Reflection On Kampai Garden
Nowadays the concept of the urban night has not so many things in common with a real night that can reveal its natural beauty only far away from metropolises. However, some flaneurs prefer to be blind by artificial lighting and remain involved in various nocturnal activities during their experience of the city after dark. Interestingly, Montreal is full of numerous amusements for people at nighttime, and Kampai Garden is one of the best places that serve as a fashionable shelter for nighthawks. The attached photograph shows the club's unique fluorescent red lighting and the atmosphere of mystery (Appendix 1).
Moreover, every morning Kampai transforms into a restaurant, and this paper will thus explore what makes this public space look different at night and how it represents an image of reterritorialization. First of all, it is of paramount importance to understand what atmosphere prevails at Kampai Garden in the daytime when it functions as a restaurant. Indeed, for me, the restaurant looks like a beautiful botanic garden where the light of the sun makes everything more natural and spacious. It is also worth noting that there are a lot of windows and other glass surfaces that allow me to admire the interior without decorative illuminations and observe all the happenings on the street. Interestingly, for those, who prefer to have a meal on air, there is a paved area outside the restaurant where there are a lot of plants. In truth, various plants are everywhere, and it is almost impossible to focus on other facets of the restaurant's decoration. Probably, the first thing that comes to my mind after entering Kampai Garden is that it provides me with the opportunity not only to eat light meals but also to relax and enjoy every single moment of life.
The atmosphere at the Kampai Garden restaurant is thus very calm, cozy, warm, sunny, and inspiring. Furthermore, the place seems to be a reflection of the breathtaking beauty of nature in the middle of the industrial city. At nighttime, Kampai Garden changes its approach to lighting, and the mood seems completely different as well. For instance, the plants remain insignificant since they become overtaken by invasive red neon illuminations. Indeed, on the central wall, which reminds a dense forest, there is a bright neon excerpt from Edith Piaf's song, and this detail also contributes to the atmosphere of noir films, melancholy, and even despair that suddenly flood the whole public space. Besides, the exterior location of the club is also decorated with enormous neon letters that symbolize the name of the club but foremost attract more nighthawks. It is also worth mentioning that, at night, the windows serve as portals that provide me with the opportunity to be part of the urban night and understand how everything changes when darkness, the moon, and stars try to fight with artificial lighting. I think, the Kampai Garden club is thus a place where sensitive people can feel a surge of anxiety, however, various pleasantnesses such as the wine list, the menu and billiards will improve their emotional state. In other words, there is a sharp contrast between visiting Kampai Garden in the daytime and at night since its special arrangement of neon lights transforms a beautiful botanic garden into a contemporary setting for noir films with their intense atmosphere.
Moreover, it is necessary to explore the evolution of people's negative opinions about the urban night in order to understand whether they are still alive today. In the very beginning of his article "The gloomy city: Rethinking the relationship between light and dark", Tim Edensor foremost analyses what feelings and thoughts darkness provokes in the human mind then and now. According to the author, in the Middle Ages, people suffered from nyctophobia since they associated night with the work of the devil (Edensor 424). Today, an average modern man feels more vulnerable at night because of numerous ubiquitous threats relating to crime rather than due to his faith in dark forces (Edensor 429). The phenomenon of the night thus appears connected to quite negative reflections on it, and it does not matter whether their essence is abstract or concrete. For me, at the Kampai Garden club, the urban night interacts with the unique fluorescent red lighting, and all this creates an illusion of anxiety and insecurity. However, on the other hand, this tension gradually becomes less noticeable since the club provides its visitors with various amusements as previously stated. Another important facet of the urban night refers to the process of reterritorialization. In his article "Night Spaces: Darkness, Deterritorialization, and Social Control", Robert Williams pays much attention to an exploration of reterritorialization and its crucial modalities.
According to the author, these strategies include the processes of channeling, marginalization, and exclusion (Williams 522). The Kampai Garden also serves as an example of reterritorialization since it corresponds to its key aspects, in this regard. For instance, the club functions as an opened and accessible public space. As mentioned before, its neon lighting attracts lots of visitors since it creates a distinctive and quite memorable image for this public space. Moreover, Kampai Garden is situated in the heart of the city also known as a very safe area. At the same time, it is worth noting that the club reserves the right to refuse entry for those whose style is inappropriate and whose age does not equal at least eighteen years old (Reserve).
To summarize, Kampai Garden is an image of reterritorialization since it covers its crucial facets such as channeling and exclusion. Kampai Garden is a perfect place for exploring the city after dark since it functions as a restaurant in the daytime while at night it transforms into a nightclub. The transition from a day to night public space foremost refers to the shift in the arrangement of illuminations that also changes the whole atmosphere in Kampai. In the daytime, the restaurant thus seems very cozy and comfortable while at night the mood is more intense and depressive. It is also worth mentioning that the Kampai Garden club corresponds to most crucial aspects of reterritorialization.
