Landscape and power: the debate around ugliness in Galicia (Spain)

For Peer Review Only Landscape and Power: the Debate around Ugliness in Galicia (Spain) Journal: Landscape Research Manuscript ID Draft Manuscript Type: Standard Research Paper Keywords: Ugliness, Landscape, Rural, Power, Galicia Abstract: The approval of the European Landscape Convention in 2000 placed landscape at the centre of the political debate and gave it visibility. At that time, a movement surrounding the concept of ugliness began in Galicia (Spain), which condemned the degradation of the Galician landscape as a result of public and private actions that destroy what is understood as the typical Galician landscape. The media and experts are actively involved in this discourse. In this article, we reflect on the concept of ugliness and relate it to policies of power that seek to confront the resistance of the Galician rural world. We analyse the links between the canonical Galician landscape, which dates back to the 19th century, and ugliness, as well as the current authorised landscape discourse. URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research For Peer Review Only Galicia and Spain 179x99mm (300 x 300 DPI) Page 1 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Galician Rural Landscape 1422x1066mm (72 x 72 DPI) Page 2 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Landscape and Power: the Debate around Ugliness in Galicia (Spain) Abstract. The approval of the European Landscape Convention in 2000 placed landscape at the centre of the political debate and gave it visibility. At that time, a movement surrounding the concept of ugliness began in Galicia (Spain), which condemned the degradation of the Galician landscape as a result of public and private actions that destroy what is understood as the typical Galician landscape. The media and experts are actively involved in this discourse. In this article, we reflect on the concept of ugliness and relate it to policies of power that seek to confront the resistance of the Galician rural world. We analyse the links between the canonical Galician landscape, which dates back to the 19th century, and ugliness, as well as the current authorised landscape discourse. Key Words: Ugliness; Landscape; Galicia; Power; Rural. 1. Introduction The word feismo (ugliness or ugly-ism) gained popularity in Galicia after a media outlet used it in 2001 to define the deterioration and destruction of the traditional landscape as a result of aggressive actions caused by a lack of planning discipline and - where they exist – lax planning rules (García Vidal, 2006). The Oxford Dictionary refers to Ugly or Ugliness as something unpleasant or repulsive. The ugly is that which breaks with established aesthetic canons. The values of aesthetics change over time, and therefore what is ugly or beautiful at one time can be the opposite at another, as Humberto Eco (2007) demonstrates in his Storia della Bruttezza (On Ugliness). Eco even claims that these concepts do not respond to aesthetic criteria but rather to the political and social Page 3 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only world. Cultural relativism teaches us that the criteria of what is beautiful and what is ugly can change over time and from one culture to another, but it should not justify that everything has the same aesthetic value (Pereiro, 2006) In the Galician version of Wikipedia (https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fe%C3%ADsmo), ugliness (feismo or ugly-ism) is defined as an architectural or urban style coined in Galicia that is of dubious aesthetic value and that collides with aesthetic canons, affecting both urban and rural areas. The term ugliness has, despite some resistance, been successfully adopted broadcast by the mainstream media, particularly the print media, in Galicia; however, its reverberations have also reached national newspapers. Since the popularisation of this concept, a movement against ugliness has emerged to denounce the profound transformation of traditional Galician landscapes as a result of the abandonment of rural areas, and actions that have little respect for tradition. Criticism of ugliness takes, as its starting point, the prior existence of a canonical landscape inspired by the interpretation of the work of the romantic poet Rosalia de Castro. By linking the identity of Galicia to its rural character, it gives an extraordinary symbolism to ruralism. In this article, we aim to relate ugliness with ideas of canonical landscape -which conforms to what is established and understood as desirableand we advance the concept of Authorized Landscape Discourse-ALD, which institutionalises the landscape through scientific work, regulations and other actions such as restoration and conservation, naturalising practices and values, and that Smith (2006) has defined in relation to heritage as Authorized Heritage Landscape (Smith, 2006), and Linkola (2015) has used to analyse the National Valuable Landscape Areas in Finland. We will demonstrate that ugliness is part of a power strategy aimed at imposing the cultural codes of the dominant elites. The media is used to generate, naturalise, and disseminate the problem, while institutional actors at various levels (from the regional to the European level) regulate and standardize Page 4 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only it, and the experts who invest in the phenomenon with a scientific nature justify the need to intervene. From a methodological point of view, we will look at the main official documents approved by the Government of Galicia and inspired by the ELC. We will also pay attention to the intense debate generated among intellectuals and academics on the question of ugliness. Most of their