The Sistine Chapel. I know from the discussion that we had after seeing the Vatican that not many people enjoyed the Sistine Chapel and I must admit that although I did like it, I thought it was going to be a better experience. The whole room was absolutely packed and everyone was talking, which meant that it was this poor man’s job to stand around all day yelling, “Silencio!” Which really did nothing whatsoever. It’s too bad because I think the place would have been much more majestic had the room been completely silent and there was less than fifty people in there. Instead, we were packed in like sardines and being yelled at.
That being said, it was still an incredible experience to have and I am really glad that I got to see it. I have seen pictures of the Sistine Chapel so many times and yet I was still never able to fully comprehend how busy it looks when you are staring up at it. It is so hard to pay attention to every detail, although it would be nice if you could. I think the best part about the Chapel, though, is not the ceiling but The Last Judgment. It is absolutely huge and I personally am very interested in the religious art that depicts souls that are going to heaven and the ones that are going to hell. Which is exactly what The Last Judgment is, it is the weighing of souls to see who makes it into heaven and who is rejected and sent to hell. I think it is just the greatest form of propaganda that has ever been made. There is the typical scare tactic, which is the threat of hell. So, if one does not want to find oneself in hell, then you have to sign up for a religion (in this case Christianity) that is going to save your soul. And when you see The Last Judgment in person, I don’t blame the people who subscribe to Christianity. It’s the televangelists of the past. It is a way to get people to believe. I find it really amazing to be in the presence of something that has so much power over people. To think that The Last Judgment probably converted a lot of people at the time of its inception, is formative.
To be living in a country that is predominately Catholic, when I am a non-subscriber to any religion, makes it interesting to see how important it is to the people here. It is not like in the US, where religion has become “cool.” Where things like youth groups and such are a place to make friends and become this little cliché. For the people here it is so much more than that. They are actually moved when they visit the chapels. Instead of feeling obliged to go to church every Sunday. I have seen so many people praying in the many churches I have been in and I always wonder what they are praying about. What drives them to go to the church and pray? Most of it is probably upbringing. But people go to these churches and gaze up at the religious iconography and then kneel down and become one more follower. The religious iconography is very important, which makes things like the Sistine Chapel and The Last Judgment, religiously important to believers, while for me, it is just art. It is a very odd experience. Sometimes I really wish I could be experiencing it like they are. Just to see what it is like. Would I appreciate the art more or less?
PS. I SAW THE PANTHEON! IT WAS (__________)!!!!
insert any adjective for orgasmic
Monday, August 27, 2007
21/08/2007. Rome day one: Galleria Borghese. Bernini.
When we went to the Galleria Borghese I was not aware of how many Bernini sculptures I was going to get to see. I have learned about so many of them through my art history classes and they were so much more amazing to see in person. As I went from room to room and saw each Bernini I started to remember why he was such a great sculptor and what his style was like. Stylistically, Bernini was very interested in portraying the action of the moment. This is very consistent with the Baroque style of the time, which utilized motion to create drama. Unlike Michelangelo, for example, whose sculptures were often contemplative. Bernini caught the action in his sculptures, which is a difficult thing to do especially when working with marble. In each sculpture you could see the consistency in his manner of work.
I think one of the sculptures that I found the most interesting was the Apollo and Daphne. The main reason for this is because I absolutely love the way that Bernini sculpted the form of Daphne. The story is that of Apollo whom is trying to capture Daphne and right at the moment when he would have succeeded, she turns into a tree. They way he showed her fingers turning into leaves and branches (which look very fragile like branches) and the front of her body turning into the trunk of the tree. To see her body, not quite a tree and yet not completely a human form either is really impressive. It’s such a thrilling piece to see in person.
The piece that I was the most amazed at was the Rape of Persephone. The first time I saw this piece, I recognized it as being Bernini and something that I had previously studied. I found the tension in the work to be stunning and you could really imagine that this event had actually taken place and Bernini had sculpted it right at the moment. Hades is seen as being very muscular and is forcefully taking Persephone down to Hades with him. Bernini did not miss one detail, the tears running down her face, the twisting of her body as she desperately tries to escape his grasp. It is in this twisting of her body that the handiwork of Bernini is really seen. There is one place to the right of the sculptor, where Hades is clutching Persephone’s upper thigh and it looks completely real. I have never seen marble look like that before. It is like you can actually feel the tightness of his grip on your own body. The feeling of his fingers as they dig down into your flesh.
