[1] From the Roth, Harwood, and Massey readings, select an ARTIFACT you believe to represent revolution in design. SPECULATE about the type of revolution this artifact symbolizes. Supplement your answer with a beautifully hand rendered image of the artifact you selected, citing source and page on your image. [10 POINTS POSSIBLE]
This is an Argand lamp invented in 1781 using a tubular wick fueled by an oil reservoir. As one of the first artificial lighting sources, it greatly influenced and revolutionized the illumination of interior spaces, which allowed less focus on natural light and the strict, spatial planning revolving around natural light. As one of the first prototypes of artificial lighting, it has its downsides with the bulky oil resevoir that emits unsightly silhouettes where clean light would otherwise cast and so later designs used this lamp as a model with slight updates. The portability of oil lamps allows for more flexibility in use while also providing the opportunity to illuminate many different spaces as opposed to fixed lighting like chandeliers. The most common source of artificial light prior to oil lamps were candles but they didn’t offer anywhere near the amount of illumination of the Argand lamp. The industrial revolution supplied the technology through fast production and material inventiveness that made it possible to create oil lamps that in turn revolutionized the way we experience and respond to interior space.
Harwood, Architecture and Interior Design from the 19th century, pg 23.
[2] Using the internet, LOCATE and ANALYZE an image for an ARTIFACT, a SPACE, a BUILDING, and a PLACE, drawing the idea of eastern influences as understood by nineteenth-century minds (China, Japan, India, Middle Eastern) on western design and architecture. Each answer must include an appropriately annotated and cited image in addition to a well-crafted essay to defend your choice of each image and the ways (more than one) that the material item responds to design influences from the east. [20 POINTS POSSIBLE]**
The west was most readily influenced by the east through newly, extensive trade routes that linked the two worlds together. The inception of precious materials such as silk and porcelain as well as design characteristics like laquered wood and design concepts such as asymmetry and harmony with nature led to a design style coined as Chinoiserie by the French. In a rapidly growing commercial industry, desires and curiosity for exotic goods grew as previous western designs became boring and mundane.
Irish Chinese, Chippendale Mahogany Cabinet
The famous wood craftsman, Thomas Chippendale created this mahogany cabinet as a marriage between English, classical eclecticism with that of simple Chinoiserie surface decoration. The cabinet was inspired by the East through the delicate fretwork placed below the protruding, lower shelf and the visually fragile wood paneling displayed on the bookshelf. Clearly influenced by the East, the cabinet still maintains classical simplicity through the iconic cornice molding and the strictly established symmetry. The English had a distinct infatuation with rational simplicity that coincides with their perception of the ‘down-to-earth’ nature of Eastern lifestyles, so that by incorporating design features celebrated in the East, they too could tap into that harmony.
Château de Chantilly interior, France
The French particularly took an interest in Chinoiserie because it complimented and accentuated their own Rococo style. Here at the Chateau de Chantilly the owners collaborated the pictorial, landscape scenes reflecting the mystery and carefree nature of how they perceived China with that of the heavily gilded wood panels of the Rococo panache. Furthermore, the lacquered surface decoration littered throughout the space is reminiscent of the delicate wood craftsmanship commonly seen in eastern design. This space is the perfect embodiment between the original French interior style of Rococo with the western version of Chinese surface decoration.
China House, Potsdam Germany (Garden Pavilion).
The China House in Germany is a further exploration of the perceived care-free nature of the Chinese mostly as a reflection of the German aristocracies attraction to decadence and novelty expressed through an exotic culture. This western imitation structure is by no surprise a garden pavilion reflecting the East’s strong affinity with nature and seclusion. Four sandstone columns support the porch with massive floral capitals imitating eastern design permeated by gilded figurines in eastern apparel. The top is crowned with a Chinese cupola with yet another eastern figurine perched comfortably in the center. Even the light color palette in a shade of green reflects the influence of the East with attempts to blend in to the environment. The building functions as a small lodge for social gathering of the noble, reflecting the informal attitude of western perception towards the east.
Kew Gardens, London
Kew Gardens within London displays a small Japanese landscape shown here with a Pagoda tower and a small, undulated pavilion dotting a flourishing, meandering landscape. The whimsical pathways reflect the asymmetrical, ‘go with the flow’ persona of the east but also the clear respect for nature with careful placement of structures that don’t dominate the environment. These intricate, weaving pathways were a reaction to the formal, sweeping lines of other contemporaries as the English preferred to fantasize every now and again in the secluded parks of the otherwise urban London or before returning to their rationally classical homes.
[1] great drawing!! nice selection for your innovative artifact symbolizing revolution. what about the revolution the whale oil industry represented? [2] articulate images and annotations to connect east to west....led strongly by the chinoiserie relative to the bookcase.
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