views were discussed in the two forums on ugliness that took place in 2004 (Pérez & Paz, 2006) and 2007 (http://tv.uvigo.es/es/serial/38.html). Another document we will use in this article is the Field Guide for the Interpretation of Ugliness in the Galician Landscape (Ramil & Ferreiro, 2015), published by the Institute for Biodiversity and Rural Development, which is linked to the University of Santiago de Compostela and supported by the government of Galicia. The contributions of all these reports, amplified by the media and accompanied by government actions, will serve as an argument for the linking of landscape with the discourse on ugliness being used as a power tool. 2. Landscape, Culture and Power Landscape, according to the ELC, means an area, as perceived by people. Such definition involves not only the physical elements of the territory but also its cultural representation (Daniels & Cosgrove, 1988). Or, according to Schama (1996, p. 61), “Landscapes are culture before they are nature”. It can therefore be said that the landscape is not neutral but is mediated by whoever describes it and sees it. As Mitchell (1994) points out, it is a means of cultural expression whose semiotic structure contains both meanings and values. In this sense, the construction of the landscape can be conceived as a strategy to highlight the characteristics of a territory, and also, therefore, the people who inhabit it. As Cosgrove (1984) points out, the landscape is a form of representing ourselves, as well as a form of representing ourselves against others. Page 5 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only The symbolic values that dominant social groups associate with landscape (Lai, Hsu, & Nepal, 2013) also reflect their economic interests. Authors such as Robbins, Meehan, Gosnell and Gilbertz (2009) discuss the emergence of the New West in the United States and the transformation associated with the arrival of new residents; these authors highlight the preference for locations that are near protected areas. This ‘greentrification’ (Smith and Phillips, 2001) even reflects economic and cultural interests that may give rise to conflicts. Greider and Gardovich (1994, p.1) begin their article by saying, “Every river is more than just a river”. With this statement, they justify the central idea of their work: that the physical, and also the human, environment is transformed into a landscape to transmit an ideology that is rooted in culture. Nash (1970) refers to the American invention of national parks as one of the great contributions to world civilisation. He also relates the emergence of national parks to some fundamental questions of American identity, such as democracy and prosperity, which allow the protection of extensive areas of public land; this incorporates the concept of the preservation of wilderness as an example of civilisation (Nash, 1970). Burden (2006, p. 14) refers to the symbolic landscapes whose meaning help create, maintain, and circulate myths of a united national identity. In this sense, and moving one step further Kucan (2007) refers to Schama's (1996) classical work which relates landscape to national identity, . The author stating that, alongside ideology and political strategy, the myths and symbols that constitute a nation have an impact on the process of landscape planning. Landscape is a social construct in which the State's ideological apparatus intervenes, including the media. In this way, and in her research on Slovenia, Kucan (2007) highlights the use of landscape to reinforce the country's national identity, with ruralness becoming the central element and natural beauty used as a metaphor, all within the context of deep transformations. Page 6 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Bourdieu (1984) deals with the subject of the role of culture in the reproduction of social structures. In his work Distinction, he demonstrates how cultural practices serve to perpetuate systems of domination. In this sense, the ugly is identified with the vulgar, while natural beauty is associated with aesthetic and moral values; both relate to different social positions and unequal power relations. In his research, he shows that the highest level of education is directly linked to certain aesthetic positions. Similarly, Vaughan (2010) quotes Schiller to establish links between morality and social justice with the aesthetic experience. The latter is a necessary condition for freedom, citizenship, and the State (Vaughan, 2010). The idea of ugliness comprises some contradictions; its meaning is not purely aesthetic, it is also linked to political and social criteria (Eco, 2007). The landscape as a metaphor and reflection of a people (Cosgrove, 1984; Schama, 1996; Kucan, 2007), linked to its identity, as stated in the ELC, cannot be ugly. Ugliness in association with that which is repulsive and unpleasant, and the vulgar (Bordieu, 1984), as opposed to morals and social justice (Vaughan, 2010), is not compatible with the idea of nation understood as an imagined community (Anderson, 1983). Thus, Kucan (2007) points out the discrepancy between reality and the image of the landscape that is conveyed in the case of Slovenia. Daniels (1993, p. 5) is more explicit; the landscape as a national icon acts “as exemplars of moral order and aesthetic harmony”. However, some authors, such as Gandy (2016) refers to unintentional landscapes, defined for its emotions and different from the classical notion of landscape. Gallent and Andersson (2007), approach the ugly landscape, to the fringe in which the rural loses its features and is overwhelmed by urban growth that creates functional landscapes. It is precisely this change in use that causes, at least partially, the change of perception; technology