Abstract Expressionism

"Autumn Rhythm" by Jackson Pollock (1950) is a work of no real forms. There are no trees or people, and the whole piece is the subject mater, not just one spot or section. Many people find his pieces to not be art, their scattered reasons for their assumptions is not important. Their definition of art and my definition of art are different, I find Pollock's work to be quite brilliant in its own right. One must look at the way Pollock's pieces are made and not just the end product that is hung on the wall. Due to his piece being made line by line with no pre-sketches or plans, the finished product becomes some what of a journey. By looking at the lines first created and working your way line by line to the last line, you can reenacted the way Pollock painted that particular piece. Seeing one color work its way across the canvas passing another color, then trailing down, etc... it engulfs you in the one of a kind story of the creation of the work. Which causes his works to be timeless.

Realism

"Boating at Argentuil" by Manet (1874), is a imagie of what looks like two very wealthy people (a man and a woman) relaxing close to the water, possibly before or after a nice boating experience on the water. But with a closer look we see that the woman is not what she seems to be. She is a courtesan (we can tell by the black negligee under her dress which doesn't fit), So we can deduce that he has invited her for a day for his own pleasure, and to be seen. This comes down to the whole intention of Manet. He is making a statement about Paris during this time were everything is based on being seen. To be seen is the existence of the wealthy at this time. Have things changed? Are we like the rich Parisians of the 1870's? I think we are the same, our styles have changed and the demands of what's hips has changed, but being seen with the newest phone or clothing style has become the goal of most teenagers and adults. What else is the explanation for shopping malls, great big buildings with every need met under one roof to keep the consumer up to date on the newest "must have" of the week. We find that most young people for fun go to the mall instead of a park or cafe, it solves all their problems. They eat popular food, shop, hang with friends, laugh, walk around, and bump into their other friends, which only helps their social status. By being see in Gucci or Juicy Couture, they are seen as doing the right thing by their age group.

Inpressionism

"Olympia" By Manet, was a shocking and possibly even repulsive painting to the viewer. During this time a portrayal of a nude "French" courtesan was taboo of the highest degree. If it was a woman of any other "non-modern" culture it was fine and would be well received. If we look back at the salons of Manet's time, we cannot understand their objection to a nude French woman in relation to a naked woman, of a primitive culture. A naked woman is a naked woman (as you would be saying to yourself), but the limits of nudity and sexuality have become much more lenient through the decades. Now on TV (the mass salons of today) we see suggestive sexuality and suggested nudity in TV shows, while the ever popular YouTube we see open nudity and in some senses soft pornography, due to the lack of limits put on what people can put and find on the Internet. In the 20Th century, open sexuality is an everyday thing that we glance over in the media. Now some of the examples above are the extremes, but they are much more prevalent than five or ten years ago, and by far more prevalent in public than the days of Manet's salons.

Archetecture

1. Architecture was for the rich and businesses before the 1920'S

2.The distrust of decoration in the beginning of early modernism, was due to the Victorian style of mass quantities of elaborate decorations, while in modernism the less useless decoration the better.

3. Louis Sullivan philosophy on architecture was that the exterior of the building should reflect the interior function of the building.

4. The first time skeletal construction was used in Architecture was in 1871-2 to create the Chocolate works by Jules Saulinier.

5.Ludwig Miles van der Rohe's belief on glass but also his overall architecture was to reflect nature in his buildings.
(http://www.artandculture.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/ACLive.woa/wa/artist?id=255)

6. A few of the elements of the Bauhaus were the simplicity of line and materials, also trying to attain the maximum interior space of the building, and minimalism.

7. Frank Lyod Wright: Believed in making his building blend in with its natural surroundings. He did this by building his buildings from natural materials, such as wood, stone, etc.
Corbusier: Believed in maximizing space, he used glass and concrete mostly, to make quick, stark buildings.