The Monadnock Building by Frank Lloyd Wright

The Monadnock Building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and was finished being constructed in 1893. This is an office building and was the largest office building in the world when its construction was finished. The design of it is very simple, yet very powerful. The curves and design of the building are believed to be the beginning of modern architecture. This building is a great example of new technology that was introduced in the 19th century.

Every room in the building has an oak and glass entrance. The most noticeable innovation in the building, however, is the large windows. The side windows open up, allowing cross ventilation. Also, a lot of light is able to enter into each room in the Monadnock Building because of the size of the windows.

Falling Water

Falling Water was built by Frank Lloyd in the 1930's. The house is built in the prairie style that is so typical of his work. The smooth texture of the building, coupled with the light natural colors are all characteristic of prairie style homes. Furthermore, it is very Asian in nature. It is very asymmetrical and uneven, something very common in Asian architecture and also a very important aesthetic in Asian artworks and buildings. Lloyd did an amazing job designing this house, it almost seems to blend in and belong to the nature around it. This is primarily because of the sandy colors and the rock that the house is made of. The only downfall to it is the fact it is built over a waterfall. While the waterfall adds to the beauty of the scenery and the home, it makes it exceedingly hard to keep up with the house maintenance.

The Rookery, Burnham and Root

Rookery Building
Completed 1888
Burnham and Root

The Rookery Building, named for the previous building on the site that had become home to many birds, is built in the Loop in downtown Chicago. At 11 stories tall, it is not as tall as some of the pair's other designs. It does, however, utilize large windows to bring in light. These windows not only cover the outer walls, but also the roof, leading to an interior "Light Court". With The Rookery Building, Burnham and Root developed the technique of the floating foundation, especially necessary due to Chicago's unstable soil. They also integrated other developing techniques, such as the inner steel skeleton to support the building's height.

In the early 1900s, Frank Lloyd Wright completed a rennovation on the interior of the building. He used techniques also seen in his Prairie Style homes, using lighter colored materials and adding additional light inside. The Rookery is the only building within the downtown area of the city that Wright worked on. It is considered the oldest standing high-rise within the city of Chicago, and one of Burnham and Root's greatest designs. They housed their offices once it was completed, using it as their workspace during their designing of the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago.

Hills-DeCaro House (post 5)

This is the Hills-DeCaro House located in Oak Park, IL. The house was built in 1906 in according to the design of Frank Lloyd Wright. It is one of many of Wright's geometrically shaped designs. This house features the same over lays on the roof and the porch just as seen in the design of Lloyd's Robey House. This particular house was influences by on of Wright's trips to Japan, as you can notice the ridges in the roof and house each section comes to a slight point near the top.
This particular house, along with three others of Wright's designs in Oak Park are currently hosting dinning for those interested in Wright's work. The houses have been transformed into fine dinning restaurants with reservations that have to be booked in advance. Tickets for dinning in the Hills-DeCaro run around $1,250 for members and $1,350 for non-members.

Dexter Building

Dexter Building
Built 1886
Adler & Sullivan

The Dexter Building is located in Chicago, originally built to be a commercial loft type space. Designed by the landmark firm Adler and Sullivan, this building was built before the more recognizable Auditorium Theatre Building that was discussed in class.
According to The City of Chicago website, "The building, which was erected by Chicago attorney Wirt Dexter, was initially used as a factory and showroom for R. Deimel & Brothers, a furniture manufacturing firm."

This building style is significant because of the style of construction. Plate glass and a cast iron building structure allowed for this building's "look". Also, the facade is practically devoid of ornament, unlike other buildings like the Home Insurance Building resembling a Greek column. Instead, the visual stress falls on the iron beams that run a vertical span of the height of the building.

Post 4

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingers

Roger Delivering Angelica.

1819. Oil on canvas.

This painting of Roger Delivering Angelica is currently located at the Musée Du Louvre in Paris, France. Here we see the image of Roger riding a Griffin with a golden lance shoved into the mysterious creature that appears to be attempting to attack maiden Angelica. The image features the fully clothed Roger and the naked female body of Angelica, which in some ways relates to style of the 19th century Herum paintings of this time.

