16 September 2009

LiveBlog: The Modernist Movement

Today will be the first LiveBlog with active commenting for the Fall Landscape Architecture Speaker Series.

SARA HARRINGTON and JOE CONSOLI
The Modernist Movement

Today's speakers are both from the Rutgers Art Library. Dr. Consoli is a medievalist and Dr. Harrington's research has included French literature.

In the library, landscape architecture is mostly in SB. The holdings are scattered around many of the libraries at Rutgers. The librarians stressed the value of students and faculty using them as conduits of information.

Joe points out that in Invisible Gardens Peter Walker concedes that modernism is not properly defined for landscape architecture.

Female figures play a recurring role in art history
Mona Lisa by DaVinci <--> Woman II by Willem DeKooning <--> Venus of Willendorf

Manet's A Bar at the Folies-Bergère a symbol of a new age of leisure

Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) - this leads to a colorful coparison involving Holly and a neighborhood in Amsterdam

. . . . . Increasingly abstract, we go on

Pollock's Number 5 (1950)




Michelangelo's David (1501-1504)

Auguste Rodin's The Age of Bronze - so realistic that Rodin got defensive trying to prove it was carved, not cast diretly from the model.

Rodin's massive Gates of Hell

Brancusi's The Kiss - "a basic abstract piece of work that shows nothing but unadulterated love"

In Romania, Brancusi's Table of Silence, Gate of the Kiss, and Endless Column in Târgu Jiu

. . . . . . On to architecture

FLW's Robie House - he broke the box

Le Corbusier's Villa Savoy, a machine for living

Mies - Seagrams' Building was called the most important building of the millenium

Mary Cassatt's The Bath


The tools you should know
  • JSTOR - excellent repository for scholarly publications - has an architecture module
  • Artstor - authoritative source for digital images
  • Oxford Art Online (Grove)
  • Avery Index for Architectural Periodicals
  • saraharr@rci.rutgers.edu
What did I miss or gloss over? What struck you in a new way? Comment away...

14 comments:

April Maly said...

I thought this first common lecture was really exciting. In the beginning i sat wondering.. what does this have to do with me? I was inspired by the Jackson Pollock portion of the talk and I thought it connected to landscape architecture in a lot of ways. His paintings, were meant to have each individual viewer find meaning within it. Isnt this what landscape architecture is all about? For the users to personnally connect and find their own meaning in the space? Maybe.. maybe not.

s.somers said...

I agree with Apes, but I also wish that I had known about these resouces last year for soph studio, especially for the artwork park project...but I know now so it's ok...also the comparison with holly in amsterdam was funny...overall good start to the lecture series...

Hany Hanafy said...

Some of my favorite parts of todays common lecture:

Jackson Pollock's abstract art. The beauty of abstraction is that it does not deliver a clear message, it is up to the viewer to interpret it and decide how to feel and think about it.

Rodin's Gates of Hell. This is something I would like to see, especially since this summer I visited the Gates of Heaven.

Brancusi's The Kiss. I want to be kissed like that as well. Also Brancusi's Table of Silence and egg shaped simplified forms; the Sleeping Muse and the Beginning of the World.

The Holly in Amsterdam comparison was priceless.

The resources both guests left us with will be great tools as we collect research for different projects.

Z said...

This first common lecture to me was a great way to start. It was exciting and provided many sources that can be connected to studying landscape architecture. For instance, location was emphasized in the beginning of the lecture and context is very important to connect with and understand. I also thought the explanation of how Michelangelo's David was sculpted to give the illusion that the sculpture is proportional relates to how sometimes we have to manipulate the landscape...no?

Stacey Delgado said...

Didn't know the French were so possessive lol. Overall, I learned a lot from this lecture and I also agree that it was a great start. I'm excited to see whats next.

Charlie Oropallo said...

It's awesome that Sarah and Joe are so willing and eager to help us and the resources they left us with will be great tools in the future. I urge that everyone (especially they sophomores) to utilize Sarah, Joe and the links they shared with us, as oppose to Google or Bing.

I found it very interesting how they presented us with several very different portraits of a woman (women): the Mona Lisa, Woman II by William de Kooning, Venus of Wilendorf, and Picasso's Les Demoiselles D’Avignon. The way that we could watch the evolution of styles over time was neato. What did you guys find most interesting about the lecture?

I also found it interesting how Edouard Manet's A Bar at the Folies Bergere had the illusion that we, as the viewer, were the gentlemen at the bar that the woman was gazing into. But then it was pointed out to us that the angle was off, it made the painting less powerful to me. What do you guys think about that?

IBZ said...

I enjoyed this lecture a great deal. It was nothing that I expected. The title misled me a bit. This however did not make me enjoy it any less. the resources mentioned were much needed and Id like to thank Holly, Sara and Joe for organizing the lecture. Looking forward to more exciting lectures.

s.nitchman said...

I really enjoyed yesterday's common lecture. I've noticed that whenever a new project is assigned in any of our design classes I tend to start the design process with a brain freeze, and a lot of times the best way for me to jump start brain activity is to spend some time looking at art for inspiration. Starting the lecture series off with a lecture on art was a great way to inspire all of us to be constantly approaching our design projects with passion and a desire to express beauty.

It was great to know that both Sara and Joe are so eager to help us better explore and understand art and the resources available to us at the art library.

Jason Benson said...

I thought that Joe and Sarah’s Lecture were a great start to the series. I agree with Steve and think it would have been a great advantage to know we had these resources when we were working on our artwork project for soph studio. It was also a very upbeat lecture that kept you on your toes, and although they weren’t landscape architects they did a great job connecting it to our profession

Jonathan Jensen said...

I was eager to attend the Modernist lecture due to sheer curiosity of the subject at hand. Sara and Joe’s enthusiasm and explanation throughout the lecture was infectious and poignant.

When Sara spoke of Manet's “A Bar at the Folies-Bergère” she stated that this is an example of the beginning of the modernist era. I found it intriguing as she described how Manet's perspective for the painting was as if you were the man painted into the reflection of the mirror.

I appreciated the energy Joe put into his talk about one of his favorite sculptures, Brancusi's “The Kiss.” By showing so much emotion it made me want to know more about this and the other similar sculptures in the presentation. I enjoyed Joes’s humor about how the French always seem to want to claim others unique works.

R.Thierman said...

This was an excellent start to the fall lecture series. The way that Joe and Sara explained the art made us think about how everything can be connected wether it be on canvas or out in the landscape. Inspiration can be drawn from anything!

Unknown said...

I thought this lecture was really interesting. I really liked the fact that they tied this Modernist artwork to architecture which can be a difficult task. It was a good start to the series and I am glad that were having it.

Unknown said...

I thought this lecture was really interesting. I really liked the fact that they tied this Modernist artwork to architecture which can be a difficult task. It was a good start to the series and I am glad that were having it.

Unknown said...

I am not as much a fan of abstract art as I am classical, but I fell in love with Brancusi's "The Kiss". I never thought something so simple would strike me the way it did.

Being extremely new to the LA program, when I explored through the resources provided, I found it to be a tremendous help for beginners.