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Exit, no Exit |
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written
by zinnia / 10.24.2005 |
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Assignment |
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Both the boutiques on Via Veneto and Santa Maria della Concezione want to be seen, noticed, and adopted by people. The shops of Via Veneto do so by exhibiting chic and fashionable merchandise on their display window, while the Capuchins church lures the viewer to muse about their religious decision. Moreover, although they employee very distinct methods, the two reach the same end in making certain their visitors take something with them from each place. High end boutiques like those on Via Veneto always offer the highest customer service. Their salespeople are never pushy, but they rarely let the customers leave empty-handed. Each salesperson has excellent judgment, and they provide it to every person that walked in. Santa Maria della Concezione does not use live persuasion. The cemetery depends on its extreme and compelling presentations to force the viewer to think. Decorated with exhumed bodies of some 4000 friars, bones preside in every nook and cranny. Because of its not so appealing manifestation, the viewer’s instinctive reaction is often to hastily finish the round and leave. Afterwards the image would hopefully diminish, overshadowed by more pleasing sceneries. Not so easy. You leave through where you came, the cemetery is constructed without an exit for a purpose. The walk back out (entrance = exit) serves as a reinforcement of the message that the church is trying to convey. Now the images become haunting. The reiteration is necessary because unlike the boutiques of Via Veneto, the church doesn’t have anything tangible for people to take away back in the days when it was built; it also lacks the appeal that shopping has on people. Although Via Veneto has the street ends that provide a distinct entrance and exit, in no way is the experience more forgettable; the shops along the street make certain of it. It is improbable for anyone to walk down Via Veneto without entering at least one of its stores. The in and out of countless uniquely furnished coutures ensure the walk to be memorable.
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