and the artificialisation of land have much to do with this. Gallent and Page 7 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Andersson (2007) highlight the dynamic nature of aesthetics and the role of education and long term cultural change in the process of re-evaluating aesthetic ideals, something that cannot be forced, for example, through plans for the improvement of landscape quality. This aesthetic enhancement is important as the image of an area determines its attractiveness and therefore its ability to attract investment; landscape acts as a representation of values. The solution is not to camouflage what we dislike if we do not understand its meaning, combining aesthetics with functionality (Gallent & Andersson, 2007). Landscape plays an important role in the relationship between power and culture, and their ability to reproduce social structures. Duineveld, Assche and Beunen (2017, p. 376), inspired by Foucault, point out “that landscapes are moulded through power/knowledge configurations, known through dicourses”. Bermingham (1994, p. 77) tells us that landscape, including the pictorial, “was a mode of political discourse”. Mitchell (1994, p. 5) goes further and, among his nine thesis on landscape, claims that, "Landscape is not a genre of art but a medium" (thesis 1), even comparing it to money (thesis 2). Although it is found in all cultures (thesis 5), it is mainly associated with European imperialism (thesis 6); the "dreamworks" of imperialism (p. 10). It could, therefore, be said that landscape is an instrument of power. This does not mean that there are no individual perceptions, as noted by Stobbelaar and Pedroli (2011) present the circle of landscape identity and divide it into four quadrants, two of which are in the individual sphere whilst the other two are in the collective. Although interesting, it fails to analyse how the personal identities of landscape are mediated by the cultural impositions of the elites. In the same way, what Stobbelaar and Pedroli called Cultural-Spatial Landscape Identity, in essence a scientific classification, could also respond to established preconceptions. Page 8 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only 2006, p. 100). Understood as a process of landscape degradation due to multiple causes (the abandonment of fields, chaotic urbanism, or uncharacterisation of traditional heritage elements), it has been understood by some authors as a way to postpone the debate about the environment and the vital space of the cultures, and reduce it to a matter of appearance (Santiago, 2006) that has had a huge social impact. On the one hand, aside from politics, the discussion has been held by the most eminent figures of Galician science and culture, some of whom are internationally acknowledged in their respective fields. On the other hand, the active involvement of the media has been very important. Rojek (2013) talks about the invisible government, referring to the influence of the media on people and their ability to normalise topics, thus having an impact on social order. Images illustrating the problem of ugliness have been prevalent in the media and have focused primarily on individual elements that are considered to break the harmony of traditional landscapes. For example, Figure 2 shows a Galician rural landscape characterised by the loss of the traditional structure of the population centres, with new houses being built on old farming land. A landscape characterised by the abandonment of a large part of the farming land, the emergence of forest plantations of foreign types of trees, the poor integration of traditional and modern building materials in gates and buildings, or the absolute mastery of building typologies outside the canonical housing model of Galicia. a typical house of a returned migrant, the aesthetic of which greatly deviates from that of the Galician farmhouse, stereotypically represented by the home of Rosalia de Castro in Figure 2. Figure 2. Galician Rural Landscape. Source: The authors. Page 15 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Figure 1: House of a returned migrant. Photo M.P. Figure 2: Rosalia de Castro’s Home Museum. Source http://rosalia.gal/a-casa-museo/ The latter will propose numerous measures to try to control and eradicate ugliness. For example, during the second decade of the 21st century, an advertising campaign was launched with the motto “The future of Galicia is up to us”. Next to pictures of buildings as they currently exist were pictures of ideal buildings, each with the corresponding caption: “Well done”/ “Badly done”. If we take a look at the photographs in Figure 3 and their captions, two important elements stand out. Firstly, the motto places the burden of wrongdoing on collective shoulders: Take care of what is yours; the Galician landscape is everybody’s task. Secondly, Rosalia’s image is clearly present, as can be seen from a comparison with Figure 3. Indeed, the rehabilitation proposal shown in Figure 3 (above) is clearly inspired by the home of Rosalia de Castro, whose role in the creation of the canonical Galician landscape is fundamental. As well as advertising campaigns, The government of Galicia has passed legislation that focuses on the landscape and combats ugliness. The wording and the spirit of the Galician Act 7/2008 on the Protection of Landscape (2008) is inspired by the ELC. In spite of the obvious similarities, there is at least one difference worth pointing out in the preamble to both documents. The European document talks about the transformations of landscape as a consequence of the evolution of production techniques or changes in the field of regional and urban planning. The Galician regulation, meanwhile, refers to a sudden change in uses and habits. This