Bernini’s David was also evidence of his use of the moment. Very unlike Michelangelo’s David, Bernini’s is sculpted in the moment right as he is flinging the rock at Goliath. Michelangelo’s David is depicted moments before he is about to launch the rock and because of this, David is shown as being very contemplative and almost worried. Bernini’s is quite different. His David is fully twisted in the motion of slinging the rock at Goliath. His body is contorted, his face is fierce with courage and you almost half expect him to continue the motion to completion. There is no contemplation because there is no time for it. David had to kill Goliath right now, or he himself will be killed.
The great part about Bernini’s sculptures is that they convey a moment of distress and action. It is very rare to see a sculptor whom shows his subjects in this manner. It is really refreshing, even given the age of these sculptures to see someone who tried something different and challenged himself to work in a way I do not think any one else had previously.
I think one of the sculptures that I found the most interesting was the Apollo and Daphne. The main reason for this is because I absolutely love the way that Bernini sculpted the form of Daphne. The story is that of Apollo whom is trying to capture Daphne and right at the moment when he would have succeeded, she turns into a tree. They way he showed her fingers turning into leaves and branches (which look very fragile like branches) and the front of her body turning into the trunk of the tree. To see her body, not quite a tree and yet not completely a human form either is really impressive. It’s such a thrilling piece to see in person.
The piece that I was the most amazed at was the Rape of Persephone. The first time I saw this piece, I recognized it as being Bernini and something that I had previously studied. I found the tension in the work to be stunning and you could really imagine that this event had actually taken place and Bernini had sculpted it right at the moment. Hades is seen as being very muscular and is forcefully taking Persephone down to Hades with him. Bernini did not miss one detail, the tears running down her face, the twisting of her body as she desperately tries to escape his grasp. It is in this twisting of her body that the handiwork of Bernini is really seen. There is one place to the right of the sculptor, where Hades is clutching Persephone’s upper thigh and it looks completely real. I have never seen marble look like that before. It is like you can actually feel the tightness of his grip on your own body. The feeling of his fingers as they dig down into your flesh.
Bernini’s David was also evidence of his use of the moment. Very unlike Michelangelo’s David, Bernini’s is sculpted in the moment right as he is flinging the rock at Goliath. Michelangelo’s David is depicted moments before he is about to launch the rock and because of this, David is shown as being very contemplative and almost worried. Bernini’s is quite different. His David is fully twisted in the motion of slinging the rock at Goliath. His body is contorted, his face is fierce with courage and you almost half expect him to continue the motion to completion. There is no contemplation because there is no time for it. David had to kill Goliath right now, or he himself will be killed.
The great part about Bernini’s sculptures is that they convey a moment of distress and action. It is very rare to see a sculptor whom shows his subjects in this manner. It is really refreshing, even given the age of these sculptures to see someone who tried something different and challenged himself to work in a way I do not think any one else had previously.
10/08/2007. Venice. Arsenale day two: Israel, Tomer Granihar. Hospital Party.
I realize that the two artists that I choose for both the Biennale and the Arsenale are dealing with political subjects, but I think that they can be compared and are actually very much alike. They are both choosing to play with the idea of war and address it in a controversial way. They are not just stating that war is bad and that we shouldn’t do it. They are trying to get people to examine the awful affects it actually does have on the people who are forced to live it. I think it is a type of art that affect the people who live in the US a lot, because we are not forced to live with war in our daily lives. We do not have to fear going to the grocery store or going down the street to visit a friend. But there are millions of people whom have to worry about that and whose lives are very affected from the byproducts of war.
Granihar’s exhibit was made up of photos that he had taken of victims of the war that is going on in Israel and Palestine. However these photographs were not taken of actual people. They were staged with mannequins that look like they have been inured or killed in war. One of the images I liked the best was of this photograph of a mannequin that was lying on a blanket with its eyes wide open and some medical wires connected to it, but there are no doctors or medics around it. The expression on this mannequin’s face that Granihar was able to capture is heartbreaking, repulsive and creepy all at the same time. The mannequin looks like it has, just at that moment, had the life pulled out of it so suddenly that the body did not even know what was going on. The mannequin’s face looks almost shocked. It is this shocked look that sends chills down my back and tears in my eyes. But it is the fact that I have these feelings for a mannequin that makes this exhibit very moving and humane. It shows that there is some compassion in the world, even if and when people are constantly killing each other every day.
