Abstract The paper discusses modernist architect MarcelBreuer's background and his style of work. The paper relates that Breuer is well known for his emphasis on the technical and structural aspects of his buildings. The paper adds that his architecture is recognized for its attention to light and shading, particularly in the use of tinted or shaded windows and overhanging elements. The paper notes his many accomplishments.
From the Paper "Born in Pecs Hungary in 1902, Marcel Breuer attended university at the newly formed Weimar Bauhaus, attracted to the promises of new architectural and artistic approaches (Marcel Breuer: architect biography, par. 1). He attended the Bauhaus in the early twenties and taught there after finishing his studies. Though the Bauhaus did not yet offer architecture when he began there, Breuer, aided by Georg Muche, began to study housing anyway. He had a particular interest in high-rise structures and soon after developed a seven-story apartment block that would be mass-produced in the years to come (Marcel Breuer: architect biography, par. 1)."
Abstract This paper examines the furniture designs of one of the Bauhaus' most famous designers, MarcelBreuer (in the context of the Bauhaus and the modern movement). The paper argues that Breuer's furniture designs reflect the overall Bauhaus interest in the application of industrial mass production to the creation of domestic spaces defined by quality design. The writer explains that although the Bauhaus was to only exist for a few short years before its closing by Germany's Nazi government in 1933, its ethos can be seen to be reflected in much of Breuer's innovations in furniture design. The writer also notes that MarcelBreuer's furniture design would prove so enduring and popular that it came to be characteristic of the modern movement. The writer concludes that in situating Breuer within the context of the Bauhaus, we can see how his modernist vision evolved from an emphasis upon aesthetic principles to a focus upon the primacy of industrial design that may be inexpensively reproduced through mass production techniques. An annotated bibliography is appended.
Outline:
Introduction
The Bauhaus Vision
MarcelBreuer and Modern Furniture Design
Conclusion
From the Paper "The Bauhaus School that came into being in Germany in the wake of the First World War represented arguably the single most influential school in the history of modern design. Headed by figures such as Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe, and defined by a socially egalitarian ethos that envisioned industrial production as the key to presenting quality designed products for the general public, the Bauhaus was to play a critical role in the shaping of how the twentieth century perceived modern design."
Abstract William Morris and MarcelBreuer were architects that took two different physical approaches in removing worthwhile design out of palaces and putting it into the homes of ordinary people. Both brought to their design philosophy a substantial political agenda and, in fact, a substantially similar political agenda. The paper shows that Morris's politics had the gentle color of his native England in the second half of the 19th century and of one of its great philosophers, John Ruskin. In comparison, the paper shows that Breuer's political inspiration came, not from his native Hungary, but a post-WWI Germany and its socialist leanings and, later, from American abundance and willingness to experiment. The paper shows that where Morris's ideas reflected the natural life of a still somewhat pastoral England that surrounded him (especially as he had the means to choose his locale), Breuer's ideas reflected a more muscular, sinewy, hardened landscape of assembly lines and relentlessly turning crankshafts and gears. Where Morris was organic and 'green,' Breuer was skeletal and 'steely gray'.
From the Paper "Despite the intent of both men to bring good design down to earth, the results could not have been more different. Morris, because of the time in which he worked, was limited to traditional furniture materials, mainly wood and metal used only in joinery and sometimes in decoration. In fact, it was in decoration that Morris excelled. His use of curvilinear carving in his wallpapers and furniture, especially his dining chairs, makes clear his connection to the pastoral settings so familiar to educated Englishmen. In addition, because his belief demanded that the overburdened workingman have a respite from the world of shoddy utilitarian objects, (or ugly goods, as he might put it), embellishment suitable to the object and its use was essential."
Abstract Marcel Duchamp, the conceptual artist of the first half of the twentieth century, sparked heated debates during his practices in the art world and had a significant impact on how we view modern art today. This paper examines how Duchamp's evolution as an artist began with roots in traditional methods of paint and Greenberg-sanctioned expression and progressed to satire of the conventional art world, practices, and ways of viewing art. It discusses how the works of Marcel Duchamp mark an important period in art history of dramatic change and movements that, when understood today in their context in history, can be seen as responsible for paving the way for the contemporary art of today.
