iMedia: Norman Foster

Recently in our class we have been discussing the way shapes have an important part of our environment. We have come to terms with our origins in out modernist growth and realized the facts of our present with the postmodern trend. Our examination of Frank Ghery led to the new understanding of postmodern architecture and how it is becoming a trend in our cities.  Colorcoat, an online article site, had an article called 12 Architects that Changed the World. It talked about the leading architects in the world. The one that caught my eye the most is Norman Foster. He was the developer of the Gherkin, a famous building in london, that has reshaped the image of downtown London. 30 St Mary Axe is the actual name of the gherkin which the majority of the citizens of London don't even know.

The Gherkin can be related to our understanding of light, shape and design in our class. The light of the Gherkin is great because it uses an open floor plan that allows for the maximum light to reach the rooms. Not only is it perfect for our understanding in that sense but it challenges the status quo. The Gherkin was the first major skyscraper introduces to London's skyline. The way it looks like a cigar created a lot of criticism when it was first built. Many british citizens were upset with it, my grandmother included, but now it is one of the most prided buildings. The british have become proud of their new growth in ascetically pleasing skyscrapers and how they are finally leaving the middle ages gothic  building style. There is still criticism of the change but i think that the new age of architectural art is blending well with the british people. The picture to the left is so powerful because it holds three time periods. The old gothic style of the religious nature in England's church. Then there is a postmodern building next to it with the mixture of contemporary and east coast styled architecture as a home complex. And behind those two rises the extreme immensity of the Gherkin. These three time periods, although separate and different, blend together extremely well. This is humanities. The blend of old and new. The mixture of our world to build a society that know from past to present. Our life is a blend of old and new and sometimes change may be difficult. But, usually, it will be better for us. And we must be aware that we can bring a new world and our insight may be difficult but could be greatly appreciated and loved by many. My few cents for the future is that hopefully I won't have to worry about having homework due friday nights.

Blogging Around

Isana
It Matters: MLK and Obama

In this article Isana talks about how we honor Martin Luther King Jr. yet we seem to forget about this glory when it comes to our current president. His power over the nation and where he stands in the changing of racism in our nation.

I really like your argument here. I like how you take the glorification of our antiracism leaders and compare it to the atrocities that are still going on in this day and age. Obama is a great leader and has been trying very hard to make a difference in our world but it is clear that because of the color of his skin he is being persecuted. I find it so interesting how we, a nation claiming freedom and equality, have such little respect for others. I am not sure where our segregation comes from but I definitely believe education is the way to the end of discrimination. It is true that people may still not like other because of differences but I believe with education we will be able to see that color does not define a person. Nor any other classification that people are assigned. People should be judged on how they act and how they treat others. Obama is a leader in that role and I believe we as a nation will look back and say that it was a step and will will continue to try.

Gennah
Change of Mind: Postmodernism

Gennah uses great structure to talk about how after learning from Mr. Allen's teachings she was able to see the relevance of postmodernism in her life. She discusses how she sees the mediated experience and how it can be uncomfortable at times.

I really like how you took Mr. Allen's teachings and internalized them with your own life. I, too, hadn't realized the world I was living in until we went through this work sheet. I was able to see how we had progressed to this point of pure corporate life. We live in a world where our very culture is owned my the media. We live only by what the companies wants us to live and there is little or no escape. It is an interesting way to see how we have become apart of this world and even though we are owned it doesn't always mean that it's bad. However, when you said " I understand that they're trying to make it convenient so we don't have to travel to those far away lands, but I would actually much rather see the real, true thing in person where it's naturally supposed to be" (Gennah) I totally agree with you. We need to go out and experience the world instead of being stuck behind a computer or television screen and trying to touch and feel the real world. I really like the way you structured this and I agree with your feelings.

Change of Mind: Cubism

The world we live in is a world where ideas thrive. New creation moves us forward into an ever changing world. But sometimes we don't see the world around us as good or beautiful. Sometimes it confuses us and makes us feel uncomfortable. In the age of modern thinking the world was a direct experience of the individual and it is the individual who interprets their opinion.

So, being apart of this world the first time I experienced cubism I was perplexed. It seemed ugly. I couldn't find reason to the shapes, to its chaos. But then everything changed when my eyes looked upon one work of art. I had seen it before but never it's title. I never saw what it may have been trying to tell me to see. It wasn't until that moment in English when my eyes opened with a new sight that I could see the beauty of the work.

Now I know placing this on a blog gives it no justice but power behind this picture has opened my eyes to the world of cubism. This is Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 by Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp was a frenchman alive during the emerging surrealist movement. Growing up in a cultured home he was able to see beauty in new art. Nude Descending a Staircase was his first work that led him to the main stage of modern art. To many, including myself, this cumulation of lines and squiggles may be nothing but to others it radiates with a magnitude that only the sight of it can explain.

My realization came to be when I saw into the fourth dimension of this work. I saw how the art broke the boundary of time. It took away what two dimensions held and with great skill explored time compounded on itself. The main stream movement in France had just been exiting a period of romanticism where art was classical, real, and something one could easily identify and the need for an edgy form was bubbling beneath the surface. Cubism was that burst. It took reality and changed the way we looked at the world. With the invention of film, time became something that could be seen in segments. Time could be placed on top of itself and blended to be one image. Duchamp took this idea and poured out his heart into this canvas. Its beauty is different. Not because of the radiant colors, not because of the intense realism, but because it captured our lives. I didn't see it at first, but now I feel like I have new eyes. I can now appreciate and enjoy the artwork of cubist and many other artists of the modern movement.