change is directly related to the social and economic backwardness that produced a “strong degeneration of landscapes in very specific areas” (Explanatory Memorandum of the Act 7/2008). This is an implicit admission of the Page 16 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only existence of ugliness, and an explicit acceptance of the Galician socio-economic backwardness theory. In both legal instruments, landscape is related to the quality of life and the identity of the people, referring to their historical and heritage values. In the Galician document, however, the differential elements appear more often. It is pointed out that most traditional landscapes were a consequence of society acting according to sustainability criteria; a society living in greater harmony with the environment. The role of the media as central players in the creation and dissemination of the problem of ugliness is joined by that of experts as well as the actions of regional governments. Among the instruments of the Government to fight ugliness are advertising campaigns. During the second decade of the 21st century, an advertising campaign was launched with the motto “The future of Galicia is up to us”. Next to pictures of buildings as they currently exist were pictures of ideal buildings, each with the corresponding caption: “Well done”/ “Badly done”. Figure 3: Galician government’s campaign against ugliness These government actions have been reinforced by the commitment made by many academics and intellectuals. For example, the Guide for the Interpretation of Ugliness in the Galician Landscape (Ramil & Ferreiro, 2015) was published with the support of the government of Galicia and the University of Santiago. It is illustrated with images of various ugliness cases and tries to explain its causes and consequences. A reference to the harmony of the Rosalian landscape appears in the very first lines of the Guide. The authors also refer to other renowned writers to introduce the debate on how human action during the 20th century has degraded this idyllic rural world. The concept of ugliness that is used in this Guide is based on two principles: a) earlier landscape quality related to aesthetic canons that emerged in the 19th century; b) the degradation of those canons. Page 17 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only The debates surrounding the causes of this phenomenon are many, but most of them converge in modernity. However, it has been in the forums on ugliness that experts have played the most important role. The publication that resulted from the first forum on ugliness in 2004 (Pérez & Paz, 2006) recalls the intense debate that took place between specialists from different fields of knowledge. Urban growth, speculation, and minimal government control are often cited as causes. Focusing on the countryside, Caamaño (2006) also blames ugliness on the effects of migration, the dispersion of the population, and the lack of attachment to traditional houses that is part of a wider absence of collective consciousness, thus introducing a moral assessment linked to aesthetic harmony (Daniels, 1993). Regardless, according to this document, responsibility lies with public authorities and their inability to reverse the situation, both from the physical and social point of view. Ugliness is a "contagious disease that spreads ubiquitously at ease hiding more and more deeply the origin and the nature of the social anomaly or anomalies that make it possible" (Pérez & Paz, 2006, p. 9). It is therefore an issue that goes far beyond the aesthetic. One theme that was repeatedly cited during the forums on ugliness is emigration, considered to be one of the main causes of ugliness by contributing to diminishing rural landscapes through both the houses and the traditional structure of hamlets. Migration is considered to be responsible for both the abandonment of homes and fields and the importation of non-Galician architectural models that are foreign to the Galician reality. If poverty and backwardness is the cause of emigration, it is said that ostentation and bad taste are linked to returning emigrants as we can see in Figure 2, in an biased understanding of ugliness that tries to blame the victims of the actual process (Sierra, 2006). 4. Discussion and Conclusions Page 18 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only In recent years, the debate surrounding the landscape of Galicia has been intense. The concept of landscape ugliness due to human intervention has been advanced by the media, justified by experts, and recognised by the regional administration itself. As a cultural concept, the construction of the Galician landscape has been linked to the idealised image transmitted from the interpretation of the work of Rosalia de Castro, upon which myths and symbols have been built. Greider and Gardovich (1994) argue that the transformation of the physical and human environment into a landscape serves to transmit an ideology rooted in culture. According to authors such as Miguélez-Carballeira (2014) and López Sández (2008), the Rosalian vision is based on terms of domination of the nation state, in which the landscape of Galicia is a metaphor for submission. In the case of Galicia, we have observed how the debate on ugliness affects the responsibilities of the rural world, developing a discourse that explores ideas derived from the Rosalian rural idyll. The intense transformations of the Galician landscape are not analysed in connection with rural change, social inequalities and, indeed, conflicts (Linkola, 2015). As stated by X. L. Martínez (2006) at a time of great building activity in Galicia, the State at its different levels (national, regional, provincial and local) ignored the problem (Martínez, 