Brookes77, 1/27/09

In class today we focused the discussion around the Jenks' reading that was assigned. The different types of art and architecture were really interesting to study and discuss. We looked at architecture all over the world that differed from each other, and some that resembled each other. As i spoke about London in my previous post, i couldn't help but relate my thoughts to my other travels through out Europe, and then seeing pictures of buildings and Hong Kong and the Netherlands. I visited the Opera House in Paris and saw how beautiful and classic it looked, along with a lot of the Architecture in London. They were very similar. Although I clearly remembered when speaking about to Louvre, how random the glass triangle was right in the center of it, which I learned today, was an example of Radical Eclecticism. The triangle looked out of place and modern, and it does not fit with the classical, ancient architecture behind it.
When we were discussing the theme Anthropomorphism which basically means architecture that has facial characteristics from humans and putting them into their architecture, i immediately thought of my trips to the Hamptons in New York city. Each house on the water looks significantly different from one another and of the people i know who own them their houses resemble their characteristics and personality. Some people are very flamboyant and their house is huge towering over others, while another person enjoys modern architecture so their house is built using cubes. Another In the Hamptons one can see first handedly how architecture differs from each other and can resemble certain things/people/characteristics.
Another important point we discussed in class is Urbanism. An example of this was Baldwin Park. Just a few days ago i was driving through Baldwin Park and was "creeped out" by this notion of building a town, that is suppose to look like its been their for ages, over night. When driving through Baldwin Park, it looks like Pleasantville, there is a certain characteristic of the feel of the town that shows it has not been their forever. I know this just because i have been in the area while the community has increased there. Yet this theme of urbanism has become popular in America, and another eerie example of this is Dubi. Dubi as a whole has been built up from quickly ground zero, yet this is another clear example of Urbanism.
It was nice to see all the different types of architecture all over the world in a slide show because seeing them because reading them did not make as big of an impact on me as seeing the different types and very extreme types of architecture and their functions did. Is shows how over time we develop many different ways to express our cultures, our time period, and ourselves.