Article Evaluation

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Article in Question: Ornament (art) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ornament_(art)

What was learned from the article itself:

  • Embellishments or decorations on items or on structures is the basic definition of an ornament.
  • Most art of this form lacks human figures.
  • Carved from stone, various metals, or wood.
  • Can be formed with mold-able objects such as clay as well.
  • Ornaments can also be "applied" through impression or painting.
  • Metalwork, pottery, and furniture are a handful of objects where motifs exist in architecture and applied arts.
  • Motifs take inspiration from things such as flora, humans and animals, and geometric shapes.
  • Earlier ornaments from prehistoric cultures that more often survives are simple markings.
  • Evolving technology made the creation of ornaments on objects and structures easier.
  • Ornaments have existed since the very beginning of recorded history.
  • An ornamented object is implied to have a function.
  • Ornaments are primarily applied arts.
  • Usage of ornaments fluctuated over the course of history. From a decrease in complexity for a period of time to a another period of time where there is a sudden increase in both use and complexity.
  • Ornaments were huge and evolving over the Romanesque and Gothic art periods, but suddenly ornaments were greatly reduced during the Early Renaissance.H However ornaments suddenly get another increase by the Baroque and Rococo periods, and would get another increase during the Victorian era after the Romantic period.
  • Ornaments get a drop again as a result of the Arts and Crafts movement, followed by Modernism.
  • Alois Riegl created the concept of "Kunstwollen," which was a way of analysis of the development of forms in art.
  • Jessica Rawson covered Chinese art, that form that Riegl didn't cover, and found that various elements of Chinese ornamentation link back to the same tradition.
  • Villard de Honnecourt created one of very little surviving medieval notebooks that showed how artists documented designs that had possible future use.
  • Print ornaments were important printmaking in the 13th century, and had a crucial role in the quick diffusion of the newer Renaissance techniques. Additionally it brought back classical ornamentation within architectural styles in newer styles such as Moresque.
  • Moresque is a mix or adaptation of Islamic arabesque.
  • Ornament print eventually came in the form of books as printing because more inexpensive. These patterned books flourished from the 16th to the 19th century.
  • In the 1800's, architects and their critics searched for a suitable ornament style, and the accepted use or definition of an ornament became the roots of an artistic controversy within the world of Western architecture. (What was this controversy specifically?)
  • Modern architecture ditches ornamentation in favor of more functional structures, and it laves problems for architects on how to adorn said structures. Devising ornamental vocabulary that is contemporary was a route taken by numerous architects to combat this problem
  • Through the work of the Bahaus and Le Corusier during the 1920s and 30s, the lack of ornamental details became the hallmark of modern architecture. This was dubbed the "International Style" in 1932 by Henry-Russel Hitchcock and Phillip Johnson.
  • By the 1950s the style of modernism was so strict that even successful architects could be ridiculed for departing from the standards that were set.
  • The biggest different between ornaments applied and those in structure are arbitrary.
  • In 1959, arguments against ornaments peaked during the discussion over the Seagram Building, as the architect Mies van der Rohe had installed various unnecessary I-beams on the outside of said structure.


Critiques:

  • The third paragraph in the first bit of the article has a beginning transition that felt disconnected from the previous paragraph's information. However this could be me overlooking said last bit of information in the previous paragraph.
  • I cannot quiet explain it but there are a few things in the article that may fit better in another areas of the text, but I will read this over a few more times to be sure. It could be that more could just be added after said information to help with the flow of the reading that I am struggling with. It could additionally be that I am not so use to reading info in third person as Wikipedia articles are normally written in.
  • Occasional grammatical errors, primarily with lack of plurals in some of the text and missing commas.
  • Could use and benefit from some more in depth information in a few places in the text, and maybe transitions between information.
  • Missing Citations