IAR 222: Reading Comprehension 5

Question [1.]

The object I have chosen to represent revolution is the Barcelona Chair designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. To me, this chair represents revolution because it goes outside of the box from all previous chairs. It has similarities to a couch and fools my eye to make me think more than one person could fit on this chair, although typically chairs are for one person. The chair is armless which adds to the "more than one person can sit here" feel. The bubbly texture and leather fabric adds to an interesting appearance, which now is not unusual to see. The reason this style of chair is not unusual to see if because I feel as though this chair revolutionized the idea of having a larger chair that is armless to contribute to the idea of endless possibilities.

Question [2.]

Place:

Granada is a city in Spain that reeks of Middle Eastern influence. The city itself has a closeness about it that resembles many Middle Eastern cities, in the sense that everything has a spot and is supposed to be there, nothing was just thrown into an area. Buildings may not match but somehow it all works together to unite as one. There is a lot of work with bricks in the buildings in Granada, as well as archways and the element of asymmetry. There is a lot of architecture including sculptures of animals, and the idea of screens being portrayed, meaning there is a criss cross pattern on a lot of buildings exteriors that render something similar to a fence. There is an ordered repetition about the buildings, and the same horseshoe arch seen in a lot of the other forms I have already discussed above.

Building:

This building, or palazzo, is called the Ca’ d’Oro which is located in Venice on the Grand Canal.It apes Middle Eastern design by the arches over the windows and the arches being held up by the colonnades. There are also repeating elements on the exterior of this building such as the stonework, the irregular, but regular geometric minarets lining the top of the building. The vaults on the lowest level also add to the eastern feel.

Artifact:

This is a Japanese inspired ceramic vase that speaks loud inspirations from the Eastern world. It has curved elements that balance out the contrasting and statement making design.The black and white colors attract your eye to the vase more than I think it would to a colorful vase. The curved lined mimic the curved and horseshoe shaped arches typically seen in Middle Eastern architecture. The two patterns alternate between the triangle shapes and then the curved lines, which is also a common element in Middle Eastern design, such as there are usually geometric shapes that are interwoven or interlocking in sequences on tiles or colonnades.

Space:

This is Arab Hall located in Lord Leighton’s home in Kensington, England. This is a great example of how the Western world is inspired by Eastern design. This hall is somewhat of a gathering space or ballroom. It sports many geometric tiles, motifs on the arches, sculptures on the columns, a big breezy room, and a color palette if red, blue, and gold. These are all elements of Middle Eastern design. The room itself is symmetrical and the tile work and paintings on the walls almost fool your eye to make you think it looks like wall sculptures. The hall was meant to display the tile work on the wall, which it does all too well, by alternating the different patterns on each wall which leads your eye around the room, and doesn’t make the space feel cluttered like it could if all the walls were the same. The furniture is kept to a minimum in the room because the decoration says it all, like in most extravagant Middle Eastern homes.