2006, p 204). But rather use classical ideas of historiography and economics that link rural Galicia with economic backwardness and emigration. In short, landscape degradation is directly connected to the rural inhabitant and the discourse of power. It can be said that the question of ugliness in Galicia has served to legitimise the discourse of power of the invisible government that Rojek (2013) discusses. Ugliness has proven the capacity of the media to help promote and give visibility to a problem to create and normalise a problem. Intellectual and scientific elites have accepted it as a proven truth, as have public institutions. Page 19 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Although Galicia is now mostly an urban territory, there is a fetishisation of the rural world. that Gallent and Andersson (2007) discussed in the case of England, is reproduced here based on the rural idyll. The social representation of Galician landscapes built around this idealisation repeatedly involves the use of Rosalian images. If we accept López Sández’s (2008) and Miguélez-Carballeira’s (2014) thesis, We can say that ugliness is no more than another attempt to strengthen the idea of Galicia as being sentimental, feminine, and therefore submissive, and in need of patriarchal power to meet its needs (López Sández’s (2008) and Miguélez-Carballeira’s (2014). This explains the continuous emphasis on the government’s role in guaranteeing the preservation of the landscape. In addition, following Linkola (2015), Landscape patrimonialisation turns the landscape into a matter of public interest and therefore part of the political discourse (Bermingham, 1994, Cosgrove, 1984, Linkola, 2015, ). The landscape understood as cultural heritage is directly introduced into the discourse of power, making it an ideological concept (Cosgrove, 1984). Smith (2006) states that the use of heritage is often linked to power relations, legitimising or discrediting cultures. Understanding ugliness as a disturbing element of the landscape is part of a strategy of political dominance in line with Mitchell’s (1994) association of it with European imperialism. In this case, it is the imperialism exercised by nation states to the extent that the state is the space of history (Fernández Prieto, 1999). The subtitle of the ugliness forum publication (Pérez & Paz, 2006) clearly refers to this idea: Destroying a Country. Cultural studies have tended to consider the rural world as the core identity of the people (Pereiro, 2015; Gallent & Andersson, 2007). This is linked to landscapes as a legacy of the past that must be preserved, as can be seen from authors such as Cosgrove (1984) and Schama (1996), who argue that the landscape is a reflection and metaphor for the people. We can therefore say that the rural in Galicia has been a site of cultural resistance against Page 20 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only the urban homogenisation dominated by Spanish economic elites. The incorporation of the landscape into the political discourse, as an instrument of cultural power (Saugeres, 2002), has acted as a mechanism to weaken this resistance. As previously stated, although experts, the media and the government refrain from blaming ugliness on the rural inhabitant, in fact official documents and academic and journalistic texts reveal a paternalism that is directly linked to the moral values referred to by Bourdieu (1984) as well as the reading that Egoz (2011) makes of the ELC. One relevant issue is the symbolic appropriation of the landscape through the ALD, by heritagizing elements of the canonical landscape and naturalising them based on certain canons that have gradually developed since the 19th century. These canons are based on the elites and exclude the dynamics of rural populations. Due to their peripheral location, Galician rural spaces escape the orthodox real estate circuits, and therefore the aesthetic criteria of the new urban Galicia (Martínez, 2006). The rural, with its landscape and environmental significance, becomes common heritage and therefore its use and enjoyment dilute the concept of private property. This applies equally to ugliness, which is understood as the actions of private individuals contributing to the destruction of the common good. It is thus a subjugation of the rural to the urban domain, a characteristic of capitalism as a socio-economic production system (Pereiro, 2015). A rural world of small towns and villages that play an increasingly residual role in the whole of Galicia (Martínez, 2006) Opposing these submissions there have been small rural movements that have emerged in recent years with the goal of challenging urban supremacy. Although these are not reactions against the ugliness discourse, they are directly connected to attempts to revive and revitalise the rural world. They are connected with ugliness to the extent that, as Page 21 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only previously mentioned, ugliness is an argument used by the elites to weaken and blame rural communities. An example of these initiatives of resistance can be seen in the Cans Film Festival, whose character is very similar to the Cannes Film Festival (in France), and which provides agroglamour for film screenings using the rural facilities of ugliness. In fact, the small village of Cans is located in one of the main industrial areas of Galicia, where factories are located alongside farming activities. Within the context of the considerable transformation of the traditional landscape, this film festival has encouraged the local population to take part in this most creative of activities. One of its symbols is the small compact tractor being used to transport artists and organisers. These tractors are widely