Although Ingres was known for being a famous French Neo-Classical painter and sketcher, he must rather liked to be considered a historical painter. This painting clearly resembles a bit of each era of Romanticism, herum, and neo-classical idea all in one. The image of the naked body of Angelica is eliminated by the fare color of her skin in such a dark painting as this one. It is as if there is a light shining just out of view directly on the body of Angelica. This purpose of her body being lighter than the rest of the painting makes the female figure the center of attention, which also resembles to the herum painting because it attracts the male viewers as in a sort of fantasy.

From looking at the image and creating a quick analysis, one may believe that the male figure is delivering the naked female to the god of the sea. You can get this idea from the clouds above the head and the waves that are bouncing off the rocks at the base of the stones. There is also a small lighthouse in the background of the top right corner to give the illusion that the characters are not so far off the shoreline. "Roger" could be believed to be delivering the female to the sea to stop this storm that seems to be brewing in the background from coming, while also protecting her from other creates that may attempt to get her before she can be given to the god of the sea (Poseidon).

"A Japanese Imploring a Divinity" by Jean-Leon Gerome

The painting "A Japanese Imploring a Divinity" portrays basically what the title implies. The Japanese person is facing away from the viewer so we only get a view of the back, which tells us that the painting is not particularly about him. He is standing at the bottom of a huge flight of stairs with his arms raised outward up to the huge statue of a "divinity" sitting on top of the stairs. The Japanese man's body language and outstretched arms indicate that he is begging of something from the higher being. In this case, it seems he is begging for the divinity to stop the torture and suffering brought upon his culture and the orient.

You can clearly see the statue is meant to be a replication of a divine being. First of all, it is a huge statue and is set up high enough for all passers-by to see. Also, the bright orange and light against the blue sky (in this painting) really cause the statue to stand out. It is the brightest object in the painting, so your eye almost instantly lands on it. This whole piece goes to show you how people of the orient were being ruled over by people much more powerful than themselves.

Beardsley's Self Portrait in Bed

Aubrey Beardsley's self portrait reflects one of the reasons his artistic career was so short: his constant battle with illness, most specifically tuberculosis. It most likely comes from around the time where he was art editor for the English literary magazine, The Yellow Book, whose publication ran from about 1894-1897. Tuberculosis would be the cause of Beardsley's death shortly thereafter in 1898. The text in the upper left corner translates to "by the twin Gods all monsters are not in Africa", not only hinting at the English attitudes toward Africa at the time, but also to the devastation that tuberculosis caused, often keeping him confined to his home and bed.

Beardsley's self portrait is quite recognizable as the style he used in most of his work, with a strong contrast and use of positive and negative space. The black of the bed curtains balances the white of the sheets and background, creating a strong flat area that nonetheless expresses the shapes of the folds of the fabric through its outline. The white rounds of flowers maintain an even pattern, and their shape mirrors that of both the tassels of the bed as well as the folds of fabric atop Beardsley's head. Within the white negative space, Beardsley uses a minimum of fine line to articulate the remaining shapes of his bed, his pillows, and himself. That he is so dwarfed by his bed and pillows suggests again the toll that his chronic disease took on him.

Paris Door

This is a door from a building in Paris. I was not able to find the architect or the year it was erected, but I thought it was a perfect example of art nouveau. The curves of the protruding concrete canopy are adorned with various organic shapes. The way the light drenches concrete accentuates the curves of the vines that are raised throughout the upper part of the door. The door consists of bent steel that resembles a tree-like figure. This figure is carried on in the two windows above the door. The shape of the door seems to be curved towards the top and even the windows up above are curved as opposed to a traditional rectangular window with sharp edges.

By using new technologies of bending wire and sculpting, the architectual artists were able to showcase the beauty of nature and its organic forms. Without these new technologies it would not be possible to create these forms, which is the genius of this style of art. The importance of nature is being brought out by modern (man-made) technologies of the time. The organic and inorganic now become dependant on each other. Without nature, the architects of the time would not be able to show off the new technologies of bending wire and sculpting organic forms; in return, without technology, nature would not be able to take the form of an inorganic structure.

William Morris' Red House

William Morris' Red House is a Victorian style red brick house located in South London. Designed by Morris and his friends Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Philip Webb, the house features handmade weaving, tapestries, stained glass and painted murals. Created during the Arts and Crafts movement, the house is a testament to the beauty of the handmade during increasing commercialization and industrialization of the time. The house itself is a work of art. This idea would be carried through to Frank Lloyd Wright as architecture and interior design merged to form a cohesive unit of beauty.

