Month: October 2019

Vancouver Race Riots

In 1907, an anti-immigration rally exploded into violence and vandalism in both Chinatown and Japantown in Vancouver. What began as riots in Bellingham as a movement to drive Punjabi Sikhs out of the lumber industry had eventually spread to white supremacist marches to Vancouver city with demands for a “White Canada.” In the riot, the property of Chinese and Japanese store owners was destroyed.

The riots were not only a landmark in the rise of racism in Canada, they signified the commencement of systematic federal intervention to prohibit Asian immigration to Canada through the imposition of quotas on Japanese emigration, continuous voyage regulations those from India, and the enforcement of laws against the Chinese.

The 1907 Riots were advertised in news reports, and by the time the parade arrived at the city hall, a huge crowd had gathered. Crowd estimates vary between four thousand and eight thousand people. As rioters attacked Chinatown, the angry mob eventually turned toward Japantown or Nihon Bachi, around the Powell Street grounds in what is now Oppenheimer Park.

Although news of the riot flashed reached different corners of the world, appearing on front pages in Ottawa, New York, and London, only three people were charged and only one person convicted of any offense. Not only had newspapers openly mocked the efforts of the court and police, few injuries were reported. All levels of government in Canada made vague apologies.

Reference

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/special/goodnews/moment-of-clarity-in-my-canada-415358084.html

https://www.straight.com/blogra/869781/centre-unwelcome-dinner-commemorate-vancouvers-first-anti-chinese-riot-1887

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Oriental_riots_(Vancouver)

https://www.vancourier.com/news/archives-anti-asian-mob-goes-on-rampage-1.1344739

https://www.library.ubc.ca/chineseinbc/riots.html

Edwardian fashion

Edwardian fashion refers to the clothing that was in style between the late 1890s and 1914 or the beginning of the Great War (World War I). Also called La Belle Epoque, and the Gilded Age, this was a time when women’s fashions took on a new opulence and extravagance, inspired by the hedonistic lifestyle of Britain’s King Edward VII.

The popularity of the hourglass-shaped dress faded by the end of the Victorian age and the “S” curve became increasingly popular during the Edwardian Era. This new fashion style embraced a “healthier” corset that was far less constricting than the previous styles during the Victorian age and provided better support for the spine. Also at the beginning of the Edwardian Era (1901) ladies hats grew in size, but this trend only lasted until around 1911.

As the women’s suffrage movement continued through the Edwardian Era women began to mimic their style and attitude after the famous “Gibson Girl”. The “Gibson Girl” was a pen-and-ink drawing done by Charles Dana Gibson. She portrayed the modern women of the time, beautiful and independent. His drawings quickly became very popular and were displayed in all of the top magazines.

In 1910 fashion began to change once again. More women were working, playing sports and being more active in general and they needed clothing to reflect their new lifestyle. The “S” curve transformed into a pre-flapper style with more straight lines and less structure. This era of fashion is also said to be called “la Belle Epoque” (“The Beautiful Epoch”).

References

http://www.premierexhibitions.com/exhibitions/3/3/titanic-artifact-exhibition/blog/fashion-during-edwardian-era

https://bellatory.com/fashion-industry/FashionHistoryEdwardianFashionTrends1890s1914

http://www.victoriana.com/EdwardianHats/

http://victorian-era.org/edwardian-era-womens-clothing.html

impressionism & post-impressionism

Henri Rousseau was a post-impressionist painter from Laval, France. His best-known paintings depict jungle scenes, even though he never left France or saw a jungle. His inspiration came from illustrated books and the botanical gardens in Paris, as well as tableaux of “taxidermied” wild animals. He had also met soldiers, during his term of service, who had survived the French expedition to Mexico and listened to their stories of the subtropical country they had encountered.

“The Sleeping Gypsy” is one of my all-time favorite paintings, which I was lucky enough to see at the MoMA in New York. This painting makes me feel so relaxed as if I am in a very pleasant dream. The colors are beautiful and soft and are quite light even though it is a nighttime scene. The colors also create such a perfect sense of temperature, the atmosphere of the painting doesn’t feel too cold, yet doenst feel too warm either.

References

https://www.icanvas.com/canvas-art-prints/artist/henri-rousseau?product=canvas&sort=popular

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henri-Rousseau

http://www.henrirousseau.net/

http://www.henrirousseau.org/

How George Eastman Changed photography forever.

Today, almost everyone knows what a “selfie” is, however, the selfie would never be possible without a man named George Eastman. In 1888, inventor George Eastman invented a game-changing kind of dry, transparent, flexible photographic film that came in a roll. The film was designed for use in Eastman’s newly designed, user-friendly Kodak cameras. This innovative camera and film combination opened the pursuit of photography to a whole new breed of photographers, allowing amateurs to ply the craft alongside professionals with amazing and relatively easy to achieve results.