From the Paper "One of Duchamp's most ambitious works was his mixed media The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (also known as The Large Glass), depicting the "bride" in the upper panel with nine "bachelors" looking on from below. Duchamp accompanied the work with his extensive set of working notes about the piece (called the Green Box), the sexuality of the mechanical structures depicted to represent human beings, and the imaginative physics that govern the piece. The piece captures the idea of the mechanical as it depicts a frozen scene being acted out by the "figures" in both panes. The celebration of movement as art is continued in Duchamp's amusement by cracks occurring the work when it was accidentally broken in 1927. "
Abstract This paper discusses the life and work of Marcel Duchamp, focusing on his "readymades". This paper presents an overview of a making activity that can be developed in conjunction with the historical/critical discussion of Duchamp's readymades. The paper concludes with suggestions as to how these readymades can be turned into a useful classroom activity with the assistance of teacher guidance.
From the Paper "Overall, Duchamp's readymades engage humor, analogy in scale, shifts, and transitions in translating elements. They form representation of the physical and the conceptual transformations of urban landscape into maps. Duchamp started his series of readymades when he worked on objects resembling the Eiffel Tower and the Ferris Wheel. The Bottle Rack was among Duchamp's first readymades, transformed from its utilitarian origins by the artist's selection and signing of the object. The artist may not have made this bottle rack, but he displaced it and disallowed it of its utility. Its metal forms echo the cast-iron structure of the Eiffel Tower. Bottle Rack transforms a machine-made household object into a sculpture of equally strange metal forms."
Tags: source, of, imagery, conventional, definition, industrial-porcelain, art
Abstract This paper begins by comparing speeches by civil rights activists Martin Luther King, Jr ("I Have a Dream") and Malcolm X ("The Ballot or the Bullet"). It explains and compares the differences in tones, use of imagery and other techniques which made these two speeches so memorable. The paper then analyzes "Dying To Be Thin" by Jennifer Breuer to give an example of a speech which is more clinical and informative in nature. Women's rights activist, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's speech "The Declaration of Sentiments", given at the 1848 Seneca Falls Conference is then discussed as an example of a combination of learning, education, experience, eloquence and passion.
From the Paper "With this shift in language, and thus shift in perspective, Stanton makes a radical statement about the equality of women to men in the public sphere. This was something that most Americans in the middle of the 19th century did not believe (or had not considered). To be an effective advocate for her cause, Stanton had both to reveal and to conceal the truly radical nature of her ideas. By phrasing her analysis of women's rights in terms of the Declaration of Independence, Stanton was (implicitly) arguing that what she was arguing for was not radical, was simply a natural and even necessary extension of the rights of all and any Americans that the Revolutionary War had been fought to gain. But, by phrasing her analysis of women's rights in terms of the Declaration of Independence, Stanton was also (implicitly) arguing that her demands were as radical and as morally right as those demands made by the colonists to King George."
Abstract This paper examines how the history of psychoanalysis begins and most probably ends with Sigmund Freud and a handful of psychologists who discussed the system threadbare in the last century. It looks at how even though the system of analysis has been criticized on many counts, and much of it was claimed to be what we may say as 'sensationalism', the theory of the unconscious, the ego and the psychology of Freud has stood the test of time.
