Politics, Baroque, and Rococo

In the seventeenth century, financial stability opened the door to the luxuries of Baroque. The end of the Thirty Years War that devastated the German states, furthermore, the end of the Turkish Siege of Vienna brought stability to Central Europe (Grant 54). It is these series of events that opened the doors for a new plan. A plan to build great cities and relaxing country sides – Baroque seemed fit to fulfill this vision. Magnificent thinking spread throughout Europe reaching Italy, Spain and Portugal (Grant 57). It was a political need that was interpreted with design that sparked the movement of a new look. What made this style all the more memorable was the colossal size of the building and the high intensity of decoration in the rooms. The exterior was just as decorated as the interior and every artistic detail was symmetrical (Grant54). Every room within the building flowed in contrast and color. The grand staircase and hallways incited a sense of anticipation and expectation. The walls were no longer identified as a structural tool rather as a decorative canvas. Wealth was the theme in Europe. Even in England where they did not experience much prosperity as did Central Europe, they still shared in the glory by adopting the style of Baroque (Grant 57). There homes were filled with artwork and represented a life of luxury.

France revolutionized the design of interiors at the eighteenth century. Extensions and alteration were made to the palaces of the king – Louis XIV (Levy 265). A need for change and a fresh new look is what sparked this change. The ornamental figures on walls became lighter and asymmetrical, naturalistic motifs began to appear, the legs on chairs and other furniture pieces became more rounded, feminine themes began to appear such as the caryatids, intimate living became a need, ornaments and paintings became more picturesque, motifs in swirls and shells began to appear (Levy 267). This French taste in style spread throughout Europe. By 1750, the majority of Europe had adopted this particular style which became known as the Rococo Revival (Levy 266).

Furniture Designer John Henry Belter

John Henry Belter was not the only furniture maker in New York City nor was he the only one utilizing Rococo Revival to create his furniture. However, there are certain techniques and motifs that he used that separated him from the rest and made him what he has become to be known to be today—one of the best Rococo Revival furniture producers of his time. First, John Henry Belter used a technique called laminating in making his furniture. He referred to it as “pressed wood”. This process is utilized to achieve ornaments. Second, Belter’s work was more elaborate compared to other cabinet makers (“History Wired” 1). The inspiration for Belters ornamentation came from the floral designers Jean Baptiste Monnayer (1634-1699) and architect Jean Lepautre (1618-1682). They were both important figures during the seventeenth century. Another source of inspiration for Belters ornamentation is the concept of realism introduced during the reign of Louis XIV which is why Louis XIV is so closely related to the Rococo Revival (Shwartz 2). The concept of realism introduced images of birds, flowers, naturalistic elements as motifs to Rococo Revival furniture—a big feature on the furniture of Belter. These naturalistic forms are details that distinguish Belter from the rest of the furniture makers in New York City.

Design Is Dangerous

The use of sustainable materials lacks in this society. The issue of environmental responsibility was not present in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Although production of designed furniture, jewelry, buildings, etc. began before the Industrial Revolution, production was not as fast and massive. It was at a slower pace and at a smaller scale making materials available to only a small portion of people. Now, due to the introduction of machines and factories during the Industrial Revolution, these products are available to everyone. Although this is a positive outcome, it came with a problem—the emission of pollution in the air and the exhaustion of natural resources. In addition, the availability of resources and the massive production of goods have made it easier for humans to waste. In other words, more products mean more waste.

Thankfully, recyclying of materials has been introduced in this century, but how much of the recycled materials that the average person recycles is actually recycled? According to the news article, Recycled material being ‘dumped as landfill’ by Andy Bloxham, “around 240,000 tons of paper, glass and plastic is either dumped or burned after being collected in green bins and bags by local council staff…”. Therefore, designers must not only be educated in the use of materials, but also public policy. It is a shame that there are instances like these that make the effort to turn towards sustainability difficult.

Sometimes we cannot predict the outcome of our actions (in the case of the Industrial Revolution). Thus, it is fair to say that this was an unintentional consequence. On the other hand, we are given the opportunity to learn from our actions and avoid producing the same negative outcome. As designers we are responsible for what we produce in this world and for the sake of our environment and our health we must think green.  

Design In Society 2

The design of the toilet is a utopian one because it aims to improve the cleanliness and sanitation of society.
This mechanism works to dispose human waste through a pipe that transports it to another location. Besides the usefulness of this product, the design of the product is an interesting concept. It is composed of a bowl and a tank.


In the tank sits liters of waters. When the toilet is flushed, water is released and more water is let back in. In other words, it is a system of exchange. Although the tank system may vary, there is usually a a valve that allows for water flow. For instance,  you flush, the valve is pulled up by a chain, and water is exchanged. The bowl is most commonly made of ceramic, but can be made out of other materials such as metal. The toilet is usually mounted on the wall (wall mounted) and resides in the bathroom.