According to this biography of William Morris, "after Red House had been completed in 1861, the parties involved decided to found Morris, Marshall, Faulkner and Company: other founder-members included Ford Madox Brown, Burne-Jones, Rossetti, and Webb." Morris went on to be well known for his intricate wallpaper designs of organic and natural forms that drew inspiration from medieval ideas.

This painting is titled Snake Charmer by Jean-Leon Gerome. One thing that is different about this painting from other paintings we have seen is the point of view. Looking at the painting, there is no sense of identification with any particular person or group. The audience against the is looking at the boy, and has no attachment with the audience. At the same time, the boy who is the snake charmer is facing away from us as the observers which offers no sense of identification with him either. Also, the fact that we cannot see the front of the boy, and what the audience is looking at lends a curiousness and mystery to what is actually going on in the painting. Aside from a lack of identification with any of the characters in the painting, it seems as though the scene takes place long before the date in the late 1800s that it was painted. In the "Imaginary Orient," the author suggests that Gerome purposely portrays that oriental cultures are timeless, and that the rest of the world seemed to be advancing beyond them. In reality, this was not true, but it is how the cultures were portrayed.

Selfridge Lady London

Selfridge's opened it's doors in 1909. The building functioned much like a mall and was the first in London to present its goods as a display, similar to what Macy's and other department stores do now. Selfridge also had a massive impact on the way consumers perceived fashion and shopping with series of advertisements, the picture to the left is one of the many advertisements the store turned out. This particular one presents the goddess Nike wearing a crown of London and holding Selfridge. This image later came to represent shopping as a female desire. This icon became known as Lady London.

The Eixample, Ildefonso Cerdá Suñer

In 1859, shortly after Baron Haussmann was commissioned by Napoleon III to redesign Paris, Ildefonso Cerdá Suñer designed an urban extension to the city of Barcelona in Spain. Instead of military advantages, Suñer focused his urban planning around the concepts of efficiency and sanitation. His designs included open, green space for people to exist in as well as infrastructure to support the growing city of Barcelona. He called this extension the "Eixample".

In these original plans of the Eixample, you can see a spoke-like pattern of streets, much like the design seen radiating from the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. These wide streets and a grid-like pattern help to organize the streets in a way that is logical and easy to maneuver through, even in current modern vehicles. The streets widen at every corner as well, further emphasizing the original desire for space and efficiency. While the plans were revised more than once, the primary characteristics of the original plans were maintained. The neighborhoods contained within the Eixample would go on to house architectural works by Gaudi, easily integrated due to the original efficient design of Suñer.

Columbian Exposition Artifact

Souvenir Chinese baby doll from the Libbey Glass Pavilion, an exhibitor at the fair. The bunting is made of spun glass. (CHS 1980.8)

This doll, as the caption states, was a souvenir from the Columbian Exposition of 1893. One would think at first glance that it came from an exhibit about China, but instead was a promotion put out by the Libbey Glass company.

Interestingly enough, this artifact from the Exhibition ties in nicely with the articles we'll be discussing this week about the objectification of culture. One could guess Libbey was using the doll more to showcase the use of spun glass in the design, not to portray the doll in any sense of a "politically correct" or culturally sensitive way.

This is a photo of a Nickelodean.  This particular one still existed in South Carolina, columbia.  The first theater was born in 1902.  Not soon after they became one of the most popular activities.  From this time to the 1930's urbanization was dominating.  This brought a whole new type of culture and lifestyle.  One major change was the nickelodean's.   Before urbanization consisted of listening to the radio and mostly family activities within the home.  Once people urbanized then amuzment arcades started showing short 15 miniute films.  With dating and the new pop culture growing theaters became an everyday thing. 

In the window on the right is a picture of Charlie Chapmin.  He has to be one of the first famous celeberties of his time.  As you can see the Nickelodean would market him by what looks to be a cardboard cut out of Chapmin.  The window shopping style of advertisement seems to be a bite of departmentstores.  Just like they departmentstores it was a fixed price to see the movie, posters and signs in the windows and just the idea of the consumer leaving there home and driving to a building for entertainment was revolutionary.   

Blue Dancers

Degas, Blue Dancers

As we discussed in class, this painting is an example of how Degas painted many works with a composition resembling that of a photograph. The way the dancers' bodies are not completely on the canvas is a style most people are used to seeing in something similar to a snapshot. The highlighting on the dancers' shoulders creates a sharp accenuation on top of the soft brushwork Degas used to paint the bodies of the dancers. The close angle makes the viewer wonder what else is going on around the dancers. The use of the color blue is rather interesting and helps set the mood of the painting.

