THE LANGUAGE OF LANDSCAPE

Abstract

The power to read, tell, and design landscape is one of the greatest human talents; it enabled humans to spread from warm savannas to cool, shady forests and even to cold, open tundra. Landscape as a form of language is a tool of survival and a medium of art. The language of landscape permits us to learn from distant ancestors and to speak to generations as yet unborn. Landscape elements combine to shape meaning. Landscape authors employ rhetoric and metaphor to communicate effectively and artfully. Humans have always known the language of landscape, but now use it piecemeal, with much forgotten. Absent, false, or partial readings lead to inarticulate expression: landscape gibberish, dysfunctional, fragmented dialogues, and broken storylines. It is time to relearn and renew the language of landscape, to speak new wisdom into life in city and countryside.

Keywords

Landscape / Language / Meaning / Metaphor

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2016 Higher Education Press