Opus Project/ 6th Week Prompts
Impression
In the Gothic era the cathedrals were build with a particular purpose, Roth says, “ the physical impression of a new, assertive, and positive outlook on life here and now”(Roth 324). Buildings in the Romanesque period were meant to show the importance of the after life and that life on earth was just a path to get there. But the Gothic cathedrals transformed this believe by impressing the people with a new architecture. Gothic cathedrals tended to be very tall and artistic so that people owed respect to the buildings. Not many people liked this impression of a new style of architecture, those people called the Gothic architecture Barbarous. Barbarous is referred to Barbarians, which meant, ignorant or lacking of culture and refinement.
Also in my Photography class we have a session where we critique the pictures of others and of ourselves. The first thing on analyzes is the impression one receives from the picture. For example, one begins critiquing by saying, “it feels like” or “it looks like”. Many people say this when it comes to critique a picture because the first impression is never certain. The phrase “it feels like” normally means that you have mix feelings of the picture, that is, the picture might make you feel happy but at the same time you are not very sure. So the impression is a very important feeling that describes a picture and the best part is that there is no right or wrong answer.
Details
Also as we have been talking about the Gothic Cathedrals we can realize and appreciate the amount of details these Cathedrals have. In terms of the outside and in the inside of the Cathedral everything is decorated and detailed. These enormous windows created a new sensation of light and color inside and outside of the Cathedral. Roth says, “The most dramatic innovation was the virtual elimination of the structural walls of the church; in their place appeared membranes of colored glass depicting stories of scriptures. Thus, in stone and colored glass, the entire building became a Bible for the illiterate, and what was specially important, the visual imagery was known and accessible to all-lord, merchant, servant, and serf alike”(Roth 328) Basically the Cathedrals were incredibly illuminated giving the cathedral its own sense of life and accessible to all public. Is interesting also how light and details can give life to a structure. In my class of Desing Perspective we have been discussing what does life mean and how can a picture or a building can have life. Christopher Alexander believes that “each stone, rafter, and piece of concrete has some degree of life” (Alexander 28). Furthermore, he talks about the wholeness as an indispensable thing needed to understand life. I believe that the windows and the art contained in them give life to the Cathedral because the amount of details of the windows gives a sense of wholeness and therefore a sense of life.
Composition
Gothic cathedrals are an example of composition. Composition means the result of different ideas, things that when put together creates a one whole product. So in the Gothic Cathedrals one can see that there are so many components that put together the Cathedrals. Normally the cathedrals took a long time to build so the architects tended to died and replaces by other architects and so on. Every time an architect died, the new architect normally added some new things to the Cathedral. As a result, after years of construction, the Cathedrals were a product of different ideas that were combined together by different architects. Also, I enjoy cooking and the good food is only good when is composed by the right ingredients. For example, in Valentines Day I cooked dinner for my girlfriend and I had to make sure that every ingredient was perfectly measured and the food was perfectly cooked. At the end, with some candles and a nice put dinner table with petals around it, made the dinner and the food just delicious. The dinner, which was composed with food, petals, music and candles, made the best St. Valentines Day my girlfriend ever had.
Diagram
A diagram is a graphic desing that explains the arrangement of spaces and it also gives you a visual perspective. In the case of the Gothic cathedrals they are so big that when one is inside it is not easy to tell the form of the cathedrals, but when one sees it in a diagram one realizes that almost all Cathedrals are build in a shape of a cross. In my Weight Lifting class, we have to build a diagram that illustrates the amount of weight we lift, how many repetitions and how much time to rest. The idea of the diagram is to demonstrate that towards time we can see the amount of weight and repetition increasing and always to target to a higher goal. If we didn’t have a diagram like that, it is hard to see ones improvement in regard of muscle power and resistance.
Porch:Court:Hearth
These elements are the ones who separate the interior of a structure. For the Greeks, Romans and even today we normally divide our houses or buildings in these three divisions. The porch is the welcoming part of the building; it tends to have a separate roof but not necessarily an open space. The court is already inside of the building and is normally enclosed. The court is where people hang around and enjoy and last the hearth. The hearth is not necessarily the section where the fireplace is at, but instead is where the life of the building is. In the case of the Greeks, they city was planned to have a porch, that was the entrance of the city, later the court, where the basilica would stand, and public baths as well and the hearth where the temples laid on. In my case, the kitchen is the hearth of my house because is in the kitchen that all my family is together or when friends come they normally go to the fridge to see what’s to eat. So in my house I have a porch and also a court but the hearth of the house is in the kitchen.
In the Gothic era the cathedrals were build with a particular purpose, Roth says, “ the physical impression of a new, assertive, and positive outlook on life here and now”(Roth 324). Buildings in the Romanesque period were meant to show the importance of the after life and that life on earth was just a path to get there. But the Gothic cathedrals transformed this believe by impressing the people with a new architecture. Gothic cathedrals tended to be very tall and artistic so that people owed respect to the buildings. Not many people liked this impression of a new style of architecture, those people called the Gothic architecture Barbarous. Barbarous is referred to Barbarians, which meant, ignorant or lacking of culture and refinement.
