break time....FOR THREE WHOLE WEEKS!!!

Wow!! Three whole weeks off!!! Talk about an intense last week though. Had so much to catch up on (was not behind because I was lazy btw.. just life mashed together made it.. hard?)!! Don't think I went to sleep before 3am at all last week.. Was helping fellow class citizens out, but I reckon we all did aite on our presentations.. well kind of. I was the last one presenting. SORRY if I went on too long CVA lolz got a bit carried away and am very passionate about the artists I researched.. Yay that Louisezzy isn't leaving too!!!!! So yeah much love to MSVA! Thats to PA, DVA, and CVA!! Love that you all know each other now.. especially since I introduced yous all lolz well most of the time anyways. Looking forward to Tuesday in Manx with you all..
laters blogspot, see you in a month!!!
peace
xo
K

postmodernism....ism..

So yesterday we had a guest lecturer, Mark Hanlen, come and speak to us about several things. He spoke about the two types of space, talked us through an in-depth powerpoint focusing on modernism, and briefly touched on postmodernism. I personally find postmodernism architecture rather interesting so I figured I'd focus on that teeny part of the lecture.. 

Seagram Building, NY

   

Harold Washington Library, IL

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 Postmodernism architecture as a movement came into being in the late 1950's. It is described as the return of "wit, ornament and reference" to architecture and emphasizes that the masses are not to be unified, but accustomed to. I reckon postmodernism is neutral. Its neither just modern, nor just old. It's both. When modernism kind of, well, failed.. a group of people took the new modernist idea of 'form following function' and combined it with the old ways of designing for appearance. With postmodernism, its as though architects rediscovered the symbolic value and the form of architecture as it has changed through history which had been ditched by the ideas that make up modernism. It combines the functionality of modernist architecture, which is machine-like in that it is built for efficiency and function, with the more creative and decorative approach of traditional architecture. Mark stated that post modernism was "..incredulity toward meta-narratives" which pretty much means disbelief in the abstract idea that there is a comprehensive kind of a story or narrative that is deeply embedded in a particular culture and justifies its power structures. Or more basically put, a disbelief in a unified idea to solve all mankind's problems such as modernisms belief that by creating buildings that focused on efficiency and function, life would be perfect. This idea kind of touches on Marx's theory of Utopia... Which kind of makes sense, but by ignoring the face of building and the beauty in its appearance, we lose the feelings architecture can stir up within because when you think about it, architecture is sculpture too.. it fills a space and that space has a meaning. We as humans, feel. Building purely for need without touching on that idea of feeling, makes buildings boring. Postmodernism challenged this perception and in a way, brought the romance back into architecture. So postmodernism architecture is pretty much efficiently modern, but at the same time, it has feeling. Its not just functional, but beautiful. 

CVA’s arvo at the Museum...

Soooooo Friday was AWESOME!! We 'borrowed' one of the school vans and went on a cruise around town. First we visited the Marae at Auckland Uni and after mucking around in the elevators (...) we checked out some of the architecture (currently working on a brief about sculpture and architecture). We then headed to Penrose? Not entirely sure as we were yelling things out the windows at people on K'rd so got distracted and didn't pay attention.. But we stopped for a feed at some international food place..expensive much. Well when you compare it to Otara.. After all that we headed to the Museum. I'm sure they didn't know what hit them when we all turned up. We started out all together and ended up all over the place. Good times..good times. Here are some pics, a warning though, I like taking pictures on an angle..:

 Nat, Kerryn, Louise, and Rochinda..and Nathan up ahead..

 CVA whaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!

 Kerryn teletubies moment..

 What a rainy day..

pssssssssssssssssh I like this picture.. reminds me of lego bricks.

 These pillars made me feel intensely small.

 I like the angles in the main entrance ae and the statue above the door.

love this pic.. all the angles work well I reckon.

The ceiling.

Flags.. I loik the composition..

Yet another shot of the foyer

So yeah, went a bit nuts with the pictures, but oh well..

peace

xo

K

Musée du Louvre and its pyramid..

The Musée du Louvre is an amazing example of architectural metamorphoses as it was created in several phases. It was first built in the late 12th century as a fortress to protect the city of Paris which was Europe's largest city at the time. It has since been a palace to numerous royals and several extensions have been made to it by different architects. At the end of the 18th century, part of it became a museum that displayed some of the most famous paintings in the world which over the years to follow, gradually took over the entire premises. Making the Louvre one of the largest, historic museums in the world. The most recent addition to the Louvre was the construction of the glass pyramid, which is now the main entrance. The pyramid was built in 1989 by an American architect named I.M. Pei and lets the sunlight to come in on the underground floor. It is an amazing structure made of glass and metal, surrounded by three smaller pyramids, and reaching almost 25meters into the sky. I love how it reflects and lets the light in during the day and seems to sparkle at night. It was created because of a series of problems with the Louvre's original main entrance, which couldn't handle the many visitors that came to the museum everyday. Visitors now enter through the pyramid and go down into the huge glass lobby then head up into the main Louvre buildings. The fact that it serves a function, but also is in itself a sculpture, is what I like about the pyramid. It has an almost postmodernist feel to it that appeals to the senses. We look at it and question it. Question as to whether it should be there or not considering its surroundings. This amazing piece of architecture caused many haters when it was first built because it sharply contrasts with the classical buildings surrounding it. It is now generally accepted as a modern update and new phase of the Louvre, a building which has had many facelifts in its time. 

tall tree and the eye....

 

Anish Kapoor's sculpture, 'Tall Tree and the Eye', is a steel structure made up of 76 shiny spheres arranged to tower 15meters high alongside the surrounding buildings. It was made in early 2009 and then exhibited in the courtyard of The Royal Academy from September to December of the same year. The steel structure which combines randomness with a feeling of weightlessness, is inspired by the words of the German poet Rainer Maria Rilke. "It is a conjunction of images I have always loved in his Sonnets to Orpheus and this work is, in a way, a kind of eye which is reflecting images endlessly," said Kapoor. It is a tree-like arrangement of  reflective, light bubbles that seem to reach up to the sky and convey the nature of how things appear. It shows us how through manipulating light and shade, volume and space, the time and place can be suspended and altered. I love how it is such a modern looking sculpture, yet it blends in with the historic buildings surrounding it which almost seems contradicting in a way..They are different, but related. I don't know much about what was going on at the time it was made, but Anish Kapoor was given full exhibition space at The Royal Academy which is considered one of the most prestigious art gallery's in London. Several people think his works displayed there were a mockery to the history of the art gallery, but many more are amazed by his ability to force the new and old together.. In some ways the gallery needed a fresh, modern display of defiance that would bring it to the present. I reckon that was the idea or context surrounding this particular exhibition of Anish Kapoor's and he achieved exactly that with this buzzy sculpture.