The Kodak Company was born in 1888 with the debut of the first Kodak camera. It came pre-loaded with enough film for 100 exposures and could easily be carried and handheld during its operation. “You press the button, we do the rest,” Eastman promised in the advertising slogan for his revolutionary invention.

After the film was exposed—meaning all 100 shots were taken—the whole camera was returned to the Kodak company in Rochester, New York, where the film was developed, prints were made, and a new roll of photographic film was inserted into the camera. The camera and prints were then returned to the customer, for the whole cycle to be repeated again.

George Eastman though long and hard about the perfect name for his company. “A trademark should be short, vigorous, incapable of being misspelled,” George Eastman said, explaining the process by which he’d come to name his company. “The letter ‘K’ had been a favorite of mine. It seems a strong, incisive sort of letter. It became a question of trying out a great number of combinations of letters that made words starting and ending with “K.”

References

Bellis, Mary. “The History of Kodak: How Rolled Film Made Everyone a Photographer.” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 5 Oct. 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/george-eastman-history-of-kodak-1991619.

“From the Camera Obscura to the Revolutionary Kodak.” George Eastman Museum, https://www.eastman.org/camera-obscura-revolutionary-kodak.

Realism,Pre-Impressionism, & Pre Raphaeltes

Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine landscapes, which are among the most powerful and expressive of late 19th-century American art. Largely self-taught, Homer started his career working as a commercial illustrator. He later took up oil painting and produced major studio works characterized by the weight and density he used from the medium. He also worked extensively in watercolor, creating a fluid and prolific numbers of work, primarily capturing his working vacations.

One of these paintings which he painted during his vacation was the painting above named “The Sponge Diver”. I found this painting interesting because the subject is an African American man, which was pretty uncommon during that time. This painting uses very soft colors which gives a very peaceful and relaxed vibe.

One of my favorite paintings of his is titled “Gloucester Harbor”. I love the colors that are used and I really appreciate how Homer paints the average working citizens; it makes the paintings much more interesting.

Another favorite of mine is titled “Long Branch New Jersey”. This painting makes me feel very relaxed and really gives off the summer atmosphere.

References

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Winslow-Homer

https://www.winslow-homer.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winslow_Homer

The History of Braille

Many people know that braille is a system of touch reading and writing for blind people in which raised dots represent the letters of the alphabet, however, many people do not know the history behind it.

Charles Barbier

The history of braille goes all the way back to the early 1800s. A man named Charles Barbier who served in Napoleon Bonaparte’s French army developed a unique system known as “night writing” so soldiers could communicate safely during the night. As a military veteran, Barbier saw several soldiers killed because they used lamps after dark to read combat messages. As a result of the light shining from the lamps, enemy combatants knew where the French soldiers were and inevitably led to the loss of many men.

Barbier based his “night writing” system on a raised 12-dot cell; two dots wide and six dots tall. Each dot or combination of dots within the cell represented a letter or a phonetic sound. The problem with the military code was that the human fingertip could not feel all the dots with one touch.

Louis Braille

Louis Braille was born in the village of Coupvray, France on January 4, 1809. He lost his sight at a very young age after he accidentally stabbed himself in the eye with his father’s awl. Braille’s father was a leather-worker and poked holes in the leather goods he produced with the awl.

At eleven years old, Braille found inspiration to modify Charles Barbier’s “night writing” code in an effort to create an efficient written communication system for fellow blind individuals. One year earlier he was enrolled at the National Institute of the Blind in Paris. He spent the better part of the next nine years developing and refining the system of raised dots that has come to be known by his name, Braille.

After all of Braille’s work, the code was now based on cells with only 6-dots instead of 12 (like the example shown below). This crucial improvement meant that a fingertip could encompass the entire cell unit with one impression and move rapidly from one cell to the next. Over time, braille gradually came to be accepted throughout the world as the fundamental form of written communication for blind individuals. Today it remains basically as he invented it.

Citations

“The History of Braille [Your Braille Resource].” Braille Works, https://brailleworks.com/braille-resources/history-of-braille/.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Braille.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Braille-writing-system.

Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Braille.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., https://www.britannica.com/topic/Braille-writing-system

Rococo Period

Francesco Guardi was born in Venice, the son of a minor painter, Domenico Guardi. Following Canaletto, he recorded both the architecture of the city and the celebrations of its inhabitants in interior and exterior scenes. These works brought him great success. While Guardi followed Canaletto in producing scenes, he soon developed his own style, based on a more loose handling of paint. He took particular pleasure in rendering the vibrant atmosphere of Venetian light and its dazzling effect on water.

A great example of his loose style is shown in this painting of his above. When you view this painting from a distance, it looks very detailed and quite realistic.

