen, I assume this holds worldwide), there’s more diverse shapes to be had.
Ben Llaneta | 05-Feb-09 at 12:13 pm | Permalink
Which still begs the question of what point do these shared formal qualities constitute a style?
Scott Constable | 05-Feb-09 at 1:15 pm | Permalink
Exactly. And, what else is there that has this kind of universality across time and cultures (assuming that sand castles actually demonstrate an archetype)? I’m also interested in what the sand castle illustrates- what’s the narrative it reinforces? Protection, hierarchy, kind of medieval values..