If an artist can make you feel all these things while you are viewing an inanimate object, not just because they are supposedly injured, but because in actuality they are only dolls.
This is the strong point in Granihar’s exhibit. He is able to evoke emotion with a subject that is completely and utterly inanimate. He is able to take an object that does not have any human qualities except physical appearance and give those object feelings, lives, a past and a family. He is capable of giving this object all the attributes of a human life with just one still image. His presentation of these images is also very important. He had three walls that had one picture after the other, blown up and put in thin black frames. This way you could not ignore the images, they were right there in your face and you saw one after the other. Putting them in a line like this gives more of an assurance that people will start from one side and go to the other looking at each image. Had they been organized differently, it might have been easy to skip over one of them because we look at things very linearly. If images are set in front of us top to bottom, we wonder which direction to start. But when images are put in a straight line, horizontally, then we automatically start from left and go to the right. It is also a very clean way to display the images without taking away from any of them.
In the way that Adel Abidin created an atmosphere in her exhibit, Granihar created a feeling of uneasiness. Which with most war exhibits, is a pretty easy thing to do. No one really wants to see images from war. No one wants to see the carnage of bodies, the dead, the dying and the suffering. The feeling that Granihar gave off in his exhibit was not just uneasiness it was a feeling of eerie disgust. His exhibit was disturbing because the images were not of real people. In an ironic turn of events, he was able to create sympathy with an inanimate object that most people might not feel with the real thing. Had the images just been of actual people and the horrors of war, people would probably feel disturbed but they might not feel empathy because no one ever wants to think of themselves in such a position. With the mannequins, however, it is possible to stop a minute and imagine what it would be like if you were living the life of someone who has to deal with that shit everyday.
Granihar’s exhibit was made up of photos that he had taken of victims of the war that is going on in Israel and Palestine. However these photographs were not taken of actual people. They were staged with mannequins that look like they have been inured or killed in war. One of the images I liked the best was of this photograph of a mannequin that was lying on a blanket with its eyes wide open and some medical wires connected to it, but there are no doctors or medics around it. The expression on this mannequin’s face that Granihar was able to capture is heartbreaking, repulsive and creepy all at the same time. The mannequin looks like it has, just at that moment, had the life pulled out of it so suddenly that the body did not even know what was going on. The mannequin’s face looks almost shocked. It is this shocked look that sends chills down my back and tears in my eyes. But it is the fact that I have these feelings for a mannequin that makes this exhibit very moving and humane. It shows that there is some compassion in the world, even if and when people are constantly killing each other every day.
If an artist can make you feel all these things while you are viewing an inanimate object, not just because they are supposedly injured, but because in actuality they are only dolls.
This is the strong point in Granihar’s exhibit. He is able to evoke emotion with a subject that is completely and utterly inanimate. He is able to take an object that does not have any human qualities except physical appearance and give those object feelings, lives, a past and a family. He is capable of giving this object all the attributes of a human life with just one still image. His presentation of these images is also very important. He had three walls that had one picture after the other, blown up and put in thin black frames. This way you could not ignore the images, they were right there in your face and you saw one after the other. Putting them in a line like this gives more of an assurance that people will start from one side and go to the other looking at each image. Had they been organized differently, it might have been easy to skip over one of them because we look at things very linearly. If images are set in front of us top to bottom, we wonder which direction to start. But when images are put in a straight line, horizontally, then we automatically start from left and go to the right. It is also a very clean way to display the images without taking away from any of them.
In the way that Adel Abidin created an atmosphere in her exhibit, Granihar created a feeling of uneasiness. Which with most war exhibits, is a pretty easy thing to do. No one really wants to see images from war. No one wants to see the carnage of bodies, the dead, the dying and the suffering. The feeling that Granihar gave off in his exhibit was not just uneasiness it was a feeling of eerie disgust. His exhibit was disturbing because the images were not of real people. In an ironic turn of events, he was able to create sympathy with an inanimate object that most people might not feel with the real thing. Had the images just been of actual people and the horrors of war, people would probably feel disturbed but they might not feel empathy because no one ever wants to think of themselves in such a position. With the mannequins, however, it is possible to stop a minute and imagine what it would be like if you were living the life of someone who has to deal with that shit everyday.
