kMO Post Class 2/7

The term postmodern refers to many developments in different areas, but in relation to what we are studying this week architecture is the most prominent expansion of modernism. The problem with a class such as Critical Media and Culture is that there are rarely opportunities for a hands-on experience. This is unfortunate, especially since many other majors at Rollins require a “lab” as part of the curriculum. Therefore, taking a trip downtown to physically see the relevance between what we are reading and what we are seeing was a great idea. Through the process of picking out buildings we were able to instill these new concepts into our heads. For example, Bank of America provided us with a perfect example of disharmonious harmony. All of the small specific details were both beautiful and architecturally intricate.

As far as a profession in architecture goes many of the men in my family have gone down this path. I have never understood why building designing was so appealing until I actually went out and had someone explain different forms of visual influence. It is so typical of me to let fantastic things slip by me and regard them as being irrelevant which is why I enjoyed this “field trip” so much. For example, I work downtown yet I never noticed the crown on top of the courthouse and the waves resting on top of the Orlando bus stop.

Dr. Casey warned us that after taking this class, we are not going to be able to drive by an advertisement or turn on the TV without over-analyzing these concepts. I think it's possible that he should have warned us that we wouldn’t be able to drive by a building without thinking about disharmonious harmony, anthropomorphism, or amnesis either ;)