Poetry: "The Garden"

                                                                                                                            Nguyen Vu
                    The Garden

     Winds blowing, pushing the surface
     of the crystal clear pool,
     I went to the renaissance-styled garden,
     where the scent of the ocean
     and the billowing gray clouds
     cloaked the manicured terrain.

     The structures of marble, and stone
     stand sturdy; the sun raises
     the green luscious vines.
     The carved angels frolic about
     in white, loveliness flaunting. Along the paths
     the palms danced--
     ethereal beings, lightening the landscape.
     Through the storms, subsequent delicacies
     will remain.

         

Response to Visionary Metropolis: Tony Garnier's Une Cité Industrielle

     The amount of work that Tony Garnier has produced for Une Cité Industrielle shows how obsessive he is about bringing this idea of a modern city, that was planned to be virtually utopian, to  life. Considering what the citizens of this city would want, Garnier depicted every single intricate detail in the architectural floor plan and also in the specific sketches of different areas of the city (residential zones, industrial zones etc.) I must admit at first glance his renderings do just seem like pretty architectural illustrations but as I looked closer the small texts revealed that in creating this ideal metropolis, Garnier was considering the needs of every individual that would live in this society.
    Not only did Garnier and his peers create proposals for a "greener" society, they also brought to light the flaws of industrialization. In Pierre Paulus' piece The Industrial Region, the portrayal of the smog billowing out of the factory chimneys caused me to almost smell the toxic fumes. I can not begin to imagine what life was like to for people like Tony Garnier during the industrial revolution. Yes everything around you is advancing at a rapid rate and society is improving, but at what cost? Humans were beginning to be less and less considerate of environmental degradation that was also occurring and that drove Garnier (and many other "designers and reformers") to propose a change for the better. To me, Une Cité Industrielle is a fine example of how one person was able to process and synthesize the information around him and turned it into a proposal to revamp society.

Une Cité Industrielle

Plate 123, Habitation [Dwelling], from Une Cité Industrielle, 1917

Poster, Le pays industriel, De nijverheidsstreek
[The Industrial Region], 1911
Pierre Paulus
Chromolithograph

Response to The Discipline of Nature: Architect Alfred Browning Parker in Florida

     Upon finding out that Alfred Browning Parker was an environmentally conscious architect, I immediately thought of Frank Lloyd Wright. I later found out that Parker was indeed inspired by Wright's trailblazing "organic architecture" ideology (I am rather familiar with Wright's work because my high school was very close to Florida Southern College, home of the world's largest single-site collection of Wright's architecture.) From reading a small section in one of Parker's journals that were in display, I could tell that he is very consistent with his practice and it shows in his marvelous architectural feats. In one of his journals he noted, "Efficiency is largely a matter of concentration. Health is an important factor. Keep resiliency and energy. Excess energy". With a mindset like this,  Alfred Parker always stayed conscious about his surroundings and continued to incorporate it into his work throughout his long career.
     When looking at Alfred Parker's work, I noticed that the nature(plants, flowers, bodies of water) and man made buildings in his renderings are always unified in a natural way. In some/most of his drawn models and sketches, Parker illustrates each building in a whole landscape, and gives each of them an environment to coexist with. Even after reaching celebrity status, Parker continued to innovate knowing that he has gotten to a point where he can continue his practice on a national level.

Adobe Villas

Caribbean Projects

Belin Residence #2, Coconut Grove, 2059

World Trade Center Project

The Street/ "a SoFlo afternoon"

During critique my peers identified that my color usage to convey mood was a strength; I plan on using color to convey mood for The Garden as well.

Research of Images for List on Board

*Buckminster Fuller: an American architect, worked from late 1920s to 70s.

* Ha-has: Can be found in formal gardens, grounds of grand estates.

*Parco dei Mostri: Located in Bomarzo in the province of Viterbo, in Northern Lazio, Italy. Created during the 16th century.

*Roman Forum: Originally a market place in Ancient Rome, built by  multiple emperors(from emperor Julian to Trajan), Started being built in 29 BC.

*Boboli Gardens: Located in Florence, Italy. It's construction began in 18th century.

*Jardin du Luxembourg: Located in Paris, France and built in 1612 as a commission for Marie de' Medici.