used in rural Galicia as they are very effective on smaller-sized plots of land. In an optimistic article, Bell, Lloyd and Vatovec (2010) refer to the importance of the rural in contemporary society and make proposals for the recovery of its power. These authors take on an earlier discussion by Bell (2007) concerning two notions that have swung the debate on the rural: the materialist and the idealist, or the first and second rural. To avoid the reductionism of a binary opposition between these two rural worlds, Bell (2007) proposes talking about the plural rural as a steady stream that seeks to balance these differences; thus the rural is no longer something static and passive, invalidating the premise that "Change happens to the rural; the rural does not create change" (Bell et al., 2010, p. 209). In this later work, Bell et al. (2010) describe many examples of the reactivation of rural society, and refer to Woods (2008) to highlight the increasing prominence of social movements positioned around a new rural identity that includes important urban allies linked to environmentalism and food sovereignty, among others. Power is therefore, again, the protagonist. If the discourse of ugliness is articulated around Page 22 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only an aesthetic and political appreciation of the dominant urban elites in Galicia, the answer could be in the plural rural proposed by Bell et al. (2010). This article has sought to uncover the relationships between ugliness and ALD. The concepts of hegemony and nation gain a prominent role in the contribution this discourse makes to the assertion of identities and values. However, Smith (2006) points out that the discourse around heritage can be changeable and open to opposition. It is therefore necessary to recognise "the ideological and political underpinnings of the discourse" (Smith, 2006: p. 299). The process of assimilation and dissemination of ugliness in the Galician landscape was generated by the invisible government (Rojek 2013) of the media in 2001; it was legitimised by the world of culture and science, particularly following the 1st Forum on Ugliness in 2004; and it was integrated into public policy in 2008 with the Galician Act on the Protection of Landscape. An ALD was institutionalised from the canonical image of the Galician landscape that originated from interpretations of Rosalia de Castro’s work. The consensus on ugliness and its causes reinforces the social representation of the canonical landscape and the ALD. Ugliness is particularly linked to the rural environment and to small urban areas and urban peripheries. The latter two spaces have developed due to migratory movements from the countryside. Although there is an attempt to not blame rural populations for this ugliness, responsibility ultimately lies with them as they are the promoters of the actions that cause ugliness. This is an example of the old discourse, deeply rooted in Galicia, which links economic backwardness with the rural world. A rural world with a determined agrarian order and a disappearing peasantry with its culture and landscape (Gallego, 2006, p. 107). Ugliness, as part of the landscape, becomes an argument about power that legitimates and reproduces existing structures (Saugeres, 2002). However, we believe that ugliness as an Page 23 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only argument about power can be neutralised with the concept of plural rural introduced by Bell et al. (2010). References Alves Costa, A. (2006): Foro do feísmo. Primeira sesión [Forum on Ugliness. First Session]. In A. Pérez & X. Paz (Eds.). Feísmo? Destruir un País [Ugliness? Destroying a Country] (pp. 97-113). Ourense: Ed. Difusora Anderson, B. (1983). Imagined communities: reflections on the origins and spread of nationalism. London: Verso Baamonde, A. (2006): Fora de micrófono. Antes, durante e despois do foro [Offmicrophone. Before, during and after the Forum]. In A. Pérez & X. Paz (Eds.). Feísmo? Destruir un País [Ugliness? Destroying a Country] (pp. 86-89). Ourense: Ed. Difusora. Bell, M. M. (2007). The two-ness of rural life and the ends of rural scholarship. Journal of Rural Studies, 23(4), 402-415. doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2007.03.003 Bell, M. M., Lloyd, S., & Vatovec, C. (2010). Activating the countryside: Rural power, the power of the rural and the making of rural politics. Sociologia Ruralis, 50(3), 205224. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9523.2010.00512.x Bermingham, A. (1994). System, Order, and Abstraction. The Politics of English Landscape Drawing around 1795. In W. Mitchell (Ed.), Landscape and Power (pp. 77101). Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press. Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction. A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. Burden, R. (2006). Introduction: Englishness and Spatial Practices. In R. Burden & S. Kohl (Eds.). Landscape and Englishness (pp.13-26). New York, NY: Rodopi. Page 24 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only "Landscape and Power: the Debate around Ugliness in Galicia (Spain)" Reviewer: 1 Authors The author needs to focus on feismo. I see the book "Feismo ou como destruir un pais" is quoted in the bibliography, but there is no evidence that the author has read it. Following the reviewer's indications, several references to this publication have been introduced throughout the text. This work was the basic reference that inspired this work and has been constantly taken into account by the authors. I don't see what landscape theory has to do with feismo, at least directly. If there is a relevant relationship, the author needs to explain why and how. The text has attempted to link the theory of