Columns Around Campus

During a Humanities course in which we also discussed the different types of columns used in various types of architecture, my professor had the class go around campus and record the different types of columns that could be found around campus. I have been thinking about also doing this for this class, so I went around taking pictures of the different buildings on campus.

First, there's Oglebay Hall, which has Doric Columns.


Next, there is E. Moore Hall, which also has Doric Columns.



Next, there is Colson Hall, which is yet another building on campus with Doric Columns.


These are pictures of the building in between E. Moore Hall and Colson Hall (I'm not sure of the name). It has Ionic Columns.



I also took pictures of the Pi Beta Phi House. The main columns are Ionic and then the littler columns are Doric.

Home

In class, when the subject of landscape paintings came up, we were asked why anyone would paint a landscape. The immediate, and the only real answer that popped in my head was so you could be reminded of home. The primary reason that I look at landscape paintings is so that I can try to relate them to something back home so I don't feel so far away. Being a college student with a weekend job does not allow for a lot of time to go home so sometimes, I can just start looking up different landscape paintings and they remind me of home when I can't be there. I know it's lame but oh well! =D

The Beautiful Colosseum

Located in Rome, Italy, the Colosseum is one of the most amazing structures in the world to me. It's not only the architecture, but the history behind the place that has me so interested.

Of course, most of us know of the movie "Gladiator," and while it may not focus a lot

on events that actually took place, it certainly gives you an idea of what kind of activities took place in the days of Rome. It makes you feel like you experienced what they experienced.

There are a lot of things that I didn't know about the Colosseum until we discussed them in my art class. One thing that I found particularly interesting was the exact location where it was built. The emperor who commissioned the building of the amphitheatre, Vespasian, wanted to build a place where all the people of Rome could go whenever they wanted. He wanted to do this because of the mistakes of the previous emperor, Nero. Located on the exact spot where the Colosseum is now, Nero, who was a very hated emperor during his reign, had built a very large and extravagant location for himself and his family right in the middle of the city often called "The Golden House." After seeing how much the people hated this emperor, Vespasian made the very political decision to tear this house down and build the amphitheatre directly in it's place.

The Colosseum was built out of concrete (one of the many Roman developments that makes this building so significant) and covered with a layer of travertine which was a very popular material at the time. After about 500 years after it had been built, the Colosseum quit having events and the site was used as a quarry for this material, which is one of the reasons why it looks like it does today.

Another Roman accomplishment that makes the Colosseum amazing was the invention of barrel vaults and cross, or groin, vaults. This allowed for several entrances and one tunnel that continued around the entire length of the building.

The Colosseum also uses all three types of orders: the Doric order, the Ionic order, and the Corithian order. The first floor uses the Doric order, the second floor uses the Ionic order, and the top floor uses the Corinthian order.

It is also suspected that it had some form of awning that could be suspended over the top of the building when weather didn't permit.

The Colosseum was seated due to class: the lowest at the top in the standing area, the highest at the bottom, and the rest in between. This is much like today's stadium where you can enhance you seating position with the more money that you have to offer.

As I said before, the main use of this building was entertainment for the people. It was made to hold 50,000 people. The shows often involved death resulting from differents battles: gladiator vs. gladiator, gladiator vs. animal, animal vs. animal, etc. Gladiators were often criminals and this was often just a way of carrying out capital punishment. The government used these games to show that they had these criminals and animals under control. It could also be filled with water to enact sea battles for the crowd. It is suspected that thousands upon thousands of animals and gladiators were killed all in the name of entertainment at this site.

http://www.the-colosseum.net/architecture/descriptio_en.htm

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/colosseum_01.shtml

http://www.helium.com/items/398575-the-history-of-the-roman-colosseum

Qin Terra Cotta Warriors and Horses

From the moment that I saw the Terra Cotta Warriors on "Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qi5sbft0Qxo&feature=related] I was immediately interested in them. When we discussed them in class, I was excited to find out more about them.

On one website that I found, it described the find as the "most significant archaeological excavation of the 20th century," and I think that they are correct. The sheer size of this find makes it amazing. It is located in Lintong County, Shaanxi Province in China about 1.5 kilometers east of Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Mausoleum. The museum located where the Warriors were found is 16,300 square meters in size. With the help of some restoration, there are over 7000 individual pieces of art included in this find, including soldiers, chariots, horses and some weapons, and archaeologists are still uncovering more and more.

Just before he became the first Emperor of China, at the age of 13, Qin Shi Huang began the building of his mausoleum which wouldn't be finished until more than thirty years later. It is thought that he had this built for a couple of different reasons. Some believe that he had this army built to help him rule in the afterlife. It also probably can't be denied that he did it to show his sheer power at the time.

One of the most amazing things about this army is that each of the warriors faces are personalized. Many believe that the people who made them fashioned them after themselves and actual soliders.

Here's video that goes more in depth about the history and such. It's only about four minutes long so go ahead and take a look at it and hopefully it will interest you as much as it has me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxSi8ejqqss&feature=related

First Post

I will use this space to post images, video and, obviously, blogs about different pieces of artwork that I have found interesting. Feel free to make comments on your thoughts about the artworks that I have selected to write about. My first "real" post should be up within the next few days.