However, when you look very closely at the painting, you can notice his very loose brushstrokes and simplified figures. To me, this style gives his paintings a much greater scence of atmosphere, instead of the harsh reality. A great example of this is seen in his painting called “Fire in the Oil Depot in San Marcuola“.

Citations

“Francesco Guardi, 1712 – 1793, Nachfolger.” Hampel, https://www.hampel-auctions.com/a/Francesco-Guardi-1712-1793-Nachfolger.html?a=100&s=442&id=525745.

The National Gallery, London. “Francesco Guardi.” The National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/francesco-guardi.

“View of the Grand Canal with the Fabbriche Nuove Di Rialto – Francesco Guardi.” Pinacoteca Di Brera, https://pinacotecabrera.org/en/collezione-online/opere/veduta-del-canal-grande-con-le-fabbriche-nuove-di-rialto/.

The 4 Stages of Baroque Architecture

Early Baroque 1600-1625

The foremost pioneer of Baroque architecture was Carlo Maderno, whose masterpiece was the facade of Saint Peter’s Basilica. The facade of Saint Peter’s contains a number of typical Baroque elements, including double columns, layered columns, colossal columns, and broken pediments. These elements were pioneered during the Late Renaissance, in mannerist architecture.

High Baroque 1625-75

The interiors of baroque churches became more and more present in the High Baroque and focused around the altar, usually placed under the dome. The most celebrated baroque decorative works of the High Baroque are the Chair of Saint Peter and the Baldachino of St. Peter, both by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

By the mid 17th century, the High Baroque style influence spread north of Rome. One of its main influencers being Guarino Guarini, who settled in Turin and is regarded as one of the masters of this style. Especially his executed designs in Paris, Prague, and Lisbon, along with his published works on architectural theory and design, helped spread Italian baroque ideals across Europe in the early 18th century.

Late Baroque 1675-1725

The Late Baroque marks the rise of France as the heart of Western culture. Baroque art of France tends to be restrained, such that it can be described as a classical-Baroque compromise. The most distinctive element of French Baroque architecture is the double-sloped mansard roof.

The most famous Baroque structures of France are magnificent chateaux, the greatest of which is the Palace of Versailles. One of the largest residences on earth, Versailles was built mainly under Louis XIV, whose patronage of the arts helped propel France to the crest of Western culture.

The palace facade illustrates the classical-Baroque compromise of northern Europe. The walls are characterized largely by simple classicism, although they do contain such Baroque elements as sculpted busts, a triple stringcourse, double pilasters, and colossal pilasters. Additionally, the mansard roof features a sinuous metal railing and rich molding around the dormer windows. Versailles became Europe’s model of palace architecture, inspiring similarly grand residences throughout the continent.

Versailles’ most famous room is the Hall of Mirrors, whose mirrors have the same dimensions as the windows they stand opposite.

Rococo 1725-1800

Rococo artists embraced the curves and elaborate ornament of Baroque but reigned in its weighty drama. The result was a gentle, playful style typified by pastel colors and delicate, asymmetrical decoration. Though most Rococo art was centered in France, Rococo architecture culminated in Austria and southern Germany, especially in the form of churches.

Citations

“Baroque Architecture.” Baroque Architecture | Essential Humanities, http://www.essential-humanities.net/western-art/architecture/baroque/

Bély, Lucien, Louis XIV- Le plus grand roos du monde, (2005), Editions Jean-Paul Gisserot

Gerson, Daniel. “Baroque Architecture Explained – 16th – 18th Century.” Gentleman’s Gazette, 18 Mar. 2015, https://www.gentlemansgazette.com/baroque-architecture-guide-explained/

Boucher, Bruce, Italian Baroque Sculpture, (1998), Thames & Hudson (World of Art), 

Cabanne, Pierre, L’Art Classique et le Baroque (1988), Larousse, Paris

Baroque period

One of the most popular artists of his time, Bartolome Esteban Murillo was a Spanish Baroque painter, best known for his religious works, as well as realistic depictions of the everyday life of his times. His early work was influenced by the painters Zubaran, Jusepe de Ribera, and Alonzo Cano, who all held a realistic style to painting, a technique that was adapted by Murillo.

Bartolome Murillo’s work was characterized by both realism and chiaroscuro, or the contrast of light and shade, which he combined to make soft forms full of rich colors. To me, this resembles very much the work of a famous Italian painter named Caravaggio, who was very famous for his chiaroscuro in his paintings.

His later works evolved into a polished style that attracted the interest of Bourgeois and aristocrats of his day, and he received many commissions for them.

Citations

“Murillo Artworks & Famous Paintings.” The Art Story, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/murillo-bartolome-esteban/artworks/.

The National Gallery, London. “Bartolomé Esteban Murillo.” The National Gallery, https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/bartolome-esteban-murillo.