Lecture Five - Modernist Factions - 4 Movements

The four Movements of Modernist Factions are ; De Stijl, Bauhaus, Purism and Constructivism.

De Stijl, Dutch for “ The style”, also known as neoplasticism, was a Dutch artistic movement founded in 1917. In a narrower sense, the term De Stijl is used to refer to a body of work from 1917 to 1931 founded in the Netherlands. De Stijl also is which Curl suggests was mistakenly believed to advocate materialism and functionalism. In general, De Stijl proposed ultimate simplicity and abstraction, both in architecture and painting, by using only straight horizontal and vertical lines and rectangular forms. Furthermore, their formal vocabulary was limited to the primary colours, red, yellow, and blue, and the three primary values, Black, White and grey. The works avoided symmetry and attained aesthetic balance by the use of opposition. This element of the movement embodies the second meaning of stijl: “ a post, jamb or support” : this is best exemplified by the construction of crossing joints, most commonly seen in carpentry.

The De Stijl style, most famous things to let me remember, is the red, and blue chair. The Cubist painting is the most influenced things of De Stijl movement, also the ideas about “ideal” geometric forms in the neoplationic philosophy of mathematician M.H.J. Schoenmaekers. The works of De Stijl also influence the Bauhaus style at the following days. However, it did nor follow the general guidelines of an”ism”, nor did it adhere to the principles of art schools like Bauhaus; It was a collective Project, a joint enterprise.

This style make design and architecture raise to a more simplify way to display. only focus on lines, surfaces, and rectangle. let these geometric forms show the fundamental elements of the design. For me, this maybe is a good way to see design details more clearly, also to learn more about how space created by. A valuable information to learn and keep reference.

Lecture Four - Industrialization of War

When I was in college and studying History, I always think that War is necessary; because in my point of view, It always bring us bloodshed, raise the enmity between country and nation. The important things is, it always occurs because of one’s desire or ambition which never being satisfied. But in a manner, War change our history also let us to have advancement in some area.

Weapons are what make human muscles formidable; and from the dawn of civilization it took specialized craftsmen to make weapons out of metal. In the course of time the amount of metal used by warriors tended to increase; and the size of armies may also have grown greater-though with such ups and downs that no very definite growth pattern here emerges before the wars of the French Revolution.

Until that time, throughout ancient, medieval and early modern history, however, the industrial basis of war making remained unimportant in the sense that whenever the prevailing weapons-system remained constant the supply of arms seldom constituted a limiting factor in the actual conduct of operations, or in deciding victory and defeat.

Because the reason of war, because of the way that people discover to make new weapons. Many new material and new making method have been introduce. These except for increasing the quality of weapons, also bringing many new ideas in to art and designs. Also because of the Loos’s essay “Ornament and crime” ideas still hit at that time. Therefore, most of the designs and architectures of that time are simply and not much of decorations. Furthermore, the feeling of those outcome of that time, always give me a cold feeling, heavy metal and glass has been used. Just feeling cold and sometimes not friendly at all.

Although war can give us some new inspire, war is always let us feeling cold, disappointing, and lost of hope. If sadly we will having another World War in the future, Maybe some one can raise a style which can stop the War, and let people to awake from ambition, I think it will be a nice style.

Lecture Three - Ornament and Crime

Ornament and Crime is an essay written in 1908 by the influential and self-consciously “modern” Austrian architect Adolf Loos under the German title Ornament und Verbrechen. And it was under this challenging title that in 1913 the essay was translated into English:” The evolution of culture marches with the elimination of ornament from useful objects”, Loos proclaimed, thus linking the optimistic sense of the linear and upward progress of cultures with the contemporary vogue for applying evolution to cultural context.

This essay show Loos “ Passion for smooth and precious surfaces, informs his expressed philosophy that ornamentation can have the effect of causing objects to go out of style and thus become obsolete. It struck him that it was a crime to waste the effort needed to add ornamentation, when the ornamentation would cause the object to soon go out of style. Loos introduced a sense of the "immorality" of ornament, describing it as "degenerate", its suppression as necessary for regulating modern society.

Finished having this lesson, I was so surprise that some one would said this kind of things that no one ever though about, but sadly, It seem a bit truth. In many times, people design a space either interior or exterior, always will added some decoration, and in many case, style are mainly depends on what decoration are using? what material are using?But how about the style of building method or any others? It seems always ignored by people. Only less of them will focus and care about it.

The essay was written when Art Nouveau, which Loos had excoriated even at its height in 1900, was about to show a new way of modern art. The essay is important in articulating some moralizing views, inherited from the Arts and Crafts movement, which would be fundamental to the Bauhaus design studio and would help define the ideology of Modernism in architecture.

Lecture Two - Jugendstil

Jugendstil is a artistic style that arose in Germany around the mid-1890s and continued through the first decade of the 20th century, deriving its name from the Munich magazine Die Jugend, Which featured Art Nouveay designs. Two phases can be discerned in Jugendstil; an early one, before 1900, that is mainly floral in character rooted in English Art Nouveau and Japanese applied arts and prints; and a later, more abstract phase, growing out of the Viennese work of the Belgian-Born Architect and Designer Henry Van de Velde.

The mainly characteristic of this artistic style is full of energy, curve line, aims to let some traditional decoration lifelike also more vigorous. Just like a seed of grass growth up but turn into a beautiful rose. Is a surprised outcome of the new development form traditional.

They not avoided to use new material in their design, I think it is a important element to let the art and design history move that big forward. Also not banned to using machine and using them in a good measure way; mainly for glass and metal, it can let this artistic style become more perfect.

After of this lecture ended and also of doing some research of this topic - Jugendstil. I think it is really a brave, creative and nice try of that period. All of the art works are so tasty till now. It not only retain traditional beauty, also introduce a great creativity of using new method and new material of building and making. What a big confidence!

It cannot be denied that, sometimes when people develop a system of their design ways and working method, it is hard to change, besides is a artistic style from traditional. I always think that, traditional can reflected the culture of a place, also a thing that people already adapted to. Therefore to break a traditional or either to break a designing way is a aim that hard to achieve. But when you bravely to walk out to first step, every things will be different. This is what we need to learn.

Lecture One - Introduction

Is glad to hear that, a series of Contemporary Practice Lecture has been introduce to us in this year. This series of lecture cover a wide range of Arts and Design also Architectural history; I think it is really good for us to know more about what is happening from the pass till now. This can enrich our folder of knowledge also to inspire our concept of our own design project.

To learning through understanding existed architecture and design art works, sometimes is better then any other ways to learn some hidden treasure in those works and also some important definitions which discover and bring up by some great artists and architects. The reason of this saying is because, although there are so many inputs are given by others, but different person with different thinking, can create different outputs which is unexpected. Therefore is important to get more different inputs from any different ways.

Learn from the pass, except of learning good things; also can avoid to commit same mistake which have been ignored or have been happened. In my opinion, the most difficult things to learn in design are details and how it works.

Because in many time, our audience are people, So, only having a great concept but things couldn’t read or understand by our audience, maybe is a sign of unsuccessful. So to learn more about those successful project in both design concept and also readability is really a good things to started with.

When looking of those changing and happening of some key styles and movements in the history of arts and design, it is full of fun and sometime you can discover more than you expected. Just like reading an interesting story started from the pass and still happening now. If we work more hard, to understand more from learning, maybe we can be a part of those history one day. Looking forward to all Contemporary Practice Lecture series.