09/08/2007. Venice. Biennale day one: Japan, Tabaimo. Dolefullhouse.
This was by far one of my favorite exhibits in the Italian pavilion in the Biennale. Dolefullhouse was an animation of the interior of a dollhouse and a pair of hands. The majority of the animation was of these hands putting material objects into the rooms of the dollhouse. After a while the house starts pulsing with veins and you start to understand that it is an organic object in and of itself. Then the hands start itching themselves rapidly and very intensely. It’s almost an impulsive itching. It’s like the itching feeling is tearing you apart inside. And it is. Because then the hands start itching the inside of the house as if it was the body of the hands.
This piece obviously had a lot to do about the consumption of material objects and our incessant need to fill our lives with petty objects. And yet it is something that we all do and cannot escape from. I think this is why Tabaimo decided to make the dollhouse symbolic of our own bodies because we can’t escape from ourselves. It is the one thing that we forever have to live with. Our bodies are made for consumption. We consume food and water just to sustain our lives. We also consume (not literally) material objects, not for sustainability but for personal comfort. We do not need 500-dollar shoes or 300-dollar suits. To actually keep ourselves alive, we NEED very little. But we choose to obtain these objects out of want or desire. I think that this is something that the artist is really trying to convey to the audience, the difference between bodily consumption versus material consumption.
This piece obviously had a lot to do about the consumption of material objects and our incessant need to fill our lives with petty objects. And yet it is something that we all do and cannot escape from. I think this is why Tabaimo decided to make the dollhouse symbolic of our own bodies because we can’t escape from ourselves. It is the one thing that we forever have to live with. Our bodies are made for consumption. We consume food and water just to sustain our lives. We also consume (not literally) material objects, not for sustainability but for personal comfort. We do not need 500-dollar shoes or 300-dollar suits. To actually keep ourselves alive, we NEED very little. But we choose to obtain these objects out of want or desire. I think that this is something that the artist is really trying to convey to the audience, the difference between bodily consumption versus material consumption.
09/08/2007. Venice. Biennale day one: Finland, Adel Abidin. Abidin Travels: Welcome to Baghdad.
On the day of the Biennale, I enjoyed an exhibit by a Finish artist by the last name of Abidin. She was born in Iraq but now lives in Helsinki and her exhibit was this fake travel agency that booked flights going to Iraq. When you first went into the exhibit there was a main room that had a TV that was showing what one would normally expect of a travel agency video. Everything was brightly colored and there was an audio background that was saying how great Iraq is to see right now and all about the culture…etc. Then you went into the adjacent room and there was a TV screen that showed video footage from Iraq in the present. Footage of how people are living, of the occupation, the death, the pain and of people who look like they are on vacation. The juxtaposition of the two made the message that much more powerful. It was really the juxtaposition of the two that made the piece work. Had there not been that ironic feeling amongst the real images, it would have just been another war exhibit about Iraq.
How does she utilize the space? The forms…etc.
Then she also had a computer set up so that you could book a ticket to Iraq (her website is www.abidintravels.com). It was a one-way ticket, because that’s all that they sold. And on it were written ironic things about how they are not responsible if you are kidnapped or murdered. Also on the ticket there was a line that said, “Death is inevitable.” Which was a line that I liked, because it is true. It is also something that one thinks about more when in a place that is surrounded by death. Your own mortality becomes blaringly apparent when faced with death on a daily basis. Also, in an environment such as that, there is a good chance that any given day you could die, you just don’t know. There were also pamphlets on Iraq but I accidentally did not pick up the one that was in English, so I do not know what it says. But you can get an idea just from looking at the pictures.