*Tivoli Garden or Villa de'Este: An Italian Renaissance garden in Tivoli, Italy, made during the 16th century.

*Bernini's Four Rivers: Designed in 1651 by Bernini and Pope Innocent X. This fountain is located in  Piazza Navona, Roma, Italy. 

* Jean Dubuffet's Jardin d'E maille: Made in 1974 and is currently in the Rijksmuseum, Netherlands.

*Stowe Garden: An 18th century garden located in  Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England.

*Stourhead Garden: An 18th century garden located in Mere, Wiltshire, England.

* Lincoln Memorial: This national monument is located in the National Mall, Washington D.C and was in construction from 1914 to 1922.

*Viscaya Museum: Named after early Spaniard " Bel Viscera". This villa belonged to James Deering, a business man, and served as his winter residence. It was in construction from 1914 to 1923.

*Fairchild Tropical Gardens: Established in 1936 by Robert H. Montgomery. He named the garden after his friend, David Fairchild ( who retired in Miami).

Response to “Green Dreams”

    This text is laden with historical references and allusions; I found myself having to look up a lot of what Harbison was referring to as I tried to decipher the reading. All of the extra research was tedious but I was determined to get as much as I can out of the reading and I actually found the new bits of knowledge to be rather rewarding. I've learned that a garden can carry a powerful monologue, it can be an intellectual space that can possess a plethora of symbolism.
     Two things really stuck to me from this passage: Harbison's allusion to Piranesi and Raphael's artwork in context with this "garden" topic. I've actually never heard of Piranesi before and discovering his work through this text was a real treat. There is a certain atmosphere that Piranesi manages to create in each of his elaborately rendered etchings and I can't stop studying the details in them ( I can see MC Escher possible drawing inspiration from Piranesi's Imaginary Prisons.) The comparison between the Stourhead temple and the one in Raphael's Marriage of the Virgin helped me understand how a building can bring "higher meanings" to their surroundings, in this case, a Renaissance painting and an English garden.

Carceri d'invenzione or Imaginary Prisons
Piranesi

Marriage of the Virgin
Raphael

Temple of Apollo, Stourhead

In-Depth: Thriving

As I was sketching out and brainstorming for this project, a specific memory came back to me. When I used to live at home I would always try to grow and nurture small plants and no matter how much I cared for them they would always die; my dad would then scold me and tell me "Trồng cây cột điện cho nó sướng" which roughly translates to "Why don't you just grow a telephone pole so it won't die to save your breath. This little anecdote of mine prompted me to explore with this idea for the metamorphosis project. 

Post-Critique:
I learned that this is more of a representation of transformation and is unresolved in terms of the transformation aspect of the assignment. Needs further exploration.                                                                    

 

Response to: Titus Kaphar, The Vesper Project

     I definitely felt Titus Kaphar's ambitious energy emitting through his installations. Due to the historical nature of his art, I felt as if I was in a time capsule. During the process of trying to make sense of the internal fictional narrative running through his head, Kaphar chose materials ranging from painted canvas to an actual house that he reconstructed to fit the narrative. The house was actually the last installation in this exhibit that I chose to look at and the first thing I noticed was a presence within the walls of the demolished room. The presence was radiating off the materials that he used; the newspapers covering the walls, the photographs, the mangled furniture et cetera together creates an eerie and chaotic atmosphere that, to me, resemble the state of a human mind during a mental breakdown.

     One of Titus Kaphar's most admirable characteristics to me is his commitment to his artistic process. He completely allowed himself to experiment, indulge, and get lost within his artwork. In the end, he wound up with this collection of works that carried out his intentions to "nod to hidden narratives and begin to reveal unspoken truths about the nature of history." Another thing that I find fascinating is the fact that he worked and lived with his fictional narrative (much like fictional writers) and is completely okay with allowing fictional stories to integrate into his reality. Like Kaphar, I would like to develop a stronger sense of trust with my art by continuing to create and letting the process draw out those hidden narratives in my own life.

Watching Tides Rise, 2012
Oil and tar on canvas

Front Page, 2012
Oil and newspaper on canvas

Below are images from the "house" part of the Vesper Project

 

 

Portrait/Propaganda

 For the portrait I chose to depict my little brother as an admirable young man.


 For the propaganda piece I thought it'd only be appropriate to depict my brother as a teenage delinquent.