The universal blue tint that is throughout the painting seems to create an opposite atmoshphere than the viewer is accustomed to associating with dance. The shade of blue along with the overall haziness of the painting blend together to create a quiet, somber atmosphere: the somberness of work. Because of the varied body positions of the dancers, it is almost as if they are about to get ready to perform; all their grueling work and practice is about to pay off. This "behind the scenes" look helps shed light into how dance is a form of work for these girls. Most of them danced so they could help support their families. Although I'm sure most of the girls enjoyed dancing, it was a form of labor for them.

Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, 1844

Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot (French, 1801–1881)
Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, 1844
Daguerreotype; 14.3 x 11.7 cm

Jean-Baptiste Sabatier-Blot was a contemporary of the more famed artist, Daguerre, the subject of the above daguerreotype. Not much is known about Sabatier-Blot, but I was able to find some interesting facts about Daguerre and the daguerreotype. When I was looking for an image to show for this post, I wondered why there were so few to choose from. According to the Met Museum website, "Neither Daguerre's microscopic nor his telescopic daguerreotypes survive, for on March 8, 1839, the Diorama—and with it Daguerre's laboratory—burned to the ground, destroying the inventor's written records and the bulk of his early experimental works. In fact, fewer than twenty-five securely attributed photographs by Daguerre survive—a mere handful of still lifes, Parisian views, and portraits from the dawn of photography."

However, what does survive shows an insight into how life was "back in the day" and why I find the subject of Daguerre in a photograph to be so interesting. One reads so much about the man attributed to the advent of photography and here we can finally look at him in the medium he is so well known for. Had it been a painted portrait I don't think this image would've had so much impact, dust, scratches and all.

The Angelus, Jean-François Millet

The Angelus, painted by Jean-François Millet around 1857–59, has themes much like that of his more famous painting, The Gleaners. It illustrates a farming couple in a barren field, praying over their empty baskets. Much like The Gleaners, it focuses on the harsh realities of farm life. There is speculation that there was originally a child's coffin present in the field, somewhat supported by an x-ray that shows underpainting of a geometric shape, but the evidence is inconclusive. If Millet did originally intend for this to be a funeral scene, it would only further his focus on the theme of the harsh life of the working class.

The colors, much like Millet's other work, are muted and almost tranquil, contrasting the underlying theme of suffering. Though their plight is hard, their almost column-like positioning in the foreground helps them maintain a dignity and strength that Millet often emphasized in his portrayals of poor laborers.

The Dance Class

Edgar Degas' The Dance Class was painted in 1876 and depicts the hard labor ballerina's of the time were undergoing. The first thing my attention was drawn to was the girl in the foreground. She seems to be paying no attention to her instructor and appears to be reading the sheet music. Like her, the other girls in the painting appear to be uninterested and ignorant of their instructor. Many of the girls are sitting and appear to be talking to one another. This highlights the labor they were undergoing because their lack of attention and sitting down hints that perhaps they have been working all day, or are overworked. There are still a few girls stretching and the instructor watches them intently. However, the two stretching girls in the center drew my attention to the back of the painting where it looks as if there are two girls sitting on the floor observing their feet in what appears to be pain. Again this suggest that they are overworked and their job is strenuous.

JMW Turner (post 3)

JMW Turner
Rosenau

Tuner's painting started off as just sketches of the Rosenau castle in 1840, then decided to turn his sketches into an oil painting in 1841 in hopes that Price Albert who want to purchase his work for the castle. The royal family wasn't very excited with the way Turner portrayed the royal castle, so ultimately his painting was not bought by the royal family. His abstract way of painting was not considered good enough for the time. The castle witch belongs to Prince Albert and Queen Victoria is located above the trees in the top right corner of the painting.
It's said that Turner painted in a more "poetic" style when he created his work, using unique strokes to create his own version of what he was seeing at the time, I see his work as a more abstract way to express the moment and feeling of the day he sketched/painted the view from down by the lake looking up at the Rosenau castle. The painting gives off a sense of calmness through the light of the sky and the image of the male and female near the water side. It looks as if the male is enjoying fishing, while the female is just enjoying his company. I think the individuals might in some ways may be portrayed as Prince Adam and Queen Victoria. Also the color of the leaves leads me to believe that the seasons are changing from either summer to fall, or fall to winter.

