Today I'm feeling a little philosophical, so you can either just sit there and take it or you can leave and drink a refreshing cold glass of diet coke plus (the plus means it's healthy ...apparently). If I were you I would go and enjoy a delectable contemporary convenience but if you're entertained by tangents, by all means stay.
So a very long time ago when I was starting college and hadn't even discovered Architecture a very interesting man (a.k.a. Father McNally S.J. and if you don't know him I'm sorry) told me that the study of Art and Architecture comes down to "Taste" and that there was "Good Taste" and "Bad Taste". After asking us what the difference between them was and receiving no answer, he suggested that before we draw the borders we should study both to try and find it. It was the introduction to "Experiencing Architecture", a class that eventually led me to change majors, schools, socks, etc.
I think I've finally figured out what he was trying to tell me and maybe it's a sign of how dumb I actually am that it took me this long to figure it out.
Education, it comes down to education. I'm going to show you with, what else, visuals.
Example 1A
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Death_of_Marat_by_David.jpg
Is this painting beautiful?
I think so. The white of innocence being consumed by the black of death, the red of life blending with the water he was bathing in and the untouchable form of the soul leaving on the right, the wake of an action. The composition, the colors and most importantly the emotion. This is a graceful and loving portrait of a murdered man. Look at how delicately and precisely that face is rendered.
But is it in good taste?
Absolutely not. This painting was made shortly after the death of the Jean-Paul Marat. Marat was a radical writer during the infamous Reign of Terror. This movement that held the gasping people firmly in its grip après la revolution. Like most radicals he referred to himself as "The Friend of the People", but what people? His writings said that the murders already committed by the state were not enough. Anyone who had ever been associated with the King should be killed. He saw suspicion everywhere and in those times suspicion led straight to death.
The Painter, Jacques Louis-David should have been more aware of the dangerousness of these ideas. Before the revolution he had often painted the people who would later be murdered in the Reign of Terror. The happy couple in this portrait by David had once clashed with Marat and felt the brunt of that decision later.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/David_-_Portrait_of_Monsieur_Lavoisier_and_His_Wife.jpg
Msr. Lavoisier escaped the guillotine, his wife did not.
Eventually Marat was murdered and immediately there was a cry for his Apotheosis and David was more than happy to help. However several years after the Revolution, David realized the mistake he had made and hid the painting away, it was rediscovered after David died in exile.
So to sum up: Marat = Total freaky-deaky-crazy-pants and painting him like an angel is not in good taste.
Example 1B
http://www.a-r-m.com.au/images/projects/41/photos/Vanna%20Venturi%20House_large.jpg
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t041/T041606A.jpg
Is this house beautiful?
No. Way. I mean really. What the hell is this house? Is it a house? It may be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen.
Is it in good taste?
Yes, this house may be ugly but it is also probably one of the most sophisticated buildings in the history of western architecture. Here Robert Venturi has not only combined the styles of the past two thousand years but is also making you re-think how you can recognize a house.
See if you can find all these icons in the building:
Corbusier Windows from Villa Savoye
http://faculty.evansville.edu/rl29/art105/img/corbusier_savoye.jpg
A Roman Arch (Keystone Missing)
http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/learning_modules/maths/02.TU.03/illustrations/02.IL.24.gif
Log-Cabin Window
http://www.antique-used-tools.com/CabinWindowWoodR_WY_bw_51406_reduced_wtmk.jpg
If you read the roof structures they're not that far from FLW.
http://www.prairiestyles.com/images/architects/wright/ingalls.jpg
But doesn’t look a little like this as well?
http://www.topbun.com/userpics/layouts/thumbnail/childrens_house_th.jpg
the list could go on for days
He uses the language of recognition to completely change what you think about them. I hate the way this building looks, but there is no way to deny it of its rightful place in Architectural History.
To Sum up: The Vanna Venturi house is what happens when you put 2000 years of Architectural Digests in a blender and then paste it back together over your child's drawing of a house, but it's brilliant.
So let's remember how this all got started. Good taste vs. Bad Taste. Learning about things like The Death of Marat or the Vanna Venturi House may change what you think about them, but it doesn’t change what they look like. So does educated taste really matter then? Who knows. Maybe. But the difference is that when you learn about a painting or a building, you should learn about it, don't just look, don't just be moved, understand it, really understand it.
More things are beautiful than you think. And things that are beautiful often are uglier than you think.
Siquis erit, qui turpe putet servire puellae,
illo convincar iudice turpis ego.
But as far as creating art... That's way too complicated to get into on Livejournal.
No comments:
Post a Comment