IIT College of Architecture - FALL 2015 - Arch 543 - Neighborhood - RE-THINKING METROPOLIS

THE BAROQUE ERA

Instructor: Evan Austin Alphonso Peluso Kristen Barrett Bahareh Jafari Mark Szostak

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Baroque General Background

The Baroque period started around 1600 in Rome, Italy and spread quickly throughout Europe. The style was used in a variety of media, such as paintings, sculptures, architecture, music, and others. A defining aspect from this era was the style’s connection to and expression of liturgical themes. The style was encouraged by the Roman Catholic Church to combat the Reformation movement created by Martin Luther in 1517. Aristocracy at the time also enjoyed the Baroque style, especially in architecture and art, and used it to impress visitors and express triumphant power and control.

Some characteristics of the Baroque style are: • Energetic Trevi Fountain, Nicola Salvi, 1762, Rome, Italy • No axis of rotation • Drama • Tension • Power • Baroque = “irregular pearl” • Bold • Emotional Intensity • A moment in time • Dynamism • Diagonals • Involving / Close • Real / not idealized

Aeneas Flees Burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598 David, Gian Lorenzo Bernini, 1624 Girl with a Pearl Earring, Johannes Vermeer, 1665

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Baroque Architecture

Baroque architecture was characterized by new explorations of form, light and shadow, and dramatic intensity. Some of its other characteristics are: • in churches, broader naves and sometimes given oval forms • fragmentary or deliberately incomplete architectural elements • dramatic use of light; either strong light-and-shade contrasts or uniform lighting by means of several windows • opulent use of color and ornaments (putti or figures made of wood (often gilded), plaster or stucco, marble or faux finishing) • large-scale ceiling frescoes Church of Weingarten Abbey, Franz Beer, 1724 Karlskirche (St. Charles’s Church), Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, 1737 • an external façade often characterized by a dramatic central projection • the interior is a shell for painting, sculpture and stucco (especially in the late Baroque) • illusory effects and the blending of painting and architecture • pear-shaped domes in the Bavarian, Czech, Polish and Ukrainian Baroque • Marian and Holy Trinity columns erected in Catholic countries, often in thanksgiving for ending a plague

Church of the Gesù, Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, 1580 San Carlo alle Quattro Fontane, Francesco Borromini, 1638 Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca), 1731

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Baroque Sculpture

While the Baroque era explored new techniques in many areas such as architecture, painting, and music, it could be argued that the most well-recognized area would be sculpture. Baroque sculpture wasn’t limited to one region in Europe, but made its influence spread across the known world. Thousands of pieces were created during this time, a majority of the most well-known ones having been created by Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Bernini’s sculptures are a perfect example of the characteristics common to the Baroque era: -Showing motion in a frozen moment of time -Telling a story at a midpoint, rather than beginning or end -Making a hard material, such as marble, look soft and fluid Michelangelo’s David_c.1504 Bernini’s David_c.1624 The Rape of Proserpina_Bernini_c.1622 -Heavy religious (Christian) influences -Extravagant decorative flourishes to add to the architecture of a space

Many of Bernini’s sculptures litter Rome, the center of Christendom, with many of his works filling the interior of St. Peter’s Basilica, which was heavily designed by his contemporary, Michelangelo.

A prime example of the difference between Renaissance and Baroque sculpture can be seen when com-paring Michelangelo’s famous David sculpture to Bernini’s sculpture of the same name. Michelangelo’s David is shown in a stationary pose, with his chiseled features looking hard and more like an ideal of perfection, while Bernini’s is depicted mid-motion, making the marble look fluid in its gentle curves.

Memorial to Maria Raggi_Bernini_1647 Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi_Bernini_1651 St. Peter’s Baldachin_Bernini_c.1634

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Baroque Painting

Baroque painting is the painting associated with the Baroque cultural movement. Baroque art is characterized by dynamism, which is augmented by extravagant effects (e.g. strong curves, rich decoration, stark lighting). In Baroque paintings the most dramatic moment of the event is depicted. Among the greatest painters of the Baroque period are Velázquez, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, Rubens, Poussin, and Vermeer.

Artists like Caravaggio turned to a powerful and dramatic realism, creating bold contrasts of light and dark by using a spotlit against the dark background. This can be seen in works by Rembrandt, Vermeer as well. There are also tightly-cropped compositions that enhanced the physical and emotional The Nightwatch by Rembrandt immediacy of the depicted narrative in Baroque paintings.

The prosperity of 17th century Holland led to an enormous production of art by large numbers of painters who were mostly highly specialized and painted only genre scenes, landscapes, Still-lifes, portraits or History paintings. Technical standards were very high, and Dutch Golden Age painting established a new repertoire of subjects that was very influential until the arrival of Modernism.