Also in my Photography class we have a session where we critique the pictures of others and of ourselves. The first thing on analyzes is the impression one receives from the picture. For example, one begins critiquing by saying, “it feels like” or “it looks like”. Many people say this when it comes to critique a picture because the first impression is never certain. The phrase “it feels like” normally means that you have mix feelings of the picture, that is, the picture might make you feel happy but at the same time you are not very sure. So the impression is a very important feeling that describes a picture and the best part is that there is no right or wrong answer.
Details
Also as we have been talking about the Gothic Cathedrals we can realize and appreciate the amount of details these Cathedrals have. In terms of the outside and in the inside of the Cathedral everything is decorated and detailed. These enormous windows created a new sensation of light and color inside and outside of the Cathedral. Roth says, “The most dramatic innovation was the virtual elimination of the structural walls of the church; in their place appeared membranes of colored glass depicting stories of scriptures. Thus, in stone and colored glass, the entire building became a Bible for the illiterate, and what was specially important, the visual imagery was known and accessible to all-lord, merchant, servant, and serf alike”(Roth 328) Basically the Cathedrals were incredibly illuminated giving the cathedral its own sense of life and accessible to all public. Is interesting also how light and details can give life to a structure. In my class of Desing Perspective we have been discussing what does life mean and how can a picture or a building can have life. Christopher Alexander believes that “each stone, rafter, and piece of concrete has some degree of life” (Alexander 28). Furthermore, he talks about the wholeness as an indispensable thing needed to understand life. I believe that the windows and the art contained in them give life to the Cathedral because the amount of details of the windows gives a sense of wholeness and therefore a sense of life.
Composition
Gothic cathedrals are an example of composition. Composition means the result of different ideas, things that when put together creates a one whole product. So in the Gothic Cathedrals one can see that there are so many components that put together the Cathedrals. Normally the cathedrals took a long time to build so the architects tended to died and replaces by other architects and so on. Every time an architect died, the new architect normally added some new things to the Cathedral. As a result, after years of construction, the Cathedrals were a product of different ideas that were combined together by different architects. Also, I enjoy cooking and the good food is only good when is composed by the right ingredients. For example, in Valentines Day I cooked dinner for my girlfriend and I had to make sure that every ingredient was perfectly measured and the food was perfectly cooked. At the end, with some candles and a nice put dinner table with petals around it, made the dinner and the food just delicious. The dinner, which was composed with food, petals, music and candles, made the best St. Valentines Day my girlfriend ever had.
Diagram
A diagram is a graphic desing that explains the arrangement of spaces and it also gives you a visual perspective. In the case of the Gothic cathedrals they are so big that when one is inside it is not easy to tell the form of the cathedrals, but when one sees it in a diagram one realizes that almost all Cathedrals are build in a shape of a cross. In my Weight Lifting class, we have to build a diagram that illustrates the amount of weight we lift, how many repetitions and how much time to rest. The idea of the diagram is to demonstrate that towards time we can see the amount of weight and repetition increasing and always to target to a higher goal. If we didn’t have a diagram like that, it is hard to see ones improvement in regard of muscle power and resistance.
Porch:Court:Hearth
These elements are the ones who separate the interior of a structure. For the Greeks, Romans and even today we normally divide our houses or buildings in these three divisions. The porch is the welcoming part of the building; it tends to have a separate roof but not necessarily an open space. The court is already inside of the building and is normally enclosed. The court is where people hang around and enjoy and last the hearth. The hearth is not necessarily the section where the fireplace is at, but instead is where the life of the building is. In the case of the Greeks, they city was planned to have a porch, that was the entrance of the city, later the court, where the basilica would stand, and public baths as well and the hearth where the temples laid on. In my case, the kitchen is the hearth of my house because is in the kitchen that all my family is together or when friends come they normally go to the fridge to see what’s to eat. So in my house I have a porch and also a court but the hearth of the house is in the kitchen.
Reflection:
This week we have mostly discussed the Gothic Era. This Era was conformed by several components that lead to create incredible things. New details were added to cathedrals which created a whole new impression to people. The impression originated by the idea of the life "here and now" and not the "after life". The diagrams were also based on a cross-like structure. The cross was the most important thing for the Gothic architecture because it represented the cross where Jesus Christ was crucified and died. Since the main purpose to build was for Christianity, by doing so people who helped financially supposedly had a place in the "after life". This week prompts relates very much with the architectural structure of the Gothic Era but also in my daily life and my other subjects. Impression is applied not only in architecture but in my photography class by discussion what kind of impression one feels like with the picture taken. Also Composition, Details, Diagram and Porch:Court:Hearth are related in my other work with its own personality.
Labels: Opus Project
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