5th Reading Response (Early Christians)

        In both Ching and Roth, they talk about how early Christianity brought about changes to the Roman empire. Not only in the location of "New Rome", when Constantine moved Rome to Constantinople, but also in the way buildings were made.

        In Roth, he talks about how early Christians wanted to make their architecture different from Rome's because they wanted to make it obvious to everyone that they were not the same. Roman's were polytheistic, whereas Christians were monotheistic, frowning on the worship of multiple Gods, causing their dislike of Greek mythology and of paganism.

        Ching mentions that Christians were not to marry Jews, which most of Rome was jewish. Although Jews are the founders of Christianity, and Jesus was a Jew, the main different between them was that Christians believed Jesus was the messiah, and Jews don't. 

        Christians wanted to make these differences very apparent to anyone who might be looking in on their religion. They did so by architecture. 

               

                                    columns                      design                 purpose

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Roman Temples:         ouside(support)           complex              house of Gods

Early Churches:           inside(decorative)       decorative           worship (communal)

Modern Churches:       none                            simple                 worship (communal)

Roman Temples:

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/architecture/temples.htm

http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/romans/architecture/temples2.htm

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Early Christian Churches:

http://www.sacredmurals.com/churchdecoration.htm

http://catholicsensibility.wordpress.com/2007/07/20/trents-architectural-neritage/

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Modern Christian Churches:

http://ashlandchristianchurch.org/

http://www.rts.edu/newsevents/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=1191

                      

Babette's Feast

        Culture is normally defined as "the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group", but what I think should be added to the list is design. Just by looking at an object, building, or space that someone creates from a certain culture tells a million stories. If an image is worth a thousand words, just image how many would be used for an entire building!
        In Babette's Feast, we see a conservative village, with minimal houses, roads, food, and color. All the houses look the same and nothing is personal. This is a reflection of the society. For instance, the Puritan society believed that having excess or anything you don't NEED is a sin and against God. Because of this thought, there were people walking, not driving, people dressing in greys, blacks, and tans, not our colorful patterns we have today, and people living in the bare minimal environments. The lights would be simple and non-electrical, the houses would have simple designs, and the atmosphere would be non-existent.
        Babette was from France, a place that is known for the relaxed life with expensive delicacies such a wine, caviar, and snails. She then moved to a speck in Denmark, working everyday for free, and eating food that has no flavor. To this blan culture, she wanted to introduce some of her culture. Not only did she consider the food as her culture, but also the atmosphere, the objects, and the feelings. The china, the napkins, the glasses, all aspects of her culture. The lighting, the wine, the sparkles off the silverware, all what she wanted to convey of France. It is obvious to tell what Babette feels are the most important and dominant features of her culture and her past life by the objects she chose to introduce to a completely different place and way of life.

4th Reading Response (Commodity, Firmness, and Delight)

From Roth, I am going to pick one place that I think exemplifies each category (commodity, firmness, and delight).

In chapter 1, Roth explains that commodity is all about how a building functions. On page 19, Figure 1.9 shows the Zion Lutheran Church in Portland Oregon which I believe shows most amount of function throughout the space. The axis not only shows the importance of the preacher, but also it tells the people where they can and cannot go, where to and where not to sit, and also where their place is. They sit in pews that are all identical and below the preacher, making it as though they are the pupils and the preacher is the teacher, which is true. Also, the church has a vertical axis. The pieces of curved wood start from the floor and go all the way up to a point on the middle of the ceiling, lining up with the point of the cross. Since this is a church based off the belief of God, it's no wonder why all of the points in the building point up into heaven. This building without a doubt conveys it's message that God is the center of their world and that he is above everything.

