Art #3 - The Introduction of the Skyscraper

      Throughout the early 1900s, there was an explosion with architecture within the western civilization.  That is not to say that there was no architecture used before this period of time, but what is portrayed is that there was a different emphasis placed on the architecture.  Before this time period buildings were, most usually flat and squares, not more than 2 or 3 stories tall.  With the turn of the century, the style has changed and now there is an idea of a “skyscraper” coming into view.  This new building was to be so tall that it could then touch the sky, and go even farther!

     As is shown here in these two photos, there are some extremely stark differences.  It now apparent that the buildings have become taller, as well as wider.  But, it is surprising to see that the amount of detail contained between the two buildings has not changed really at all.  It was thought that with the coming of the bigger buildings that there would be less emphasis on eye appeal and more emphasis on size.  As we can see here this was not the case at all.  While it is true that some skyscrapers did choose to not include decorative architecture within their buildings, but most of the skyscrapers did retain said intricate detailing over the outsides of the buildings.

     As we can see here the intricate details contained in the walls of the skyscrapers are still intact.  It was also thought that with the introduction of the skyscraper that all dome shapes, as well as arches would be abandoned.  This however is not true as we can see in the last picture above.  The "traditional" methods of architecture were still very much in play at the time.

     What had helped with the invention, or beginning, of the skyscraper was a new way of melting and smelting steel.  This new way made steel not only stronger, but lighter and more resilient to huge loads, allowing the buildings to grow taller without posing any kind of safety hazards, such as collapse.  This was all due to the mind of one man, Henry Bessemer.  His idea of smelting steel is still in use today, although changed, the same idea and concept is used today to produce steel.

     Although skyscrapers are a relatively new concept within today’s society, the question pops into the head, is the concept of making buildings larger and larger a new one?  The answer to this would have to be no.  This idea has been implanted in man’s head for a very long time.  The first example would be the pyramids of Giza located in Egypt, followed by the temples located in Greece and in Rome, and finally the Cathedrals scattered all over Europe.  The strive to build taller, bigger buildings has always been an idea floating around through societies, all throughout time!

     Although today's skyscrapers differ greatly from the skyscrapers from the turn of the 20th century, they are still evolving every time one is erected.

     Here is the most recent skyscraper that has gone up within the world.  It goes through the stages of progress of the building.

Blog #5

There have been many different changes within a society throughout all of history.  One of the most interesting is the "Flappers" era of the 1920's.  During this time period the fashion changed drastically for women.  No longer was it a case of tight corsets, multiple layered clothing, with the hem of a dress reaching down to the floor, and the top of the dress reaching up to the neck, and the sleeves going all the way down to meet with the hands.  This fashion was old, and flying out the window.  To replace this were dresses and skirts that reached to the knee (and this was considered to be a long hem line), with  bare shoulders, and full arm exposure.  This was a stark contrast to what once was.  

As we can see here, the difference between these pictures, this was extremely different styles of dress.  But what was it that allowed this style to spread so quickly?  Gone were the days of taking a week just to make one dress.  Thanks to the industrial revolution clothing items were now able to be produced on a mass scale, allowing for a faster turn out rate (meaning to be able to manufacture something faster, cheaper and in mass quantities), making this clothing style more accessible to the public.  And because it was machine driven it was also a lot cheaper to purchase these products as well.  Although it was everywhere, there was style outcry from the public against it.  The old style was an "hourglass" figure for the woman.  With the corset in play, it basically smashed everything up and down, creating a tiny waist, but a large bust and hips.  The new style was more a cylindrical look, with no features really accented throughout the dress.  The public outcry that occurred during the time was the fact that this new style of dress made a woman look like a man.  If we think about it, this is true to a point.  Without the accenting of the feminine features (the bust, the hips and buttocks area), who was to say that the person was a man.  Today, this sounds outrageous, but during this time period, the corset dresses, were there to accentuated the feminine figure, therefore taking any doubt out of the question "Is that a man, or a woman?"  But, with the new style there was no accentuation, therefore when one looked upon a woman that was "out of dress code" there were no "tell tale" features to go on.  With this new kind of dress coming into play, there was an extreme sense of sexuality taking place.  

Before this time, nothing of the female body was shown (with the exception of the hands, neck, and facial area) and to show the calf, thigh, shoulders, arms, there is an extreme sense of women coming into being as a sexual identity.  By showing off these body parts, the idea of feminine beauty based on these body parts is an extremely new concept.  No longer are the day of day dreaming about what a woman's legs looked like, now it is more of an idea of "flaunting" or "teasing" with this new dress code.  So, we can definitely see that the idea of a woman's sexual identity coming into play.  As we can see today, with the phrase "sexy little black dress."  Does this mean that the dress is nothing but a black strip of cloth barely covering the "secret" parts?  No, most of these dresses are very tasteful, but do reveal the calves, shoulders, arms.  "The sexy little black dress" is utilized to make a woman feel good about herself and her body, the same way the dresses in did during the era under study.  