Outline:
Introduction
The Impact of His Antecedents on Psychoanalysis
Documents and Contributions
The Beginning and Progress of Psychoanalysis
Mystery of the Missing Disease
Breuer's Contributions
Questioning the Veracity of the History
Conclusion
From the Paper "Freud's important contributions and theories that made up the basic tenets of psychoanalysis were during the two years - between 1894 and 1896. It was during this period that the attempt was made at compiling an etiological inquiry into the aspects of psychoses, neuroses, psychiatry and neuropathology. This was the beginning when he built upon the works of the earlier analysts like Mobius and developing the theory of sexual aetiology of the neuroses. We may say that these years marked a deviation from the normal pattern of thought. (May, 1999) The evidence of the progress of the works of Freud can be found in the letters he wrote to Wilhelm Fliess, which constitute the documents available for the analysis of the history of psychoanalysis. The letters range a period from 1887 to 1904, which includes the time of the creation of the theory and its development by other researchers too. These correspondences reveal the thought process of the person who created a virtually new field of human knowledge. (Masson, 1985)"
This paper discusses "Swann's Way", the first of 7 volumes comprising the book "Rememberance of Things Pasts, which begins Marcel Proust's story of how a little boy becomes a writer.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 1 source, 1981, $ 55.95
From the Paper "The sequence from "Swann's Way" by Proust associates the name of a person and the name of a place with Marcel in a direct way. The person's name is Gilberte, and the place is the Champs-Elys"es and areas around Paris. Gilberte is Swann's daughter. Her name floats by as Marcel, and hearing that name will lead Marcel into a love relationship. He is in the Champs-Elys"es when he overhears a little girl calling out, "Good-bye, Gilberte, I'm going home now; don't forget we're coming to you this evening, after dinner" .The name itself has a power, and hearing it now creates links for Marcel with an earlier time in Combray when he heard the name, and he then knew that the little red-headed girl was Swann's daughter. In the Champs-Elys?es, Marcel is affected by hearing the name, by the mystery surrounding this girl, and by the idea of the girl herself, the idea ... "
From the Paper "This paper will discuss the influence that Marcel Duchamp had on the Dadaist movement in art. Dada originated in Paris and Zurich during the First World War. The despair of that war caused many Europeans to perceive a breakdown in the society of their time. This in turn led to the creation of Dada, a style of art which was paradoxically opposed to art. By seeking the destruction of art as they knew it, the European Dadaists made a statement about their world, which was apparently crumbling down around them. At approximately the same time in history, the concept of Dada was also being introduced in the United States by way of New York City. Although they were not directly involved in the war, the New York Dadaists still rejected the traditional values of the art world. This rejection was accompanied by a sense of humor, and their art often utilized elements of nonsense ... "
Abstract The paper discusses the origins of the Futurist Movement whose art-work reflected the energy and the changes of the late nineteenth/early twentieth century. It shows how Norwegian Impressionist artist, Edvard Munch's "The Scream" - which relayed a message of total dread and horror that comes from trying to realize the preciousness of life in a world of carnage - laid the groundwork for the movement's message. The paper examines the work of others who identified with this movement, such as writer Filippo Marinetti and artist Marcel Duchamp. The paper also touches on the Dadaism movement which orginated from refugees from WWI Germany and explores the works of several Dadaists, such as artist Jean Arp and historian Hans Richter.
From the Paper "While Dadaism had movements all over the world, it was birthed from refugees of World War I in Zurich. The dehumanizing impact of the industrial age moved into the realm of the absurd during the Great War. No one in Germany escaped the horror of that bloody war unscathed. It was like a self-inflicted plague, not altogether unlike tuberculosis or any other disease, only making less sense. During that war was the first time that the modern implements of fighting came into use on the battlefield, and the soldier in the trenches achieved a new level of insignificance. They became canon fodder, with death often time coming from hidden mines, distant snipers, from big guns and airplanes that could only be heard and not seen. The carnage of the war and the desperation that followed clearly marked the souls of these artists. Painting landscapes made no sense in that context."
Abstract Discusses the controversy surrounding Marcel DuChamp's 1912 painting. Reaction to the artistically provocative painting and title at New York's 1913 Armory Show. Origins of DuChamp's painting. His ideas and experiments with abstraction and time-lapse photography. Rejection of "Nude" by the Cubists. His impact on American artists, critics and the public.
From the Paper "Marcel Duchamp's Nude Descending a Staircase (1912) became one of the best known painted images of the twentieth century when it developed into a major focal point for the hilarity and outrage that surrounded the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art. On view in New York, in February and March, the exhibition--which is better known as the Armory Show, after its location--was presented by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors (AAPS) and assembled chiefly by two of its members, Arthur B. Davies and Walt Kuhn, who went to Europe to select the works. When the show opened it proved to be one of the wonders of the age, and a defining moment in the history of American art. The American public, and even the members of the AAPS, had never seen anything like these works, which ranged from Van Gogh and Gauguin to Picasso and Brancusi. Duchamp's painting, with its ..."