The Crowning with Thorns by Caravaggio Pietà by Annibale Carracci Descent from then Cross by Rubens

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Baroque music is a style of Western music composed from approximately 1600-1750, following the Renaissance period. It is a large part of the “Classical Music” canon1. Baroque music, like many other art forms from the period, possessed a love for ornamentation. The embellishing elements of ornamentation profoundly defined Baroque music. This technique was heavily reduced in use as Classical2 took over as the popular genre of music.

A key component of Baroque music was the creation of tonality Johann Sebastian Bach Antonio Vivaldi George Frideric Handel Claudio Monteverdi Domenico Scarlatti - a technique still used in almost all 200s-era Western popular music. Tonality is a musical system that arranges pitches or chords to induce a hierarchy of perceived relations, stabilities, and attractions.

Musicians were generally expected to be master improvisers. In Image Description Image Description Image Description typical Baroque music, a group of bassline musicians would lead while a basso continuo (the harmonic structure of the music) group of chord playing instruments (for instance, harpsichords or lutes) would improvise.

Dense, complex polyphonic music was popular during the Baroque era. Multiple independent melody lines would be performed simultaneously to create a cohesive sum. Concerts would be held by soloists or combined vocal and instrumental groups.

Key composers of the Baroque era include Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, George Frideric Handel, Claudio Monteverdi, and Domenico Scarlatti.

1. Refering to Western art music produced from approximately the 11th century to present. Harpiscord - a common chord instrument in Baroque music Teatro Argentian - Rome, Italy Baroque instruments including hurdy gurdy, 2. Referring to the Classical period from approximately 1750-1820. harpsichord, bass viol, lute, violin, and guitar

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Proposal Option 1

Ornamentation is frequent in Baroque architecture. These patterns are usually sculpted into the architecture and organically flow throughout spaces in buildings. This type of ornamentation is usually seen in churches, an example being the Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán in Mexico.

Not only are these patterns organic, but they seem to be lively or active. The shape looks like its constantly in motion and curls at multiple points. All these characteristics reminded me of bicycling. This led to the question: how can carbon fiber, bicycles, and the Baroque style be connected?

From there, I was reminded of some of the issues Chicago Common Ornamentation in the Baroque style The “Problem” The “Solution” - Perspective Views neighborhoods have with bike lanes and bike racks. In many places there are not enough bike racks or they are absent all together. If there are no bike racks, then that leads to no bike lanes. An example of a neighborhood that lacks these materials is Riverdale, which is south of IIT.

Therefore, I propose to create a bike rack / bench that would benefit neighborhoods that don’t have “bicycle cultures.”

Church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán (Oaxaca) Detail The “Solution” The “Solution “ - Top & Side View

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Proposal Option 2

Baroque sculpture implies motion in otherwise stationary Bench Right View objects. It’s a tool for telling a story, or at least promoting discussion of the story being depicted.

Benches are typically used as places where motion stops, and unless you’re Forest Gump, no storytelling is really happening. A Baroque inspired bench that implies motion in a stationary object promotes the flow from one person to another, hopefully encouraging engagement between users.

Taking the spiraling, moving pillar from Bernini’s altar canopy in St. Peter’s Basilica, a solid, but light looking object creates a space for engagement wherever it is place. Ornamented Spiral Colmn on its axis Existing bench that implies motion Bench Top View

St. Peter’s Badachin_ Spiral Column used as influence Spiral bench in use at IIT Baroque Bench Design

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PROPOSAL Option 4

Since Baroque is a highly decorated style of the seventeenth century; there are complex patterns in both architetcure and paintings from that era which are perfectly ornate and complicated with intricate designs. All the paintings try to exagerate an important moment. So paintings and architeture is decorated by intricate curves and intertwining lines and floral patterns.

Some of the curves in these floral pattern can present the same form as human’s body while he is laying down or sitting. Because of that, these patterns can inspire different forms for design benches. Baroque Patterns Benches at Parks Baroque Pattern Since carbon fiber is a light weight material with high strenght, it can be used as a surface to sit or lean on.

Baroque Patterns Benches at Parks A Bench inspired by Baroque Patterns

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In Baroque music, the bass line grounds the music while the treble section improvises or harmonizes different melodies. Jolts of ornamentation give flair and embellishment to the basso Improvised Treble Clef continuo section.

By taking techniques found in Baroque Music and combining them with the idea that furniture can serve multiple purposes allows for the creation of new forms. These forms take on strong clear bases and intersect them with freeform improvisation of different shapes.

The base, though clear and legible, can be thin and act as Grounded Bass Line a support for the improvised intervening piece thanks to the strength of carbon fiber.

The intervening piece can vary, while maintaining a sense of attractions, stabilities, and relations. Perforations can be created using parametric scripts to further the notion of improvisation.

Multifunctional Furniture

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