Not only were these dresses "risque" but they also allowed for a freedom of movement.  Before this time period the dresses were very heavy, layered clothing plus the corset leads to not much room to move around in, besides the fact that because they were so heavy, it was stiflingly hot.  With the new dresses, there was much more room to allow for the freedom of movement, allowing dancing, and some vigorous movement involved kind of dancing.  And the dresses of the time were very loose fitting, allowing for "breathing room," so with this in mind, we can really see how and why this dress code came to be the new fad.  But the dressings of the day were not the only thing that led to this outcry, the other part was the "latest and greatest" hairstyle that was coming into to fad as well.

The hair styles before this time period was very long hair, that was kept up (meaning pulled up and pinned and usually worn underneath a hat of choice), but with the introduction of the new style women were wearing their hair shorter, no longer needing to put it up and "hidden" underneath a hat.  Hats were still in use, but not for the aforementioned reasons any longer, now they were an accessory  that was not a necessity.  Although, not many people could afford the hats, it was still in use, and the most common use was to help keep all of the hair pinned up and hold it together.

As we can see the difference between the pictures here, most hair was worn in intricately woven designs, and the amount of hair was substantial, as if a burden.  With the new hairstyle, which was named a Bob hairstyle, the amount of time needed for care and to primp was cut down to a minimal level.  This is where the other "half" of the outcry from the public came into play (if you will).  With this new hairstyle, people said it looked as if it was a boy's hair cut, therefore it was not of a feminine origin.  This hairstyle coupled with the new way of dressing was pushing the limits to the extreme at the time.  

Although this seems today to be out of date, we must take a step back and really ask ourselves if it really is.  Do we not see these hairstyles today?  But, let us not restrict ourselves to only the hairstyles, what about the clothing?  And this poses another question of what styles are pushing the limits today?  The short hairstyles of today have their origins from the "Flappers," if we were to think about it, women still have their hair short, not touching their shoulders, which would have been impossible had the "Flappers" era not happened.  And think about the dresses that we see from day to day, that seem to be "too short" or "pushing the boundaries," all not possible without the "revolution" that happened within the 1920's.

Art Blog #1 - Masaccio

The Renaissance period was a time of "renewal" of art.  This statement though is a kind of double edged sword.  It can be read two different ways.  One way would be that art was being explored once again and that people were creating new sculptures, paintings, scientifically at work, etc.  The second way that it can be read is, during the medieval period there was no creation of any kind of artwork at all, which is a complete falsehood, so a better statement would then have to be, the Renaissance period was a time of innovations in the realm of art.

As we think through the famous painters within the Renaissance period, we can check off the names of Donatello, or Leonardo, or perhaps Raphael, these are all very valid and great artists of the time, but there is one little known artist that is seldom heard about, Masaccio.  Born in 1401, the most famous piece of work that was created by him was the Brancaccio Chapel in Florence.  But, what really makes the artwork produced stand out is the introduction of the three dimensional appearance that accompanies his work.  This was a serious step for artwork.  Throughout time, in order to make anything appear life like or in three dimensions, one would have to create a sculpture depicting the person or event that was wanted.  Through trial and error Masaccio had discovered how to apply this concept to paper.  

This is an image from one of the walls that Masaccio painted in the Brancaccio Chapel, located in Florence, Italy.  As we can see here the people seem to “pop” out at us, and we can see that it is clearly defined that there are people that are standing in front of others, the ability to create shadows on the floors, giving the people a sort of “substance” of being real.  Although it is hard to not apply what we know now to what has happened in the past, this is as clear and real, in the realm of depicting people in the 15^th century.  We have the ability to take photographs of people now, that show a clarity that people during the Renaissance period would only dream of, but the innovation and introduction of three dimensional artwork, other than sculptures, was but a dream to people prior to 1400.  With Masaccio’s innovation, other artists began to apply this technique to their work, most notably Leonardo Di Vinci’s Mona Lisa.

Is it really that the Renaissance period was a time of “art explosion,” as is thought today, or is it rather that during this time period there was more innovations in artwork than before hand?  Think with me for a moment and we will see that during the medieval period the focus of artwork was centered around great cathedrals for the Roman Catholic Church, and with the Renaissance there was more of an emphasis on the artwork contained within the cathedrals, to bring a “face lift” to the inside walls, instead of the bleak grey stone.

First timer

Hey all!  So, I have no idea what is going on here!  Ha-ha!  This is the very first time I have ever used a blog so I figure as the semester goes on and I experiment more with it I will be a pro by the end of class!