It Aint Easy Being Green

Last Call For Planet Earth

The key point in this video is that sustainable development is key to a better more productive future. Climate change and global warming seems to be dictating the direction that architecture is being pushed: GREEN. It is also evident that more and more people are becoming enviromentally aware and wanting to live a more eco-friendly life. One of the architects, Jo Crepain was explainging how simple building techniques lead  to effective sustainable energy for living. Rooms facing north should have small windows, and the building should be properly insulated. And since there is this trend of going green, its also important for private businesses to show that they are a part of this to the public. It's important for businesses to be run out of buildings with a good carbon foot print for two reasons. One, it saves them money on utilities and two, it may give them an upper hand with consumers. If they have a choice between the same two prodicts/ services, but one company is greener than another, theirs will probably be the chosen one. The building for Natur and Lehm, in Australia, looked very primitave, almost shack-like. I think sometimes for green you have to sacrifice a little on the aestetics. It is insulated with straw, had one whole side of just windows, and none of the materials were treated chemically.

Imperial Rome...

I think the key concept of this video is just how remarkable the architecture from centuries and centuries ago remains today. There were no computer programs or calculators. It was shear strength and mind that this amazing city was built. It is a testament to it's influence on today's architecture as well. Even incorporated mosaics back then. It served to show commercial success of a business or wealth of a person. A design technique that is very much still in use today, albeit not on as grand of a scale. You can see mosaics in many homes of today especially in kitchen back splashes, patios and around mirrors. Also arches and domes are incorporated into Romanesque architecture when building churches and government buildings.

 

These two videos related very well to the text, because it took what was discussed in the book and expanded it. To actually see the various places of interest in Rome not just in a picture but from different angles and to even look up from the bottom of the dome gives a little more depth to the appreciation of what was accomplished. Even the narrator of the video said it is anyones guess how that dome was built, considering what tools would have been needed. Both videos took the topics from the text and gave a multilayered explanation. To view on video all the sides of a green building, hear the water running that they use for heating and cooling makes for it to be a lot more interesting. I think these films added depth into learning about architecture because you got to add some other senses into the learning process beside just looking at one dimensional pictures and reading words on paper. You can hear and see from different angles, and listen to the people who have extensive knowledge on the subject. In the Green video, the architects became excited when discussing the different possibilities of how to obtain sustainable architecture. To see the cement and stone arches in Rome and the intricate mosaics gave me a better appreciation for what was accomplished back then. It truely is just absolutly amazing!

I chose these two videos because they were on the subjects I found most interesting of Chapter 13. Going green and Roman architecture. I like the oldness of Rome and the newness of green. To be able to combine both of those concepts today would be amazing. It's great to have all these new concepts and innovations, but you can't discount the ability to stand the test of time.

Albright Knox Art Gallery Visit

Albright Knox Art Gallery

This was only my second time visiting the gallery but my first time does not count. My first experience was on a Sunday when my best friend's son school was having an outside art exhibit on the grounds of the gallery. It started pouring rain and thundering one hour into the festivities so the gallery opened up and allowed us all into the back part of it. We werent allowed to walk through the gallery but we did have access to the art in the part we were placed. There was a huuuuuuuuuge replica of a city made out of silver pots and pans and cups and plates and spoons and forks and knives and bowls....It was spectacular. There was also a flat sceeen television on one wall where different pieces of an artist would play on a slide show. I had never seen art displayed in that way-I loved it. Needless to say I was drawn to Kelly Richardson's installation.  It is just breathtaking to literally be surrounded by her installation.


Kelly Richardson Legion

Denis Maher House of Collective Repair- I connected with his installation really because he is a local artist. I think its great that the gallery gives local artists a chance to be on display. When I first saw it I have to admit that it looked like just a bunch of jumbled junk, but then I realized each piece was PUT there. It's not like he just threw a bunch of stuff in the space and called it art. He physically assembled things to create his vision. It's actually pretty awesome.

I would like to know more about the Cycladic Heads, 1976 by Jirí Kolár. To be quite frank masks and faces and such creep me out. It was the two masks on the left that left hand side that gave me with the hibbee jibbees. I would like to learn more about them so it wouldn't be so creepy. I can't stand faceless masks where there are no eyes or mouths. Although I feel they would have stood out more if they weren't place atop a marble type structure. I feel like it interferes with the design on the faces. It should just be one color-just my oppinion. I didnt so much as mind the face on the right with the circular blue but these two sent me over the edge. But I feel like if I learned more about them it would be such a foreign concept to me. I hav

 

Nikki's Logo

1.) At first I thought it would be a lot of fun to create a logo. But then as I thought about it, and then tried to actually do it, that became another story. I literally sat with a blank sheet of paper for two and a half hours with nothing coming to me. I thought that it had to be really intricate, but then I realized most logos are not. They are clean lined and simple.

2.) I used a slightly crooked line as the base of my logo, because just over a year ago I had to have reconstructive surgery on my face and I’m left with a slightly crooked scar on my upper lip. It’s what I see every single day when I look in the mirror, so it seemed fitting to have it a part of my logo.  I found that I had slight “artists” block when I was trying to come up with what to add to the crooked scar line. But I found that the less stressed I was about it, the more ideas would come to me. I also put a half of a butterfly on one side of the line and a purple ribbon on the bottom. The butterfly and ribbon have special meaning to me.

 3.) The most important discovery I made during the logo making process was how much I connect the scar on my face to who I am. It was second nature to draw the shape of scar on the piece of paper. There are days that I just hate it so much, but I've realized now that it is a part of me and if I were to truly have to come up with a logo and put it on shirts and things, the crooked line would absolutly be a part of it.

 

 

 

4.) I liked how the designers in the video talked about the "energy" of the designs they were coming up with. I think what surprised me the most was how he said the one design didn't have the energy of the other ones, but that it was more fitting for the company and marketing aspect. They were discussing weight of words against the art piece and how they fit. It was very interesting to me to see the actual process. It's not just about an artist coming up with a piece. It is so much more than that.