emotional colour

The understanding and representation of colour was first graphed by Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727). J.Gage, In his experiment to determine the chromatic constituents of the spectrum he had enrolled the services of 'an Assistant', whose Eyes for distinguishing Colours were more critical than mine'. Colour and Culture, p.191. Here Gage quoted Newton was assisted in representing his discovery, an analysis of the colour spectrum.

This discovery was displayed in a painting by G. Battista Pittoni, in a piece called 'An Allegorical Monument to Sir Isaac Newton' (1727-30). This represents not only this, but also the time it occurred. It is framed by a representational image. What I mean by this is its environment. The location of this scene is classical, yet its imagery is opposing importance. It is not a church, but a collection of definitive human structure. The human scale that is involved in this scene has hierarchy but at the peak of this it is not of religion. It is a collection of thinkers and innovation.

Colour at the time was used as a representation of a religious hierarchy. What this image displays is a understanding that colour may not be defined by the gods. The origin of light creating a spectrum of colour in this case is not of religious birth. It is seen above these innovators among the structure created by man. From this it reflects into a natural projection of the colour spectrum.

The beam of light is at an angle and in shadow, around the corner from what looks to be illuminated from the heavens. This indicates it isnt provided directly from the gods. It is a natural occurance that the reflection has transformed in this way.

I felt this understanding is a frame of human development. An understanding of things that couldn't be explained, may not be the act of gods. This is relevant not only in terms of fine art but also science, society and a responsibility shown by humans that these 'unnatural' or 'otherworldly' feelings are under our control. It is a beginning of human scaled emotions and presents a life beyond the rule of god.



G. Battista Pittoni
An Allegorical Monument to Sir Isaac Newton, 1727-30

ornament and crime

Adolf Loos (1870 – 1933) believed all ornamentation that had been preserved from the past was useless. To him ornamented furnishings served little purpose other than pleasing the eye and representing wealth. Items of the working class were made to serve a purpose and had no need for ornamentation. This meant they were discarded and the knowledge lost. A.Loos (1910) We possess no carpenter's benches of the Carolingian period; instead any rubbish which had even the smallest ornament was collected, cleaned and displayed in ostentatious palaces that were built for them, people walked sadly amongst the display cabinets. The Industrial Design Reader, p.76.

Loos believed in the discontinuation of ornamentation and his resolution to this was to promote a style without it. He makes a very valid point with how much effort goes into these processes; it uses more material, time and as a result more money. Also who was affected by this were the workers, not spending the extra time to decorate these things meant they could put their efforts into making the objects more reliable, make more of them and also work less hours.

I thought this sounded like a great idea however there is a certain joy in the making of something that shouldn’t be discarded. Without joy in your work it becomes strenuous and repetitive and you soon lose interest, making everything else seem that much worse. I believe that ornamentation can be celebrated through the experimentation and knowledge of material. Also it needs to be made with the same understanding to create the form it collaborates with. Then again this combination would be nothing with out the frame of a solid construction because the real beauty about an object is how it is made.

decoration constructed, construction decorated

Embellishment was popular in the early stages of industrialisation. It created allure and attracted people with little understanding of Architecture and its' decoration which they thought gave them the opportunity to express their wealth.

Embellishment is a tool that may be used to alter representations of construction and alter the perception of object. In the Grammar of Ornament, Owen Jones' argument questions the understanding of structure and architecture that was involved in the creation of these objects. The structure of these mass produced forms were irrational and the style of decoration used was inappropriate to the periods they represented.

What he meant by this was that products made as decorations, lacked function and relevance to its surroundings. For example a typical Victorian plate of the 1850's was decorated with a perspective of a Gothic cathedral, outlined with Rococo Illustration in blue on a porcelain plate. This style of decoration is more relevant to dutch, japanese and chinese heritage and the mixture of these topics is bizarre and unrelated to the era and its function.

A.W.N. Pugin felt that true construction is shown by staying true to the material and not using imagery to lure in an 'uneducated' client. It was the likes of Sir Henry Cole that knew the working class (who had recently discovered the value of a paycheck) needed to be educated to discontinue the production of meaningless, decoration constructed items.

I feel that these people were on the right track, however I agree more with Cole than I do Pugin. Although neither of them fully rejected industrialisation, the creations of Pugin may have suited the era, but looking at the from our time they are too extravagant and bulky. These new processes allowed a lot less bulk and innovation, creating a less invasive structure. This type of structure I think is the relief that places like London needed at the time, what they had was too intrusive and left little room for the great expansion.

The Crystal Palace threw out a lot of the old rules, it was pre fabricated and assembled in such little time, only made possible by the recent developments. I agree more with Cole because he accepted these changes and saw there was a way to use it to benefit everyone with education. With this education came more possibility, a turn around took years but the understanding they provided was worth the effort.

The La Chaise chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames captures the balance of beauty and utility. It is honest with its use of fiberglass which ironically creates an organic and ergonomic form. The structure of wood and chromed steel designed to support this form is not for decoration. It is an influence of modernism and the combination of these materials results in a construction, ornamented with a fluid yet solid, human inclined form. It is a Yin-Yang collaboration of a male linear structure, topped with a feminine curve.

the continuing curve

The object I have chosen is a symbol of historic and cultural value. This is the Maori symbol for eternity, a closed loop with two crossings over instead of the more internationally recognised infinity loop(side-ways figure of 8).

This maori symbol is a continuous curve. Its shape is an analogy for the unity of culture, friendship, loyalty and can also express an eternal union of two people. It is an object of personal taonga rather than something of function. There are variations of this for personal meaning but the fundamental shape stays the same.

This bond between male and female has more fluidity compared to a yin-yang type connection. Its cultural union is important also. If there was this fluid connection with the indigenous of NZ, there would be less conflict and a better understanding of our landscape.

an important design

The Fender Stratocaster was designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton and Freddie Tavers in 1954 and has been in production ever since. The important feature of this guitar is the shape, which is called a double cut away providing easier access to the higher frets under the strings. There is a groove at the back of the guitar where it rests with a slim lined, solid body. Guitars like these at the time were a revolution as up until this point electric guitars were large bodied and hollow used and made for jazz. These sleeker designs such as the stratocaster relied on the electronics allowing the shape to be slimmed down. This created the possibility for a brand new generation of music which gave it the time to refine as a classic.