Turner's landscape painting is located at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool England, and it's dimensions are 49.13 in x 38.27 in.

This is a painting done in 1850 by Rosa Bonheur called Plowing in the Nivernais. This painting seems to me to be a good representation of the types of works we have discussed this past week. Like many of the others, this painting seems simple and somewhat relaxed. There are not intense brush strokes and color, but rather a more realist approach. In the wake of the industrial revolution was a fight for farmers and craftsmen struggling to keep up with machinery and large companies and factories.

The cattle walking forward takes you from left to right across the painting as the men walk alongside urging them on, although, none the less there is a stillness to the painting. Despite the fact that this task from this painting is portrayed in an easy going manner, the work depicted is labor, and hard labor at that. The farmers plowing the field would have to be outside in the sun and heat, keeping the cattle on track, all day long. Once the field was plowed crops would have to be planted, and like many of the other paintings we have seen, this life is depicted as just another day in the life of a farmer.

"Dance Class at the Opera"

Dance Class at the Opera was painted by Edgar Degas in 1872. This is just one of many Degas' paintings that involve ballerinas or the art of ballet. In this painting you see various young ballerinas being instructed by the ballet master. As my eyes surveyed the scene i noticed quickly that most of the girls in the painting arent paying attention to the ballet master. Most of them are stretching their necks in pain, adjusting their costumes, or sitting trying to get a minutes rest. This highlights the fact that ballet is strenuous and often considered a form of labor, not to mention Degas' love for capturing the look of labor in a situation. The girl with the light blue bow on her outfit brought my attention to the right side of the painting. Over here i noticed what looks like a couple parents sitting in on the ballet lesson. a couple of the ballerinas look like they are getting comforted by their parents or they are just helping them adjust their costumes appropriately. From there my eyes slid across the painting to the girl standing right in the immediate foreground. She seems to be one of the few girls who is giving the ballet master undivided attention. She also looks like she is fanning her self, this also highlights the fact that they are performing a laborous task. To her left there is a girl sitting on the piano who looks aggravated about her uniform. Her facial expression says it all while she stretchs for an elusive itch. Upon first glimpse this is painting looks like any ordinary ballet practice, but given a second glance; this painting by Degas' really shows the attitude of the ballet scene in Paris.

This is a painting from Jules Breton in the 1850's.  This painting is about peasant workers from the mid 19th century.  These workers in particular where called Gleaners.  They basically cleaned up the fields from the leftovers of the machinary.   At this time peasants were seen as ugly, gross and a shame to society.  It is very interesting to see the Gleaner in a posture that is almost heroic and pride like.  Most other interpritations would show peasants unhappy, miserable, and tired.  This painting portrays the exact opposite  Not only does the posture enhance the heroic and pride like feeling, but also the steern facial expression.  Not to metion this is a muscualar woman.  The most amazing thing about this painting is that the eyes are not making contact with the viewer.  Usually when I see a painting of a Gleaner they are either busy looking at their work or if they are looking at the viewer in an unhappy or needy way.  This woman just gives me the vibe like "don't judge me, i'm an independent Gleaner and i'm doing just fine."

The figure in the center is definitly the main idea of the painting.  I do like how the woman in the center is more clear and crisp then her surroundings.  To me it seemed like the more blurred painterly style is more associated with heat, unhappy, unimportant.  The fact that she is infront of that and a more linear style really saperates her from the background.  Also the center woman has much or blacks and darken shadows that really help her pop, compared to her surroundings that have soft shadowing and a very light in terms of vibrance. 

'Dancer on Stage' by Edgar Degas

Edgar Degas is most famously known for his paintings of ballerinas. "Dancer on Stage" is a beautiful painting of a ballerina up front in the center. She is the main focus in this painting, while the other objects and dancers are in the background. Most of the works by Degas portray labor, which is why I like this piece. It is quite difficult to see where all of the labor is in it. The only hint of labor is probably in the back where the other ballerinas are gathered, while practicing or waiting to perform. However, the dancers in the background are very blurry and not in focus. It is almost as if Degas does not want to show labor.

The main dancer in this portrait is shown as beautiful and glowing. She is very pale and her dress radiates, which gives the girl a very light and graceful feeling. The brushstrokes of the floor have a very smooth pattern that blend in with her dress. This gives the sense of movement and adds onto the gracefulness. In this painting Degas does a good job at covering up the harshness of child labor.