landscape with the concept of landscape ugliness. Feism applied to the rural landscape can be understood as nostalgia for the loss of a "more than perfect" past that only exists, or supposedly existed, as a discursive and imagined phenomenon (photography, cinema, literature,...) (Domingues, 2006, p. 87). I’d avoid quoting Wikipedia unless it’s necessary. The author can define it without even quoting; or s/he can provide short quotes from different authors that sum up the meaning of feísmo. We use Wikipedia as a generalized encyclopedia. We were interested to the extent that it provides a definition of a singular concept, not included in other encyclopedias or dictionaries. On the other hand, there are studies that indicate that Wikipedia has a level of confidence comparable to the British encyclopaedia. We use it exclusively as a popular definition. See this link, https://www.livescience.com/32950-howaccurate-is-wikipedia.html In addition, the text includes bibliographical citations in relation to the definition of ugliness: García Vidal, 2006; Ramil & Ferreiro, 2015). PAGE 2: -30-37: I don’t see how Rosalia fits into an article on feismo. As argued in this paper, Rosalia de Castro is coincidently noted (López Sández, 2008; López Silvestre, 2005) as the first author to have used the word landscape in Galician (in 1863), initiating a discourse that tries to convey an everpositive image; the landscape as a vehicle for the dignity of a People. The values attributed to the Rosalian landscape include rurality, sweetness, fertility, and productivity, among others (MiguélezCarballeira, 2014). These characteristics have, since then, been identified as essential elements of the landscape of Galicia. The word feismo is used to define the deterioration and destruction of this traditional landscape. In the Forum of Ugliness, Álvaro Domíngues, on the subject of landscape, states that, The landscape that rests eternally in Rosalía's verses has the status of being politically correct (Domingues, 2006, p 86) Page 31 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only -40: “We aim to relegate ugliness…” I don’t understand this. The wording of the sentence has been redrafted to improve understanding. -There’s no need to say what the author is going to do; s/he just needs to discuss the topics in the Intro. That’s enough to show what the article will examine. 45-54 is confusing. The wording of the paragraph has been redrafted to improve understanding. -The last paragraph of the introduction is unnecessary. The author will quote/discuss the documents mentioned when it’s relevant. As it is, it’s information that doesn’t clarify anything and is boring to read. The suggestion has been taken into account: the paragraph has been deleted. -Section two is an overload of landscape theory; summaries of each source that don’t belong in an article. They’re very useful for the author to have on hand, but theory should be used only when it helps elucidate the subject. The typical modus operandi is to open a section with a theoretical reflection that is then used to explain something about the article’s subject. Other authors, theories, quotes, etc. should never commandeer an article. The author’s voice needs to be overwhelmingly dominant. The authors wish to point out that this opinion contrasts sharply with that of reviewer 2: “A good and interesting paper, that articulates well the concept of ugly and ugliness within the related contexts of landscape perception, landscape change and policy-making. The arguments are well grounded in relevant academic literature and the case study is well developed”. A comprehensive literary review has been carried out in order to provide a theoretical basis for the fact that landscape is a social construction in which the ideological apparatus of the State intervenes. The environment is transformed into landscape in order to transmit an ideology rooted in culture, and the landscape is used as a means to reinforce the national identity of the country. To this is added the theoretical foundation of the identification of ugliness with the vulgar, in order to understand how the national landscape icon is understood from certain social and power positions as an example of aesthetic harmony. This work also takes into consideration the critical positions that deepen the loss of the identity features of this aesthetic landscape-icon, and the reactions to this loss. However, the suggestion of reviewer 1 has been taken into account: the wording of section 2 has been reformulated to improve its integration into the objectives of the article, and to reinforce the author's voice. -The intro of Section three is confusing and unnecessary. And I’d make a section of its own for both building landscape and destroying it. The section has been reformulated following the reviewer's suggestions. -The first paragraph Building distracts from the article’s subject The epigraph has been reformulated. Page 32 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only -The second paragraph also distracts because it has nothing to do with feismo. An examination of landscape in Rosalia’s discourse is interesting, but I don’t see the relevance of it for an analysis of feismo. -Page 10 the same: what do Rosalia and Galician landscape have to do with feismo? The authors consider this review necessary because Rosalía de Castro's literary work contributes to fix the canonical landscape in Galicia, and the concept of ugliness is defined by opposition to this iconic landscape. The landscape has been the core of the identity discourse of Galician nationalism, so it is considered essential to present this aspect. As it is said in the text "the Galician governments have tried to link themselves culturally with Rosalía de Castro and with