The Flashing Urban Space. Laic Anagogy in Times Square

Abstract

Urban public space has been transformed, since the end of the 19th century, into a stage where glass and electricity are allied to communicate messages (whether informative, advertising, decorative or artistic), building what we have called the flashing urban space. In the sacred spaces of Byzantine and Gothic architecture, glass had also a decisive role in the communication of information with anagogical purposes, in mosaics and stained glass. Our age has found an architectural archetype capable of harboring the multitudes that are the target of the messages of the “new religion” of capitalist society and consumption. The solution has been to convert the urban space itself into the new “temple”. In it, the existing buildings’ facades are flooded with signs and screens of all kinds, which release ceaseless messages on those spaces where the masses of the “new faithful” congregate. Then, places like Times Square are born. The article narrates the origin and history of this New Yorker enclave. The importance of characters, such as S. L. Rothafel “Roxy” and D. Leigh, in the definition of this flashing urban epic is also explainded, and its parallelisms with the Byzantine and Gothic sacral architectures are also analyzed. The article concludes urging to a critical reflection on the implications of this kind of urban space, which is affecting the way cities are lived, and the way architecture is made.