"When we first began our study of reflections I immediately thought of water and its ability to return light from its surface and project a rippled representation of the world around it. This is similar to the way in which architecture has the tendency to reflect the culture of the society that built it." ~ Kelly
"Eastern Influence can easily be seen in the Peacock Room. Designed by James Whistler from 1876-1877, the surface decorations on the walls - forming a sort of cage - to display eastern pottery and china was one of the first forms of true interior architecture." ~ Audra
Peacock Room"As my father often said, there is not a first without a second, and we do not under estimate anyone because we might need them one day." ~ Jasmine
I pulled the quotes and images above from three of my classmate's essays on the Reflections Unit because I think they explained the main points very well. Kelly connects Monet's Water Lilies painting on every level to the revolution that is happening in architecture and design. I really appreciate the way she connected the painting to Vivaldi's symphony we listened to in class and then connected it to Versailles. She says, "The floating melodies, and the structured rhythm of the Autumn movement from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Suite reflects the fluidity of parts to the whole within the formality of the axial layout of the space." Art, music, and architecture were changing together and showing that designers, artists, and musicians were trying to capture the essence of their subject. In the revolution process, some styles stayed and some didn't. Audra states that this process is called "The Revolution of Excess" and Eastern influence is key to toning down the excess. The Peacock Room is beautiful and exotic, but the straight lines and simple color pallet allow it to be dramatic yet calming at the same time. She says "the surface decorations on the walls - forming a sort of cage - to display eastern pottery and china was one of the first forms of true interior architecture." Even though there a many pieces displayed on the walls, the space doesn't seem cluttered at all. Revolution was not only seen in interiors, but grand buildings such as the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II in Milan were showing what new materials such as glass and iron could create. The interesting thing is that as design moved forward, the past was not forgotten. Stone is still a major material used in this building. Jasmine states, "In my opinion, very few buildings are as beautiful and successful as this one in bringing together the old with the new, into a seamless dance of shadows and lights, moving among the heavy stone walls."
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