In chapter 2 of Roth, the book tells us that firmness is essentially how the building stands up, and I think the Valley Temple, Pyramid of Khafre, in Giza, Egypt (page 29) is the perfect example to use to explain how a building stands. Although this temple isn't decorated to please the eye, it is, however, very beautiful in the simplicity of the design and how we are able to see how the temple was built and why it has lasted for so long. The temple was built in 2570-2500 B.C.E., which was about 4,500 years ago! Not only does that right there prove the firmness of the structure, but by looking at how the stone was laid out, it's clear how the structure is still standing tall. It is made from vertical and horizontal, stick, strong, sturdy, square pieces of stone. Since the columns are pretty close together and short for the most part,making the structure very sturdy, makes the fact that the building is so old and still standing more believable.

Roth talks about delight in chapters 3, 4, and 5. But, the building that I think portrays the highest delight factor is the picture of Edar Kaufmann's house on page 83. This picture is just breath-taking, not only with the beautiful house, but with the surrounding nature. The house is made with stone slabs to imitate natural rock, vertical masonry piers, and smooth horizontal concrete floor slabs. The fact that such a geometrical and mad-made house could coexist with such an untouched natural background in phenomenal. Also, even though the outside of the house is very square and geometrical, the varying sizes of the horizontal slabs make the connection from the house to nature. I would say that what is aesthetically pleasing about this picture is the juxtaposition, but the house kind of contrasts, but at the same time sort of complimenting the nature surrounding it.

3rd Reading Response (Apollo's Temple)

In Ching (p 127), the book talks about Apollo's temple in Delphi and how the path to it is not straight, but instead "snaked". I want to explain how Apollo got his temple and why the path is snake-like.

How Apollo got his temple at Delphi:
1.    Zues had sex with Leto

Zeus

Leto with Apollo and Artemis

2.    Hera was jealous and very mad

Hera

3.    She wouldn’t allow Leto to give birth on Earth

Leto being refused by people afraid of Hera's rath

4.    Leto found a small, rocky shore, Delos, and gave birth

Delos

5.    Apollo was told to have his temple at Delphi

Delphi

6.    When he arrived, he killed a python (the guardian of an ancient oracle)

Apollo killing Python

7.    After killing the python, Apollo took on the token, becoming the oracle

Apollo's Oracle by John William Waterhouse , 1884

8.    He made his temple

Apollo's temple

9.    Needed priests, so he turned into a dolphin and made the ship crew his priests

Apollo as a dolphin

10.    Delphi named for Apollo turning into a dolphin

4th Blog Post (Commodity, Firmness, and Delight)

Through out all of the places that we visited on campus on Friday, I believe that the main entrance to the Jackson Library created the highest levels of commodity, firmness, and delight.

            Unlike the columns inside the Moore Humanities & Research Administration, the columns outside the Jackson Library real and used for structure. They are made from white stone and are ionic columns, which, to me, are the most aesthetically pleasing. Also, just the white stone against the brick building, really makes the semi-circle stand out.

               

 The view and the connection that you get just standing under this semi-circle, staring out at another circle in the ground on college avenue, leading your eye and body to the Stone building makes the view more magical. The Stone building houses the school of Human Environmental Sciences, which includes nutrition, apparel, family studies, and interior architecture, which are typically thought of to be a woman’s career. The fact that the circles lead a building “just for women” may seem strange, and unimportant, until you look at the history of UNCG and remember that UNCG was first an all women’s college. And to add to the delight, the pathway leading to the Stone building is ended with a “wu-wu” of sorts, with, once again, my favorite, ionic columns. The repetition there is so strong it’s like poetry.

But along with the repetition of circles being delightful, it also serves as firmness. The semi-circle along with the columns at the Jackson Library mark the entrance, making the commodity and the usefulness high in scoring. The circle in college avenue is also very useful in marking the median between the entrance to the Stone building and the entrance to the library. Which also shows the significance of the Stone building in relation to the library; they both are used for learning, but one is mainly from the historical past and the other is rising in technology for the future.

The Jackson Library was built in 1950, which makes it about 61 years old. Although it’s not the oldest building in the world or even the campus, 61 years is still a long time for a building to still be standing and in great condition. This just proves how it scored a high ranking on firmness. 

