Point: Reflections

“It's just a jump to the left, and a step to the right...Let's do the Time Warp again!!!” Patrick quipped in class about doing the Time Warp. After recently see Rocky Horror Picture show over the weekend at the Carolina Theater I realized how perfect his statement truly was for this unit. This unit was all about looking to the past and recreating, modifying, and even revolutionizing.

Patrick provided a slide in his lecture a couple weeks back drawing a comparison throughout many of the design cycles. It was depicted as a pinwheel of sorts with “Revolution” at the center and various terms with subcategories off shooting from the center. Those included Renaissance: the revival of learning and culture, further described as rebirth, transition, and changeover. Revival: coming again into activity, renewal, reclamation, and rehabilitation.  Rotation: uniform variation in sequence, circumvolution, rhythm, and flow. Cycle: a recurring series of events, series, sequence, and phase. Reform: a change for the better, straighten, regenerate, correct abuses.

This to me was exceptionally helpful in understanding how everything responds to the previous, and continues to build upon itself. Few things have truly broken free from past precedents; in fact it may be argued that nothing is truly ever new.  We continue to work out the kinks or problems of previous works. Although I believe once we made it into the more modern style period we were no longer recreating the past per say in a 1:1 form with exception of what we saw in Chicago with the city built meant to pay homage to Columbus, but instead we were reacting to the past and improving it. We improved our technology with the emergence of the railways which brought with it new materials to build with (iron and glass). This revolutionized the face of architecture, or rather the bone structure for lack of a better term.  While this was happening however we still had Victorian, and Arts and Crafts speaking. Homesteads still looked to the past as commerce and buildings associated it with it were looking to the future.

It became clear during this unit that it is difficult to define modern and modernism.  The free online dictionary defines modern architecture as a “new architectural style that emerged in many Western countries in the decade after World War I. It was based on the "rational" use of modern materials, the principles of functionalist planning, and the rejection of historical precedent and ornament”(http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/modern+architecture). I do not believe you can truly define it, it is always changing, always reacting to the current culture.

http://www.southbayshipping.com/2005Modernarchitecture53.html

Again, going back to the time warp statement…the image I chose represents time shifting, being mixed together, coming together to create one image. The image reflects modern architecture being swirled around. To me this represents the idea of many ideas or languages coming together, the lines of separation blurring, responding to what is happening around them taking components from each to unite them into one composition creating a new genre.

“It's astounding, time is fleeting

Madness takes its toll

But listen closely, not for very much longer

I've got to keep control

I remember doing the Time Warp

Drinking those moments when

The blackness would hit me and the void would be calling

Let's do the time warp again...”