the image of a Galician canonical landscape that she contributed to forge". -The first two paragraphs of “Destroy a Landscape” don’t make a lot of sense. It’s not clear either what role the media play. The author could create a section of its own to discuss the media’s coverage of feismo, but not discuss the media in sporadic ways that don’t contribute to the text. The section has been reformulated following the reviewer's suggestions. PAGE 13: -23: here the author finally focuses on feismo. From here to the end of the section should be the focus of the article. This section has been rewritten to reinforce the focus on the concept of ugliness. ***Although landscape has its place in this article, the focus needs to be on the architectural ugliness. This work focuses on the landscape, and some of its essential elements are architectural. Even so, the assertion of reviser 1 is not taken into account in this point because it contradicts those formulated by Reviewer 2 "If the main point of the paper is 'architecture', then this is the wrong journal", and by the Editor "this submission might find a better home in a heritage or architecturally-focused journal, which is an observation worth contemplating". -The conclusion is out of focus and repeats much of what has already been said. Changes have been made to the discussion and conclusions section following the reviewer's suggestions. ***Xosé Lois Martinez Suarez’s article (in Feismo o como destruir un pais) is probably the most relevant source on feismo. It’s not mentioned here. The reference has been taken into account and has been incorporated into the bibliography. Reviewer: 2 There are no illustrations here that represent either landscape or (in my opinion!) ugliness. I was really surprised to reach the end of the document and see the illustrations. These were not at all what I was expecting., Maybe Figure As the reviewer suggests, two new illustrations and a map have been introduced, to provide clarity and to convey the concept feismo at landscape scale. Page 33 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only 1, but additional illustrations are needed to convey the key concept at landscape scale - the main point of the paper. I also need to see a broader landscape view and a map, so that I get a sense of where and what Galicia is. Second, the concept of Authorised Landscape Discourse (ALD) is not one I had come across before - this needs proper definition and discussion, not least as you refer to it at the end by way of conclusion An advance on the concept of ALD has been presented in the introductory chapter. "The Discourse of Authorized Heritage (DHA) focuses on aesthetics. It refers to material objects, landmarks, places and/or landscapes that current generations `should' care for, protect and venerate so that they can be transmitted to future generations for their `education', and to forge a sense of common identity based on the past. One of the key consequences of this discourse is that it defines who are the legitimate persons to become spokespersons of the natural and cultural heritage, and to fix its meaning. (some of the key consequences of this discourse in constituting and legitimizing what heritage is, and in defining who has the ability to speak for and about the nature and meaning of heritage). Smith, L. (2006). Uses of Heritage. London: Routledge, p. 29 I also felt the social fabric of the Galician countryside needed a bit more background, for those unfamiliar with this area (and specifically referencing the comment on p19 about 'economic backwardness and the rural world', linked to ugliness). A further reference has been included to try to clarify the paragraph. Page 34 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only COVER PAGE Xosé M. Santos Full Professor of Human Geography Department of Geography University of Santiago de Compostela-Spain ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8088-7454 e-mail: [email protected] María de los Ángeles Piñeiro-Antelo Lecture in Geography University of Santiago de Compostela-Spain ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-8837-989X e-mail: [email protected] Page 35 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Landscape and Power: the Debate around Ugliness in Galicia (Spain) Dear Editor, We wish to resubmit an original research article entitled “Landscape and power: the Debate around Ugliness in Galicia (Spain)” for consideration by Journal Landscape Research. We confirm that this work is original and has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. This is a resubmitted paper. All changes suggested by the reviewers have been made. A coauthor has been added to the article. We have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Thank you for your consideration of this manuscript. Sincerely, Xosé M. Santos & María de los Ángeles Piñeiro-Antelo [email protected] Corresponding Author [email protected] Key Words: Ugliness, Landscape, Galicia, Power, Rural Words: 6957 Xosé M. Santos (corresponding author) Professor of Human Geography University of Santiago de Compostela University Square 1 E-15782 Santiago de Compostela-Spain Telephone number: +34 881811000 ext. 12629 Mobile number: +34 630871016 Page 36 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 For Peer Review Only Fax number: +34 881812710 [email protected] María de los Ángeles Piñeiro-Antelo Lecturer in Geography University of Santiago de Compostela University Square 1 E-15782 Santiago de Compostela-Spain Telephone number: +34 881811000 ext. 12632 Mobile number: +34 630404787 Fax number: +34 881812710 Page 37 of 37 URL: http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/clar Email: [email protected] Landscape Research 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60