Public spaces are intimidating places. It is here we pass by strangers, in all their forms. It is here we engage in that most essential of activities: consumption! This activity became something ostentatious in the period the Impressionists were active. It was something to show off, a sign of one's wealth and one's taste.
Everyone's doing it today, and we don't all have wealth or taste.
Stockport: its wide shopping arcade redolent of the glory of Paris' late 19th century boulevards. The carousel adds colour, gives the activity of shopping the carnival feel: the world turned upside-down.
These spaces - the public spaces where we go (secretly) to look at other people and to see if we're wealthier, healthier, more stylish and modern - these spaces are contrived and unnecessary.
Or poorly lit, oppressive and decidedly unglamourous.
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