There were a lot of anti war exhibitions at the Biennale but I think this one was definitely one of the stronger ones. It also occupied this small space just to the right of the rest of the Finish exhibit. I almost did not go in because I did not know if it was an exhibit or an actual travel agency. It was definitely an exhibit that could easily have been missed. Although it was just one of many war influenced exhibits in the Biennale and Arsenale, I respect the fact that she choose to use that small space to make a very poignant and cynical statement about the war in Iraq. While she might not have chosen a very subtle way to communicate her message, her in your face method worked extremely well. Really if you think about it, there is nothing subtle about war even though our government might try all it wants to cover up the nastier aspects of it. I liked that she was flamboyant about her aesthetic because I think many Americans forget, at least on a daily basis that a war is still going on, on the other side of the world. Personally, I do not think about the war every day because I do not have any direct contact with it. I do not know anyone in it. The war does not really affect my life and I think this is the same for most people. Mostly for that reason her flashy exhibit
When I first saw her exhibit, I smiled. Laughed a little. I laughed at war. At a war that is currently going on. It bothers me a little that I laughed. But if you had seen it, you would have laughed as well. It was funny after all, when you first went in and saw the agency advertisement. Then when I went into the adjacent room, and saw the images from Iraq as it is right now. I wasn’t smiling anymore. But I wasn’t exactly somber either. The previous room had left me in a good mood. Then I went back into that room and booked a one-way flight to Iraq. I leave on September 9th. I found the humor of it just my style. I left the exhibit feeling ecstatic. Here I was with more souvenirs from the Biennale. I was not thinking about war anymore in the conventional way. I was thinking about it more abstractly. Through my excitement with receiving my plane ticket, I was thinking about the exhibit. I was thinking about the war. But I was not sad about it. It was an odd dichotomy. One that I think either consciously or not, most people must feel on a regular basis.
How does she utilize the space? The forms…etc.
Then she also had a computer set up so that you could book a ticket to Iraq (her website is www.abidintravels.com). It was a one-way ticket, because that’s all that they sold. And on it were written ironic things about how they are not responsible if you are kidnapped or murdered. Also on the ticket there was a line that said, “Death is inevitable.” Which was a line that I liked, because it is true. It is also something that one thinks about more when in a place that is surrounded by death. Your own mortality becomes blaringly apparent when faced with death on a daily basis. Also, in an environment such as that, there is a good chance that any given day you could die, you just don’t know. There were also pamphlets on Iraq but I accidentally did not pick up the one that was in English, so I do not know what it says. But you can get an idea just from looking at the pictures.
There were a lot of anti war exhibitions at the Biennale but I think this one was definitely one of the stronger ones. It also occupied this small space just to the right of the rest of the Finish exhibit. I almost did not go in because I did not know if it was an exhibit or an actual travel agency. It was definitely an exhibit that could easily have been missed. Although it was just one of many war influenced exhibits in the Biennale and Arsenale, I respect the fact that she choose to use that small space to make a very poignant and cynical statement about the war in Iraq. While she might not have chosen a very subtle way to communicate her message, her in your face method worked extremely well. Really if you think about it, there is nothing subtle about war even though our government might try all it wants to cover up the nastier aspects of it. I liked that she was flamboyant about her aesthetic because I think many Americans forget, at least on a daily basis that a war is still going on, on the other side of the world. Personally, I do not think about the war every day because I do not have any direct contact with it. I do not know anyone in it. The war does not really affect my life and I think this is the same for most people. Mostly for that reason her flashy exhibit
When I first saw her exhibit, I smiled. Laughed a little. I laughed at war. At a war that is currently going on. It bothers me a little that I laughed. But if you had seen it, you would have laughed as well. It was funny after all, when you first went in and saw the agency advertisement. Then when I went into the adjacent room, and saw the images from Iraq as it is right now. I wasn’t smiling anymore. But I wasn’t exactly somber either. The previous room had left me in a good mood. Then I went back into that room and booked a one-way flight to Iraq. I leave on September 9th. I found the humor of it just my style. I left the exhibit feeling ecstatic. Here I was with more souvenirs from the Biennale. I was not thinking about war anymore in the conventional way. I was thinking about it more abstractly. Through my excitement with receiving my plane ticket, I was thinking about the exhibit. I was thinking about the war. But I was not sad about it. It was an odd dichotomy. One that I think either consciously or not, most people must feel on a regular basis.
07/08/2007. Scarpa’s Cemetery.
