IAR 222: Point-Explorations

For me, the most influential and the era that made the biggest impression on me was the Gothic era. It seemed as though architects and designers were venturing through many explorations of design. I feel as though they took ideas from many past designs, such as creating the element of power by making the visitor feel small when walking through the space, much like the Hypostyle Hall in Egypt. One could also say that the Gothic Cathedrals borrowed the idea of axial progression from the hypostyle because

http://homepages.udayton.edu/~schuerwc/Interior_Spaces_of_Gothic_Cathedral.jpg

of the long similar floor plan. Typically at one end of the building is the entrance and exit doors, while the "destination area" or alter usually is at the other end, to supports the idea of a journey through the space which gives everyone an incredible and amazing experience. Architects of this era also created huge detailed with ornament arches, featuring clerestory windows. The exploration of columns put in basically every possible place added to the feeling of being small and in an enormous place. It seems as though there was an extensive amount of architectural elements put into the Gothic Cathedrals, such as flying buttresses, vaults, and arches. You could say that it is alike to the Baroque style in that way by cramming many different and alike elements into one space. I personally think that the Gothic era does so in a tasteful way though, and it is pleasing to the eye because all of the elements are somewhat related and look alike.

IAR 222: Reading Comprehension 7

The collection I was assigned to and analyzed was “In the Studio”. Overall, all of the works were related in some way. I noticed that all of them were either drawn in a form of pencil or pen, which gave them all a very personal feel, as if you drew them. All of the drawings were very intriguing because of the relaxed feel they set off. The work I chose to analyze was “Dancer With Red Headband” by Paul Cadmus. This particular piece of work was completed in crayon, which to me feels very personal and satisfying. I enjoy when a drawing isn’t just extravagant and complicated, but simple and touching, which I believe is the most effective. The drawing included a lot of hatching and cross-hatching. “There are four degrees of integration…four degrees of relief, and four strengths of shadow” (The Essentials of Classicism, Summerson). I feel that this picture uses all of those rules and applies them well, by the way the dancer is laying, from the hatching being the shadows, to the relief the picture gives you by looking at it, in more literal terms. The reason I chose to draw my diagram in this way is because it mimics the way the dancer is laying. He is relaxed, and looking like he is brainstorming, but the way he is laying shows his grace and poise. Even his pose contains fluidity, which is the main goal of a dancer, is to be fluid and have every motion flow into the next. This piece of work caught my eye the most out of the other drawings because it is like a moment frozen in time. I feel that everyone can relate to this feeling and emotion the dancer is having. He could be overcome by exhaustion, creative intake, or just day dreaming. I like to think it is all three because the drawing is so beautiful I feel it captures every essence of each of those things. I feel as though all of the drawings tie together in a way that, yes, they do lok like they were a start of a new idea in a studio, something the artist thought up and had to put down on paper so that the idea would not be lost.