Design Manifesto

            

Design, to me, is to let yourself go free. Growing up, I was never one of the “artistic” kids that made works of art in their notes while in class, I could only draw the same three things. My mom is an artist and I just never thought I had the skill or imagination to create something, until I became an Interior Designer. These classes have gotten my imagine back from when I was a little kid jumping on object, so I won’t “land in the lava”.

I used to think that designers only decorate, and not create. That there was no element of craft within the field because all they did was lay fabric on couches or hand paintings on walls. And for a while, that’s what I wanted to do. But now, I not only know what design truly is, but I know what aspect I want to be within it. I want to create objects and spaces in which people will marvel. I want to help the function of humanity by designing things they will use daily.

I believe a criteria for wanting to be a designer is to have faith in your ideas. The first idea may not be the final product, but it definitely gets you to one. I always think of what Tommy said they first day of class about failing, that we never “fail” at an idea or by creating something because we learn from our “mistakes” and trials.

Over the few months of me being a “designer”, I have marveled over some of the creations my classmates have created, some of which I would pay for! I don’t get jealous that I didn’t come up with the idea, I just admire their work and progress, just like I do with mine. Everyone has a different background and different ideas to bring to the table. It’s great to look around at what people are creating and build on it. I find that our peers are our best resource in design.

Social Networking in Chile

Top 10 Social Networking Sites In Chile

FOTOLOG.COM            2,824
Blogger                             2,577
Facebook                          2,019
Wordpress.com                 1,392
Windows Live Spaces      1,391

Yahoo! Geocities                905
Flickr                                   660
Hi5                                      497
Sonico                                 493
Lycos Tripod                      346

http://www.hitsearchlimited.com/news/999931/

-Chile's use of social networking Web sites is the highest in Latin America, and numbers have surpassed North America as well

-7 million Chileans have Internet access either at home or at work and, nine out of 10 of these people use social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

http://www.santiagotimes.cl/news/1-other/19520-chiles-use-of-social-networking-web-sites-highest-in-latin-america

-88% of the population lives in urban areas (2008)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html

-The population of Chile on January 1st 2010 is approximately 17,052,473

http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/chile's_population_in_2010

0-14 years: 23.2% (male 1,966,017/female 1,877,963)

15-64 years: 67.8% (male 5,625,963/female 5,628,146)

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ci.html

-Chileans also use networking sites to blog about social problems, like when 80 prisoners died and 20 got seriously injured when their cell block caught on fire.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2010/12/19/chile-prison-fire-sparks-debate-on-social-networking-sites/

Social Networking Sites Show Destruction in Chile

But, social networking has a negative side

-A sexual awakening is happening through a booming industry for 18-and-under parties, an explosion of Internet connectivity and through Web sites like Fotolog, where young people trade suggestive photos of each other and organize weekend parties, some of which have drawn more than 4,500 teenagers. The online networks have emboldened teenagers to express themselves in ways that were never customary in Chile’s conservative society.

-Chilean society was shaken last year when a video of a 14-year-old girl eagerly performing oral sex on a teenage boy on a Santiago park bench was discovered on a video-hosting Web site.
-Chile has become Latin American’s biggest per-capita consumer of digital technology, including cellphones, cable television and Internet broadband accounts.
-Chileans are plugged into the Internet at higher rates than other South Americans, and the highest use is among children ages 6 to 17. Therein lies a central factor in the country’s newfound sexual exploration.
-Party promoters use Fotolog, as well as MSN Messenger, to organize their weekend gatherings, inviting Fotolog stars — the site’s most popular users, based on the number of comments they get.

-Fotolog is a photo-sharing network created in the United States, took off in the last two years in Chile. The country has 4.8 million Fotolog accounts, more than any other country. Children ages 12 to 17 hold more than 60 percent of the accounts.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/13/world/americas/13chile.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1