monday video

I like Lin's ecliptic ice rink especially in nighttime.  The rings create an optical illusion of movement and depth supporting by the effect of the sparkling light makes it appears like a constellation of the sky in the earth.  Circle as a shape of the ice rink represents eternity or heaven might mean this park will last forever with its heaven's pleasure.  Instead of bringing the sculpture into the site, she redesign the whole landscape become functional by exploring the possibility of any activities in the park.  Overall the park looks gorgeous.

Art video response

I was by far the most influenced by James Turrel. I felt that out of all the artists/architects in the video, he was the only taking a risk by creating something that most people might not understand or appreciate. I didn't really understand the value or purpose of this piece of architecture myself, but he saw and still sees a vision of what it could to make people's lives a little more enjoyable. Most artist's work isn't really appreciated until many years after it is created; and I think this piece may be the same case. (if it is ever completed)

James Turrell Skyscape Pomona College

This exhibition illustrates space, color, shape while blending into the environment. You can see through the top and look at the sky while relaxing at the same time it has an open feel to it even though it is located between buildings. James uses different lighting effects. It also provides seating area surrounded by trees for a peaceful feel.

Mondays Art 21 Video

Out of all the artists that we watched on Monday the one that i liked the most was Maya Lin. I liked how she wanted to design something that people could interact with, rather than just a statue or sculpture that people could only look at. I like how she takes her love of art and her love for architecture and combines them both into her work. She wants people to enjoy her work not only by looking at but also being a part of it, like she did with the ecliptic skating rink.

Art: 21 Video

After viewing this video, I would have to say Maya Lin intrigued me the most out of all of the artists featured. She took the concepts of Art and Architecture, and combined them in a way that allowed the city of Grand Rapids to interact with the art, rather than merely observe it. She wanted to help reinvent the area by bringing life and color to a part of town that lacked these elements. By creating an outdoor ice skating rink that people could interact with, as opposed to simply a sculpture / piece of art, a new sense of life has been injected into an area of Grand Rapids that had previously been neglected.

Video response from Monday

The architect/artist I liked best from the videos we watched on Monday was Maya Lin. While part of the reason could be that I love skating and she was designing a (really cool) skating rink, I also liked that she has been able to make a living of doing what she wants on her own terms. She wanted to be both an artist and an architect and she has successfully made a living of combining the two and living the true definition of an architect. Lin knows that, as an artist, she needs to create a work of art that people will want to see on an everyday basis. However, she also knows that, as an architect, she needs to design something that will be functional and solve the problem at hand.

art:21 excerpts from 08.18.08 class

art:21 art in the twenty-first century


Laurie Anderson
"Place" introduction

Artist: Richard Serra
New York City Studio
“Torqued Ellipses”
Making “Charlie Brown”
“Charlie Brown”

Artist: James Turrell
Outside “Roden Crater”
Inside “Roden Crater”
“Friends Meeting House”
“The Light Inside”

Artist: Maya Lin
“Ecliptic” Ice Rink
“Avalanche” Sculpture
Making Atlas Sculptures
Architecture & Memorials

Last Monday's Art Video

Of the three artists/architects we saw in the video last Monday, May Lin is the one I respect the most. That is because she was actually trying to do something productive with her art instead of simply humoring only herself with her creations as the two other artists seemed to be doing. While Richard Serra’s oversized sculptures do add a somewhat pleasing aesthetic value to the space, they don’t seem to really serve a purpose other than that. James Turrell’s main quest was that crater in the middle of nowhere. If it were completed it may be interesting but he said himself that he had ruined at least two marriages with that quest and was still not done. May Lin was the only one of the three who seemed intent on being artistic while creating a solution to a real problem or need that people around her had. Aside from her ice rink that helped revitalize an area, she was thinking forward towards creating a recycled playground for children. Architecture should satisfy a need that people have as well as being pleasing to look at... not one or the other.

What is Architecture?

Architecture is the imaginative blend of art and science in the design of environments for people. People need places to eat, work, live and play. Architects transform these needs into concepts and then develop the concepts into building images that can be constructed by others. These projects can be as small as an entrance way and as large as an entire college campus—and everything in between.
~ from www.ARCHcareers.org, a resource of AIAS and AIA


Architecture is a passion, a vocation, a calling – as well as a science and a business. It has been described as a social art and also an artful science. Architecture must be of the highest quality of design. Architecture provides, in the words of Marcus Vitruvius, the great Roman architect and historian, "firmness, commodity and delight.1"

Architecture provides a sense of place and support of all types of human activity. Architecture helps the man-made fit in harmony with the environment while promoting health and well-being, enriching lives aesthetically and spiritually, providing economic opportunities, and creating a legacy that reflects and symbolizes culture and traditions.

1 1st Century BC Roman Architect Vitruvius
is the author of the treatise De architectura. The work is divided into 10 books
dealing with city planning and architecture in general; building materials;
temple construction; public buildings; private buildings; clocks; hydraulics;
and civil and military engines. His work was used as a classic text book from
ancient Roman times to the Renaissance.

Firmness refers to structural integrity and
durability;

Commodity refers to spatial functionality or in
other words, "serving its purpose" and fulfilling the function for which the
building was constructed;

Delight means that the building
is not only aesthetically and visually pleasing, but also lifts the spirits and stimulates the senses.

~ from www.raic.org (Royal Architectural Institute of Canada)


"Architecture is the thoughtful making of space."
~ Louis Kahn