This place was spectacular, which is something one does not normally say about a cemetery. There was just such a heightened feeling of reverence while I was there. Not only for the dead whom lie there eternally but for the individual who created that incredible place for mourning. There is definitely a contemporary feel to the architecture there. Scarpa uses sharp corners and intricate details to create something that is very modern. But its grandeur is oddly juxtaposed against the cemetery right next to it. There is an immediate style clash and it is blaringly obvious. In the actual cemetery there lies the history of the Italian culture and how they remember their dead. I think the most surprising part was that each tomb had a picture of its occupant during some part of his or her life. It created a very eerie atmosphere because in the States when one goes to a cemetery you just see a stone maker that is there to show the living relatives where that person lies. You can’t really conceptualize the fact that an actual life is stored there or what is left of a life once lived. But this cemetery had a personality all its own.
And then, there was Scarpa’s grave itself, because not only did he build the cemetery, he also resides there. Yet, I would have missed it had other people’s presence not caught my eye and my curiosity as to what they were looking at. His grave is so humble, off to the side, behind and away from all the others. It was by far the most beautiful grave in the whole place. It was so simple, not needing to be grandiose. If I had not known that he built the place and just stumbled upon it, I would have wondered why the grave was to the side. But it seems that is way he wanted it to be because otherwise he could have built himself the biggest, tallest, most luxurious gravestone in the whole place. But he chooses not to, and you have to respect him for that.
And then, there was Scarpa’s grave itself, because not only did he build the cemetery, he also resides there. Yet, I would have missed it had other people’s presence not caught my eye and my curiosity as to what they were looking at. His grave is so humble, off to the side, behind and away from all the others. It was by far the most beautiful grave in the whole place. It was so simple, not needing to be grandiose. If I had not known that he built the place and just stumbled upon it, I would have wondered why the grave was to the side. But it seems that is way he wanted it to be because otherwise he could have built himself the biggest, tallest, most luxurious gravestone in the whole place. But he chooses not to, and you have to respect him for that.
07/08/2007. Verona: Antonio Canova Museum.
I don’t have too much to say about this museum except for that I really enjoyed it much more than I expected to. I thought I was just going to go see these mock-ups of famous sculptures and that I wouldn’t be much impressed by them. Which is how I did feel at first. I didn’t really see what was so important about these sculptures made out of gesso. Then I got into a different room that was tiny sculptures that were the first models for the bigger ones. They were mostly made out of terracotta and they were the most beautiful things in that whole building. I understand how most people would think that the grandeur of the gesso sculptures are the works to spend the most time looking at. But I could have spent hours examining those small terracotta forms. They were so much about the process and you could tell this because they were much smaller and inherently more simplistic. And yet, at the same time they had this amazing detail. So much so that it was like you could really imagine the hand of the artist forming the terracotta and making all the marking that were on it. One could look at those small sculptures and making them didn’t seem that unrealistic. I think the larger sculptures are more intimidating to non-artists and artists alike that the small ones made the process seem not all that impossible.
From looking at those sculptures I realized that the whole museum was actually pretty amazing. It is a whole museum that is dedicated to the process of art, the process that goes into that final product. Which is something you don’t really see in most museums. Most are dedicated solely to the final product, this one piece of art that is on display for all the gawk at. The average person is not going to spend much time thinking about how the artist created the work of art. I think that was the unique thing about this museum and something that I did not immediately appreciate but after spending some time in there, I was in awe.
From looking at those sculptures I realized that the whole museum was actually pretty amazing. It is a whole museum that is dedicated to the process of art, the process that goes into that final product. Which is something you don’t really see in most museums. Most are dedicated solely to the final product, this one piece of art that is on display for all the gawk at. The average person is not going to spend much time thinking about how the artist created the work of art. I think that was the unique thing about this museum and something that I did not immediately appreciate but after spending some time in there, I was in awe.
07/08/2007. Vincenza: The Rotunda by Palladio.
Palladio’s Rotunda was one of the most interesting and beautiful pieces of architecture that we saw when in Vincenza. When I saw it, the first thing I thought of was the Roman Pantheon. Which combined the Greek and Roman temple building structures, that being of the circle and the square, respectively. He even had an oculus in the middle of the dome, much like that of the Pantheon. At the time when the Pantheon was built, it was a tricky piece of architecture. To get the square to support the dome is difficult. Although the walls are now covered in frescos of different sorts, when Palladio built it he meant for all the walls to be completely white. All around the outside of the building are Greek and Roman influenced sculptures that I can only assume were created when Palladio constructed the building. To see the interconnection between these two styles of the Greek and Roman is really quite interesting. This style is greatly influenced by renaissance ideals, such as the renewed interest in classical antiquity. Which can definitely be seen throughout the Rotunda, from the reference to the Pantheon, to the very Greek and Roman sculptures that are built outside. Then also from the frescos that were added later not by Palladio, but which also reference Greek and Roman culture.
