READING COMPREHENSION 7

LANDSCAPE: REAL, SURREAL & CONSTRUCTED

Srrounded Islands, Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami Florida
by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Focusing on the work and commerce theme in the Greensboro Collects Art gallery exhibition at the Weatherspoon Art Museum,I noticed that majority of these pieces depict symbolic and abstract interpretations of the earths surface.
"architects use of forms that are widely and instantly recognizable, drawing on imagery that is comforting and reassuring in a destabilizing world"(Roth pg.584)


This kind of art called "land art" or "earth art" It emerged late 1960s in the U.S.
The luminous pink color of the shiny fabric was in harmony with the tropical vegetation of the uninhabited verdant island, the light of the Miami sky and the colors of the shallow waters of Biscayne Bay. Surrounded Islands was a work of art which underlined the various elements and ways in which the people of Miami live, between land and water."The ‘Hi-Tech’ movement celebrated the aesthetic of industrial production."(Massey pg.195)

I think their work was visually impressive and often controversial as a result of its scale, the artists have repeatedly denied that their projects contain any deeper meaning than their immediate aesthetic impact. The purpose of their art was simply to create works of art or joy and beauty and to create new ways of seeing familiar landscapes. I believe one important thing Christo’s work does highlight is the basic relationship between humans and the earth.

Like Christo and Jeanne-Claude, many architects emphasized on beauty or joy of its function. I believe many designer got impressed or inspired by trend of art. As people know, art is mainly viewed for delight, therefore architectures purpose was changed. The form or exterior became so important that the function no longer matters. For example, the Sydney Opera House is meant to be sculptural and portray sales off of the ocean and it accomplishes this but as a concert hall it lack in some important areas. The interior is problematic when it comes to sounds and due to its end product being an opera house it is useless. This is considered satisfactory because it fulfills what the designer intended the building to look like and not what the building was supposed to be used for but it had to be done "the image was simply too compelling not to build".(Roth pg.554)