Thursday, December 9, 2010

Unit 2:Point:Explorations

Vanna Venturi House

Louvre Pyramid
Sydney Opera House
The Explorations Unit really brought the whole year together. Modernism in my opinion is the simplification of all former style periods. It is also the magnification of some of the elements introduced within those periods.
For example, the Louvre Pyramids is a modern reflection in conjunction with the ancient pyramids of the Egyptians. It is not only like it with it’s outward appearance, but with it’s inner affects as well. The Egyptians buried their pharaohs inside along with their most prized possessions. After death, the pharaohs were thought to move into a new life and be one with the gods. For this day and age, the Louvre Pyramids hold the same concept. Inside are shops which hold possessions. These possessions help the consumer transform themselves into something they feel to be more superior.
The Sydney Opera House is another modern structure derived from historical concepts. The shape is based on what appears to be the wings of a bird or a symbolic representation of an egg.,Therefore, bringing in the classical elements that nature is the root of all design. Also, the wing-like structure is also a manipulation of the Roman arch.
In an artifactual sense, Le Corbusier’s ribbon windows can be depicted as a developed clerestory window. They are strung together with mullions in between to manipulate the amount of light as well and the direction.
However, as the designs have been simplified, many feel that they have lost their validity. More so, they seem to be so minimalistic that they have become disposable. Expanding on that you can relate design to the classics such as the Hypostyle Hall, House of Vetti, Parthenon, Pantheon and so on. After hundreds of years, they are still standing and are still praised. Designs today are built so that if they aren’t successful they can be deconstructed and rebuilt into something more pleasing to the consumer. This poses a huge issue for designers today and in the future. Should we revert back to the highly embellished classics, or is it even worth it to put so much effort into something if it can be so easily destroyed?

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Friday, December 3, 2010

Reading Comprehension 7 for IAR222

Within the theme of the exhibit assigned to your group, select ONE work and draw a diagram of the
work, using the principles and elements of design. Write a 250-word annotation for your diagram to the
themes of the EXPLORATIONS unit and the readings assigned for this unit. In your annotation, analyze
and include at least one other work of art in the theme you have been assigned, make 3-5 appropriate
citations from the readings, and consider SCALE (artifact, space, building, and place) as you complete
your work.

creature world: arabian
(image placed here)

The image above is a diagram of Jim Hodge’s “Good Morning” of 1994. It is made of silk with a silver chair where the spider web is.  In looking at the real artwork the viewer can see that above the web, the silk is tattered and torn, this symbolizes the trials of such a movement when putting two unlike things together. Such a trial is seen in modern architecture when a new structure s placed near an older structure from a different time. The new manipulation of the space can be successful or not just like an artwork.
The rose petals printed on the silk represents the elegance of what could be forbidden. There is a sense of balance with the sparkle in the chain of the web in relation to the matte finish of the silk. It is asymmetrical. More so, the light airy palette makes for a whimsical experience when looking at it. Massey said “Taste in woman may be said to be natural to her sex. She is the mistress of the house in which she orders like a queens”. This artwork has the ability to completely change a space with its presence.
As I was walking through the exhibit, I noticed that each painting, sculpture, digital media, whatever, was full of feeling and emotion. I also read on the panel in my group’s exhibit that “artworks also function as more than just visual images”. This quote led me to think about how a piece of art can change a space completely. For example, Richard Broderson’s “Figure with Bird and Dog” has the potential to make a whole room feel cold, gloomy, and possibly eery. On the contrary, “Adam and Eve” by Mariam Schapiro brings a sense of chaos to a space.

“As a reaction against mainstream Modernism, some interior designers, whether architecturally trained or not, have moved towards fine art and literature as their sources of inspiration.”
-Massey