There exists cultural variations in the use of the toilet. In India, the toilet may be used in a squatting position. This squatting position is also used on Russian trains. In Japan, there is a variation of toilets, the oldest being the squat toilet. The squat toilet has a tank, but no bowl. Therefore, the waste is received in a hole that is implanted into the ground and transported through the tank. After World War II, western style toilets became more popular. Although this is the case, there are many more advantages in using a squat toilet. For example, it is easier to clean, less expensive, and there is no occurence of splashing from water in a toilet bowl. In addtion, it contributes to your health. Squatting can reduce possible hemorrhoids, it can prepare a preganant women for natural delivery, and it is beneficial for your puborectalis muscle and ileocecal valve.


The western toilet and squatting toilet are both beneficial in that they reduce waste, but the squatting toilet is better in ergonomic design.

Color Transforms

The book Interaction of Color by Josef Albers talks about the perception of color. Albers is one of the most influential people of the 20th century. He belonged to the Germany's Bauhaus Group from 1925 until its closing in 1933. He then came to the United States to teach at Black Mountain College until 1950. In 1950, he transfered to Yale to work as a Chairman for the Design department. Albers has won many awards during his lifetime, one of them being the National Institute of Arts and Letters in 1968. Albers states, "In visual perception, a color is almost never seen as it really is- as it physically is. This fact makes color the most relative medium in art."

Albers book was published in 1963 for the first time. Albers recorded his experiments in this book and explains the visual illusions of color. This makes color an unstable medium. This book also serves as a teaching guide fo teachers and students. The book provides color plates which make it easier to visualize the instability and visual illusions that color portrays.

Color puts a design into perspective. Since, color is very malleable it becomes very useful in indicating depth, strength, etc. in a design. I believe this is what Albers means when he says that color is decieveing. It potrays illusions that are not physically there. For example, a painting is a physical entity, but the images in a painting are not. They are just representations of physical objects. Color becomes a tool in depicting the images within a painting. Color, if used in the appropriate way, can signify depth and light. This makes color a tool in visual illusions.

Boroque

Baroque design began in the 16^th century in Italy. It began in the light of the Renaissance and grew popularity mainly amongst the Roman Churches. This design consisted of new techniques of shadow and light and displayed a high intensity in detail and depth. Since this design called for embellishments, it became an expensive type of design. Seeing that the Roman Catholic Church adopted this style was an expression of their wealth and superiority. This was important especially since the Protestant church was an entity that was created after they separated themselves from the Catholic Church. Thus, Baroque was a religious and social movement as well as a movement in design.

The main characteristics of this design are oval shaped or wider naves, architectural elements that were purposely incomplete, dramatic lighting also known to be strong contrasts in light, a wide use of color and ornaments usually made of wood, marble, stucco, etc., frescoes in large measures, a centralized and external façade, and paintings and sculptures in the interior. Many of the famous building that project this style are Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, Electors Palace in Trier in Germany, Santa Susana in Spain, and San Benedetto in Cantania in Italy. This style was later interpreted, or if you will, “revived” in the later century that became known as Rococo revival.

Ergonomics

The purpose of design is to serve the population particularly for a useful purpose. Ergonomics is an element in design that emphasis the concept of serving the population for a useful purpose. The main goal of ergonomics design is to prevent injuries from happening to the user of a particular design. According to Wikipedia Ergonomic is “the scientific discipline concerned with understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principle, data, and methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.”   In this case, I will use athletic shoes as an example. Safety, comfort, ease to use, performance or productivity, and aesthetics of design are five elements that characterize ergonomic study. This object must fit the characteristics of ergonomic study in order to fulfill its role.

As a person who has been a tri athlete in high school, I can say that specialized shoes for particular sports are very important. For instance, you use soccer cleats to play soccer and it is unsafe to do otherwise. There could be a risk of injury if you do not use the appropriate shoes for a sport because shoes are designed to fit the biological construction of your foot and designed to fit the purpose of the sport. Therefore, shoes fulfill the safety characteristic of ergonomics.

In addition to being safe, the comfort of shoes is also important. Comfort also reduces injury to the player. If you are not comfortable in shoes while you are playing a sport, the pain may distract the player making them loose their concentration, and incraesing their chances of injury. Comfort can reduce injury. In addition, it is very pleasing to the athlete.

Ease to use is convenient. In this day and age it seems as though convenience is important. With so much going on the last thing someone wants to worry about is putting on their shoes or putting in extra work while using their shoes. Therefore, athletic shoes were designed like regular tennis shoes in their dimensions and characteristics. They can be put on easily like every other normal shoe, but their purpose is different, to serve the needs of an athlete.

Performance is crucial. Recently, sketchers has come out with athletic shoes that tone your legs and butt. It is what makes the product appealing to the customers or in this case athlete. Performance is important to an athlete because it means productivity. Productivity means accomplishing things during a game.

Aesthetics of design is pleasing. Just because something is safe doesn’t mean it has to be boring. People like to buy nice things even if beauty is not the purpose of the product is. In addition, sometimes the aesthetics of a design can be beautiful as well as useful.

Ergonomics has five elements safety, comfort, and ease to use, performance, and aesthetics of design. Athletic shoes, as explained, fits the characteristics of ergonomics. Ergonomics is important to the consumer because it prevents injury which will eventually reduce the cost of medical expenses and this idea is pleasing to all.