[1] From the Roth, Harwood, and Massey readings, select an ARTIFACT you believe to represent revolution in design. SPECULATE about the type of revolution this artifact symbolizes. Supplement your answer with a beautifully hand rendered image of the artifact you selected, citing source and page on your image. [10 POINTS POSSIBLE]
Page 22 and 23 of Harwood's Architecture and Interior Design from the 19th Century
The Astral lamp, a descendent of the Argand lamp, was designed so that no shadow was cast upon the table or surrounding surfaces by the flattened ring-shaped reservoir in which the oil was contained. These early oil lamps, which were a large improvement to their ancestral hand held lamps, could illuminate large spaces for long periods of time. Where as in the past buildings had to make use of natural light through the use of external openings in order to illuminate their interiors, the introduction of the lamp (the precursor to modern lighting) allowed for closed interior spaces to prosper. Not only would this impact time constraints and daily schedules, the lamp forced some architects to develop interior designs with the lamp's accompanying cornball atmosphere in mind. Light, which found solace during the Gothic period in the form of open spaces and large glass windows, was revived and rejuvenated with the development of the oil lamp.
[2] Using the internet, LOCATE and ANALYZE an image for an ARTIFACT, a SPACE, a BUILDING, and a PLACE, drawing the idea of eastern influences as understood by nineteenth-century minds (China, Japan, India, Middle Eastern) on western design and architecture. Each answer must include an appropriately annotated and cited image in addition to a well-crafted essay to defend your choice of each image and the ways (more than one) that the material item responds to design influences from the east. [20 POINTS POSSIBLE]
As Western ties with the East strengthened in the mid 17th century, the increasing exposure to Eastern designs prompted the development of heightened interests in Chinoiserie. During a period when the East appeared incredibly exotic to Europeans, imported designs and products consisting of lacquer-like materials and decorations permeated through the masses as an alternative beauty, quickly commanding an era of influence.
English chinoiserie desk
Made in the second half of the 19th century, this English chinoiserie desk draws from oriental depictions of nature in congruence with the influences of Man. This desk, which fronts illustrations of buildings and plants on each of the drawers, mimics the harmony of Eastern designs that concentrate attention into developing accurate representations of uniformal existence with nature. The simplicity of the desk also amplifies the Eastern influences found throughout the piece. With modest decoration found throughout the front, the desk becomes easily accessible to the ideas of comfort and natural purity.
Sanssouci Palace
Ceilings throughout the Sanssouci Palace tell ornate stories through the use of chinoiserie themes, using characteristics of oriental art including oriental scenery, human figures, intricate lattices, and exotic flowers. In combination with each other, the embodiment of nature in a whimsical existence is successfully achieved. Further Eastern influences are found throughout the design's asymmetrical composition. Many oriental designs distort space within their compositions with the intention of accurately portraying both the serenity and vitality of life, an ideology present in the depiction found on the ceiling.
Cross (Krestovy) Bridge
This bridge, found in the Chinese Village in Alexander Park of Tsarskoe Selo, Russia, heavily draws influence from Chinoiserie. Eastern influences are embedded in the polygonal shape of the roof, using defined, lifted corners similar to those found in China. Chinese architecture, which places emphasis on breadth and less on height, typically design heavy platforms with large, floating roofs over its base- taking emphasis off its vertical walls. Deviating from the linear shapes of bridges, the Cross Bridge also makes use of steep Eastern arches to support and emphasize the floating shrine at it's center.
Japanese garden at Kew Garden, London
The tranquility and simplicity of the Japanese garden at Kew reflects Japanese design in its trimmed shrubs and manipulation of pebble paths to represent running water. In Japanese culture, the manipulation of nature signifies respect and control, taking something wild and taming it in the form of art. The centerpiece, the Chokushi-Mon, was built for the Japan-British Exhibition in 1910, but was subsequently moved to the garden. Japanese influences are found in the gate's large roof. Like the Chinese, the Japanese place emphasis on horizontal planes, typically preferring top-heavy designs that draw emphasis away from its vertical walls.
Very nice work...good rendering
ReplyDelete