The other rather interesting part about the Rotunda is the incredible symmetry that can be seen throughout the building. Palladio worked very hard to create this exact symmetry, to which there had to be a reason. I think that Palladio is once again trying to reference back to antiquity and to Roman and Greek temples which were very focused on symmetry and perfection. Even from the outside, one can see that each side of the building is exactly like the other. Palladio was obviously very interested in creating something that was perfect in scale and proportion. His whole style for the Rotunda is quite minimalist actually. He uses basic shapes, and when he initially built it he wanted all the walls to be white.
Being inside the Rotunda is a very interesting experience. Whenever I go into buildings such as that one, there are always sections of it that are roped off and inevitably are the parts of the building I am the most interested in exploring. I understand why I cannot just go around on my own anywhere in the building, but it would be amazing if I could. I especially wanted to go up and down the spiral staircases that were in the center of the dome. One of the reasons I wanted to go up the staircases was because halfway up the dome there was like a balcony that you could stand on and walk all the way around the dome. I would have loved to get to do that. It would have also been interesting to see what was in the rooms beneath the main floor. I always wonder why those rooms are barricaded off so that we can’t go in. I am sure that half the time, the stuff that they don’t let you see isn’t that interesting anyway, but just the very fact that it is blocked off makes it seem mysterious and important.
The other rather interesting part about the Rotunda is the incredible symmetry that can be seen throughout the building. Palladio worked very hard to create this exact symmetry, to which there had to be a reason. I think that Palladio is once again trying to reference back to antiquity and to Roman and Greek temples which were very focused on symmetry and perfection. Even from the outside, one can see that each side of the building is exactly like the other. Palladio was obviously very interested in creating something that was perfect in scale and proportion. His whole style for the Rotunda is quite minimalist actually. He uses basic shapes, and when he initially built it he wanted all the walls to be white.
Being inside the Rotunda is a very interesting experience. Whenever I go into buildings such as that one, there are always sections of it that are roped off and inevitably are the parts of the building I am the most interested in exploring. I understand why I cannot just go around on my own anywhere in the building, but it would be amazing if I could. I especially wanted to go up and down the spiral staircases that were in the center of the dome. One of the reasons I wanted to go up the staircases was because halfway up the dome there was like a balcony that you could stand on and walk all the way around the dome. I would have loved to get to do that. It would have also been interesting to see what was in the rooms beneath the main floor. I always wonder why those rooms are barricaded off so that we can’t go in. I am sure that half the time, the stuff that they don’t let you see isn’t that interesting anyway, but just the very fact that it is blocked off makes it seem mysterious and important.
Monday, August 6, 2007
05/08/2007: the beach
yesterday we went to the beach at castiligione (i think its spelled that way). and i spent the majority of the day, like 5 hours, out on the beach, frying in the sun. which was nice at the time but now today i am very burnt. but hopefully it will make for a good tan afterward and i wont look so funny being terribly white. not much else has been going on over here. we have just been in and around siena. saturday we had a free day and it was really nice to just relax (take it easy...) and have some time to do what i wanted. i really needed tenis shoes, so i went and bought some vans. they are pretty sweato black and white and patterned. they are rather comfortable as well. today we are headed to vincenza with the architecture group from the uo. i think we are staying there for two days. and looking at architecture (obviously). well there isnt much else to report.
Saturday, August 4, 2007
04/08/2007: first week in siena
here is my first official post on my blog. things in siena are going really well thusfar. when i got in on the 1st we got our assignments for housing and i live in this really sweet apartment that is about 25 minute walk from the aha office where we have class. although that seems kinda far it really is not at all. i live with three other girls whom are all really nice. i have really enjoyed getting to meet new people. although i wish i could find a way to meet more italian people. but i am sure i will get there. right now it is just really hard what with the language barrier. i find that a year of italian has been enough to allow me to kind of converse with people. but my vocabulary is lacking and it is hard to understand what people say when they talk really fast. but i have found that watching tv (especially mtv) has helped my ear a little to get used to listening to italian and trying to understand what they are saying. the biggest obstacle is trying to converse with people at stores when you want to buy something. so i have been trying to brush up on my fruit, vegetables...etc. vocab so that i can try and get what i need. but for the most part people are understanding that we dont speak italian and really do try to speak to us in english. it is just hard sometimes because they wont know very much english.