Abstract This paper examines "Therese Raquin", a novel by Emile Zola, which was first published in serial form in 1867 under the title of "Un Mariage d'Amour". It looks at how in the novel Zola used the "analytic method" to tell the story in which Therese finds herself. It demonstrates how while the literary ideal of the time was to use the "scientific method" to observe characters' behavior, Zola moves away from this with a moral, unscientific tone. It also discusses how Marcel Carne, a French filmmaker, adapted Zola's novel in his 1953 version of the story.
From the Paper "Edward Baron Turk (1989), upon meeting the elderly Carne during the 1980's, professes that the filmmaker saw himself as young. He was moved by the feeling of unfinished work. Thus, despite criticism to the effect that the quality of his films declined during the years both before and after "Therese Raquin", his ambition to make films never did. There is evidence of this in the film itself. The filmmaker recognizes that times have changed and thus the element of suspense is combined with the dark poetry of his previous works. The fact that he never believed his career to be over, moved him to continue exercising his profession in his old age. Even though these films never again attained either the quality or popularity of "Th?r?se Raquin", the fact remains that the filmmaker never lost his enthusiasm for his art or the values he depicted through it. The fact that he was working on a film when he died, demostrates this."
Abstract This paper will discuss the character Charles Swann in "Swann's Way" by Marcel Proust. By understanding the complexities of this character, we can understand the role that Proust gives him in the overall story scheme. By making character judgments about the way that Swann deals with life in the book, we can clearly see why he is the man that he is. By covering the angles of the book, we can also see how scenes play into the character development as purposed by Proust.
Abstract In "L?Immoraliste" by Andre Gide and "The Captive" by Marcel Proust, neither main character attains his desire. This paper shows that the reason for each gentleman's failure can be found in the theories of Sigmund Freud and Jacques Lacan. It explains that, according to the work begun by Freud and continued by Lacan, desire is forever elusive because the object of desire is continually non-existent. This lack of an object for desire is explored by applying the theories of Freud and Lacan to the works in question.
From the Paper "The main desire of Michel, the narrator in L?Immoraliste is self-actualization and self-discovery. His own inner soul becomes his elusive Other. The problem however arises when circumstances devastate Michel's original self, and another takes its place. It is interesting that Michel and Marceline's positions as they relate to each other change progressively throughout the novel, as do Michel's own disposition and desire. In the beginning of the narrative Michel is ill, and Marceline is healthy. These positions reverse as the novel continues. The hope of a new baby is lost with Marceline's miscarriage and things basically deteriorate in Michel's inner world as they do for Marceline's physique."
A comparison of the treatment of reality and illusion in the novels, "Un Amour De Swann" (Swann's Love), by Marcel Proust, and Andre Gide's "Les Faux-Monnayeurs" (The Counterfeitors).
Abstract This paper is a discussion of how, in both "Un Amour de Swann" and "Les Faux-Monnayeurs," fictional realities are exposed for their illusory nature, and the inner life of characters' fantasy and imagination is shown to be more real than the outer world they inhabit. In both cases, outer reality is shown to be a limited, disappointing, and inherently false area, and the artifice in a fictional reality is highlighted in order to direct our attention to the artifice in our own lived reality. It explains that, while Proust directs readers towards the 'time of our inner lives' as the space of true meaning and experience, Gide believes that action can be taken to expose the falsity inherent in the outer world and emancipate ourselves from the illusions we are enslaved to.
From the Paper "Proust's Un Amour de Swann and Gide's Les Faux-Monnayeurs are both concerned with the borderline between reality and illusion, and between the inner world of the self and the outer world of physical reality. Both novels contain characters who live in a reality they can neither experience fully, interpret objectively, or escape from, and both novels present a fictional reality exposed for its falsity in order to lead the reader to question the 'sincerity' of his own self and the nature of his own reality."
