Archive for October, 2008
I. M. Pei is a notable Chinese American architect who is considered as the last in the line of masters of high modernist architecture. His works primarily deal with the use of the abstract form as well as the use of stone, concrete, steel and glass. A Pritzker Prize awardee, I.M. Pei also considered as one of the most successful and notable architects to come out of Asia in the 20th Century. His works and designs can be found in many structures built all around the world.
Early Life
I.M. Pei, which is short for Ieoh Ming Pei, was born on April 26, 1917 Guangzhou in Guangdong, Republic of China. Pei came from a prominent family in Suzhou, Jiangsu. That lived in the area since the 15th Century. Pei’s father was a banker who became the a director of the Bank of China and also the governor of the Central Bank of China. The family later on relocated to Hong Kong where Pei stayed until he finished junior high school. Pei’s family then moved to Shanghai when his father took the directorship in the Bank of China.
Education
Pei took up primary and secondary education in China. He then proceeded to go to the United States in order to study architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He was able to receive his Bachelor of Architecture from the Massachusetts institute of Technology in 1940. he also went on to study at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. He received his Master’s degree in Architecture in Harvard in 1946.
Career
Aside from working as a member of the Harvard faculty, Pei also started working in 1948 for a real estate development corporation as Director of Architecture. While at this firm, Pei was able to work on various large scale architectural and planning projects and began to design his own buildings in the modernistic style that he eventually became known for. By 1955, Pei founded his own architectural firm after having been made a naturalized American citizen in 1954.
Notable Designs
Probably the most notable design attributed to I.M. Pei is the Louvre Pyramid. It is a glass and steel pyramid structure that stood about 20 meters high and built in front of the Louvre Museum in Paris, France. The pyramid contained an underground lobby to accommodate the increasing visitors of the museum of which the original main entrance can no longer handle.
October 28th, 2008
Acrylic painting is a fairly new painting method where artists make use of acrylic paints instead of the oil based variety. Acrylic paints first became commercially available during the 1950’s. They were first produced as house paints that were water based. Soon enough, a number of artists started to explore and use acrylic paints for their art works. Hence, acrylic painting started.
Advantages
One of the advantages of using acrylic paint is that it dries fairly quickly. This allows artists to paint different layers easily as compared with using oil based paints which require considerably more time to dry before painting on the next layer. This results in artists being able to finish art works at a shorter time. Acrylics also does not smell or emit harmful fumes. And since it is water based, acrylic paints are also fairly easy to clean up.
Acrylic Painting Techniques
Artists make use of different techniques in acrylic painting. Some of the techniques developed over time a result of the properties of acrylic paints. Just as acrylic paints are preferred by artists because of their faster drying time, certain painting practices also have to be changed. Sometimes artists need to keep the acrylic paint to stay moist for a longer time and this can be a problem at times. So artists usually spray a light mist of water over the canvas occasionally to keep the acrylic paint from drying.
Another property of acrylic paints is that they can be made into fluid paints. Since they are water based, acrylic paint can be thinned to a point where they can be applied much like watercolor. This way the acrylic paint can also be used for glazing or washes on artworks.
Acrylic paint glazes are usually used by artists to create more depth to the artwork. An acrylic glaze can be painted on the canvas light enough to show the colors underneath. Light acrylic glazes also provide a softening effect on an artwork especially of painted over darker or brighter colors.
Pour painting is a technique that was developed with the use of acrylic paints. It involves pouring the paint directly into the canvas and moved around instead of applying them with brushes. This allows the natural blending of colors. The technique can either be applied one color at a time or using multiple colors simultaneously for color blending effects.
October 21st, 2008
Only a very few people would not recognize the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. It is a freestanding bell tower located behind the cathedral in Pisa, a city in Italy. Its unique feature is also not unheard of- the Tower has been leaning a bit on its southeast side for decades now. In fact, if it were not for this critical building flaw, no one would have ever bothered looking up this strange bell tower in some quaint Italian city. But then, its flaw became its most notable feature and hence became known all over the world.
History
The Leaning Tower of Pisa was initially built in August 9, 1173 when its foundations were first laid. Work on the tower was done in three stages and took a period of over 177 years to complete. The tower’s foundations started to sink on one side after the construction of its third floor sometime in 1178.
The reason for the tower leaning was blamed on the tower’s rather deficient three-meter foundation. Another contributor twas that the tower was built on weak and unstable subsoil that eventually loosened up, causing the tower to shift direction. From the beginning, the design of the tower, coupled with its unstable foundation, was already gravely flawed.
A reason why the Leaning Tower seem to defy gravity by not toppling over after all of these years was the considerably long period of its construction. After building the first and third floors, construction was subsequently halted due to wars with neighboring regions. The halt lasted for almost a century, which also allowed time for the loose subsoil to settle below the tower.
Construction on the tower was resumed sometime in 1272 under Giovanni de Simone. Noticing the tilt of the tower, de Simone and the engineers decided to build the higher floors of the tower with one side than the other. This allowed weight from one side to compensate for the tilt. This construction even allowed the tower to tilt to the opposite direction. Due to this design, the Leaning Tower of Pisa is actually curved. Construction again was stopped in 1284.
Completion and Restoration
The tower was completed in 1372 when its bell chamber was completed. The tower was built on a Romanesque style with its bell chamber having Gothic elements. The chamber contains seven bells that stand for each note in the musical scale. The larges of the bells was installed on the Tower sometime in 1655. Restoration work on the Tower from 1990 to 2001 have allowed it to stand and remain as Pisa’s most famous landmark.
October 14th, 2008
Marc Chagall was a Russian born French painter closely associated to the modern movements that followed after Impressionism. He was born on July 7, 1887 in Liozno, Vitebsk on what is now part of Belarus. He was of Jewish descent and the eldest of nine siblings. His mother’s name was Feige-Ite while his father was Khatskl Shagal, who worked as a herring merchant. Marc grew up in a closely knit and devout Jewish family.
Early Career
Marc started studying painting sometime in 1906 under the direction of a famed local artist, Yehuda Pen. Marc then moved to St. Petersburg several months later where he further studied under Nikolai Roerich by joining a school known as the “Society of Art Supporters”. Marc also studied under Leon Bakst Zvantseva School of Drawing and Painting from 1908 to 1910.
After building a reputation as an artist, Marc eventually relocated to Paris to be near the more established art community in the Montparnasse district. There, he was able to develop friendships with people from the avant-garde circles known for their innovative and experimental inclinations in terms of art, culture and style. Marc returned to Russia in 1914 to get married. While in Russia, he took the government appointment as the Commissar for Fine Art in Vitebsk. He did not fare well with the political system of Russia during that time. He and his wife eventually relocated to France in 1923 where Marc later on became a French citizen in 1937.
Works
Marc Chagall’s work were mostly inspired by folk life and culture that he grew up in Russia. His works also were influenced by Biblical themes as well as by his Jewish heritage. His works can be pretty difficult to categorize since he usually dabbled in various art movements popular during his time, usually with the modernists. His works was also known for their use of various symbolisms and rich details. The symbolism that he used were mostly derived from personal life experiences. Marc Chagall died on March 28, 1985.
October 7th, 2008