Point: Reflections

When we first began our study of reflections I immediately thought of water and its ability to return light from its surface and project a rippled representation of the world around it. This is similar to the way in which architecture has the tendency to reflect the culture of the society that built it. In this same way water in its liquid form has the candid ability to change, shift, and move in response to the environment in which it exists. This is why we often use architecture as a means of studying revolutions within society and the world. Like water, architecture also changes and shifts as taste and technology change within a social group. In addition to examining architecture within the terms of social revolutions, we have also examined it in terms of thinking outside the box v. a holistic view of architecture, revivals from around the world, and Japanisme as examples of these revolutions within the architecture of society.

As a continuation of our allusion to water and its reflective qualities, reflections can be defined in several ways: the act of reflecting or the state of being reflected, an image, a representation, a counterpart, a thought occurring in consideration or meditation, the return of light, sound, etc. after striking a surface.

Speaking of reflections in terms of an image, or a representation, the impressionist artist Claude Monet comes to mind. Monet’s water lilies are some of my favorite paintings, and I was thrilled that Monet related to our study of Japanisme. As I examined the work I realized that it not only literally shows a reflection of the subject, but also symbolically reflects our entire unit. The reflections in the water reminded me of the hall of mirrors in Versailles. This space is a prime example of a holistic view on architecture. There is design at every scale. Everything from the gilded molding to the color of the floors was carefully chosen to emulate and capture the glowing light of the sun, and the power of the sun king Louis XIV. We were also able to draw connections to this from music. The floating melodies, and the structured rhythm of the Autumn movement from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons Suite reflects the fluidity of parts to the whole within the formality of the axial layout of the space. This seamless flow of space make the hall appear to go on forever. Monet’s painting also demonstrates this feeling of floating boundless space. The shore of pond is not shown on the canvas, but its trees are reflected on the water so it is as if the land continues below the surface.

Impressionist painting as a whole was a revolutionary movement within the art world. Rejected by most, impressionist art stepped outside the box o f an ideal representation of a classical subject and instead aimed to paint the essence of the subject. In many ways this is similar to the revolution that occurred in England and France when the new trade routes to China, Japan, and India opened in the 16^th-19^th centuries.

In general, a revolution is the ending of one cycle and the beginning of another. In England, a period emphasizing purity of architecture came to an end in favor of the Victorian “anything goes” approach. This brought about the existence of Classical revival, Gothic revival, Moorish revival, Indian revival, Japanisme, etc. all existing in architecture at the same time. Making the home a fantasyland, an escape in which you could travel the world and never actually leave your home. Needless to say there were many ideas about what style was appropriate for the period. Perhaps these architects could have used a walk along the thought paths found in Japanese gardens. Western take on these were very popular in England and France. Monet’s water lilies resemble the ponds often found in these meditative gardens. The painting style is also based on a Japanese technique. The short strokes give the subject a light, rounded feel. Which gives it the appearance of existing in another world.

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