lets see. two days ago we went to this church thing that used to be a hospital. i forget the name i think it was the santa maria? eh. but it was way cool we got to roam around under the building because there were all these tunnels they built back in medieval times. there was this triptych (i think my spelling is off on that) that i definitely recognized as learning about in art history class. so that was way cool. and there was just a bunch of art that is so amazing to see in real life. even the architecture, which i am not usually interested in, is a crazy thing to see in person.
i think that the best part is definitely getting to see all the stuff that i have learned about in class. we have been to the piazza del campo many times and it is just amazing over there. in a week they will start setting up for the palio, which is this intense horse race that they do every year and are very proud of. ten of the neighborhoods out of seventeen get to comptete and the winner is based on the first horse to cross the finish line, either with or without the rider. i hear that it gets really vicious becaue the riders just try and knock each other off of their horses. and that it is not uncommon for one of the racers to die. but around here the italians are all excited for the palio. it happens in several of the cities in italy but siena's is the most famous. the palio will take place on the 16th and i am more than excited for it. close to my apartment there has been this huge neighborhood party every night this week in celebration of the upcoming palio. neighborhood flags are hung up everywhere and everyoneis getting excited for the event.
next week i am going to vincenza e venetzia. its going to be quite amazing. i cant wait for the biennale. it sounds like it is going to be a really amazing experience. well, i should probably go for now because i am meeting a few people at the campo at three. ciao ragazzi!
lets see. two days ago we went to this church thing that used to be a hospital. i forget the name i think it was the santa maria? eh. but it was way cool we got to roam around under the building because there were all these tunnels they built back in medieval times. there was this triptych (i think my spelling is off on that) that i definitely recognized as learning about in art history class. so that was way cool. and there was just a bunch of art that is so amazing to see in real life. even the architecture, which i am not usually interested in, is a crazy thing to see in person.
i think that the best part is definitely getting to see all the stuff that i have learned about in class. we have been to the piazza del campo many times and it is just amazing over there. in a week they will start setting up for the palio, which is this intense horse race that they do every year and are very proud of. ten of the neighborhoods out of seventeen get to comptete and the winner is based on the first horse to cross the finish line, either with or without the rider. i hear that it gets really vicious becaue the riders just try and knock each other off of their horses. and that it is not uncommon for one of the racers to die. but around here the italians are all excited for the palio. it happens in several of the cities in italy but siena's is the most famous. the palio will take place on the 16th and i am more than excited for it. close to my apartment there has been this huge neighborhood party every night this week in celebration of the upcoming palio. neighborhood flags are hung up everywhere and everyoneis getting excited for the event.
next week i am going to vincenza e venetzia. its going to be quite amazing. i cant wait for the biennale. it sounds like it is going to be a really amazing experience. well, i should probably go for now because i am meeting a few people at the campo at three. ciao ragazzi!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
01/08/2007: italy!
well, i am in italy! i was on the plane for like 12 and a half hours before i got to rome and then had to take a 4 hour train ride to siena. i will have more details about that later. right now i'm just sitting in the aha office in siena and we are waiting for everyone else to arrive. then we will have orientation, get our room assignments and go to our apartments. i am really excited to see where our apartments are located. i hope that they are close to where we are because my luggage is way too heavy for me so its been a hassle to drag it around everywhere. so a nice short distance from here would be nice. anyway. i will let post later and with more details about my trip over to italy. for now i am too hot and sitting in a leather chair, which is really not compatible with typing or thinking for that matter.
i am slowly getting used to making a fool of myself. today when craig and i went to get breakfast. i asked the guy for champagne instead of orange juice. needless to say, he was very confused at my choice my morning drink. and when the issue was figured out, him and his coworker were laughing at me for my mistake. oh well.
i am slowly getting used to making a fool of myself. today when craig and i went to get breakfast. i asked the guy for champagne instead of orange juice. needless to say, he was very confused at my choice my morning drink. and when the issue was figured out, him and his coworker were laughing at me for my mistake. oh well.
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