DSDN 171 - Blog 5

The Old Bank of New Zealand building stands tall on the corner of Cuba and Manners street and is a well-noticed and predominant building within the Wellington CBD. It was first constructed in 1913 by William Turnbull and contains many “exuberant appearances with large tympani, repetitive pediments, buttress-like pilasters and broken entablatures” (Norberg-Schulz, (1972,p184-185) which shows the Baroque from the building expresses. These features can be indentified with the Baroque style of architecture and is the 5^th style bank building within Wellington with another being the Old Bank Arcade on Lampton Quay. Pillars lining the entrance stand strong indicating an entry point with numerous lion heads and other fine decorations around the outer walls linking back to the Baroque style as seen in the images. “The BNZ building in the centre of town has had the decorative impact of its elaborate pillars and pediments and fine plaster curls” (McGill, (1997,p129). Considering the buildings use in the past as a bank it was seen as a very strong place of power and authority, “Solidity evokes dignity, stability, security, and imposing and splendid facades have a great concern for concentrating ornament to give a convincing impression of power and wealth” (Norberg-Schulz, (1972,p97). The Baroque style is carried through with many features in this Old Bank Building and has maintained them through many years with only paint and interior tweaks being the only changes.

References:

- Christian Norberg-Schulz. (1972). Baroque Architecture. Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York

Retrieved from Te Waharoa Victoria University of Wellington Library

- David McGill. (1997). Landmarks – Notable Historic Buildings of New Zealand. Godwit Publishing Limited, New Zealand

Retrieved from Te Waharoa Victoria University of Wellington Library

DSDN 171 - Blog 4

This model is constructed from polypropylene plastic and some braid thread weaved throughout it. It has incorporated the idea of a curved and straight line in its construction with having staggering bits of polypropylene being the straight line fanned out and curved to create a curvilinear look to it. Ultimately the straight lines of the polypropylene layer to create the curvilinear look rather than having anything curved put into the work. The inspiration for this model came from 2 images; one being the Mineta San Jose Airport building showing beautiful curves and layers of different parts of the building and the other being an image of a staircase showing a nice angle of layers and also repetition with staggering steps.

With the layers of polypropylene plastic on top of one another it creates a beautiful but subtle looking pattern and effect only as light is cast over it showing nice detail along with the curvilinear form it is in. The quote “Good design is obvious, Great design is transparent”[1] reinforces how the subtle design and pattern created by this light is a strong point and it being very subtle makes it stand out when light is cast. Another fine detail that is effective is the way the model is held together by the thin braid thread ultimately creates the curve in the model as well. This model has captured the essence of straight and curved lines and the fine detail like the transparency pattern are subtle yet effective.

---

[1] http://designwashere.com/80-inspiring-quotes-about-design/

DSDN 171 - Blog 3

The item I have found is a blue vase with gold detail believed to have been from the 17th-18th century style rococo. It contains a central image in gold as well as very fine gold detail around the edges of the vase. The structure of this item is predominantly curves which shows that this is a style of rococo as this curvilinear style and look was one of the characteristics that made rococo recognizable; “Rococo was known for its curvilinear style and femininity of the pieces”[1].

This vase is also very exuberant another characteristic of the Rococo style with its bold blue color however not as exuberant as other pieces of the Rococo era with only having the one detail in the middle rather than a lot of patterns or numerous details on the piece. The cultural background behind this vase originated from France. This type of porcelain vase is alternately known as Limoges due to the origin of its craft. “Limoges porcelain designates hard-paste porcelain produced by factories near the city of Limoges, France beginning in the late 18th century”[2]. The central image is a gold inlaid stencil of a courting couple, which also shows the exuberance in detail put into the vase in the Rococo style. This vase with its curvilinear form and femininity shows the style of Rococo around the 17^th-18^th century that was being produced.

---

[1] Holloway, O. (1969). French Rococo: Book Illustration. London, England. Tiranti.

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limoges_porcelain

DSDN 171 - Blog 2

For my annotated bibliography I have chosen the research field of French Rococo.

1. Book with a single author

Holloway, O. (1969). French Rococo: Book Illustration. London, England. Tiranti.

I have chosen this book as a source because it deals with many time periods and change in the style of my field throughout history. I thought this would be a helpful source, as well as having information it also has a lot of references to go with the examples that it states to certain pieces of art work which can be found in the second half of the book.

2. A scholarly journal article

Van Rensselaer, M.G. (1879). Rococo. The Art Journal, 5, 293-298.

I have chosen this as a source because it looks at the Rococo style and more closely at its delicate beauty and historical importance on the design world. I thought this would be a helpful source as it looks at the Rococo style at a different angle rather than the background dates and people who were involved but rather its physical aspects.

3. An edited book

Bremer-David, C. (2011). A New Interior. DeJean, J. Paris: Life & luxury in the eighteenth century. (pp. 33-53). Los Angeles, America. J. Paul Getty Museum. 

I have chosen this as a source because it talks about objects within their original context and usefulness. i thought this would be helpful because it shows how these certain objects that were made in this period and style were used in daily routines within society. 

4. A website

Introduction to the artistic style of Rococo. (2009). Referenced from: www.arthistory.net/artstyles/rococo/rococo1.html

I have chosen this site as a source because it contains a good brief overlook of the Rococo

style and how it came about from the beginning. It also looks at how this style was used by the German's and the Italian's in their own unique way. I thought this would be helpful as a source because it also gives examples about the different Rococo styles and what they specifically

brought to the design world that made them different.

5. An image

Fig 1. Cezanne, P (ca. 1876). Flowers in a Rococo Vase, (oil on canvas). Retrieved http://arthistory.about.com/od/from_exhibitions/ig/chester_dale_collection

/cdc_nga_2010-11_18

I have chosen this image as a source because it shows characteristics of a Rococo design and

the type of works that were produced in this time. It shows the curvilinear and feminine characteristics and would be helpful as an example to show the exuberance of the type of style.

DSDN 171 - Blog 1

My name is Mathew Brunton. I am 18 years old, i live in wellington and have done all my life. My two main interests are sport and design. I have spent my college life mainly taking the subjects of art and physical education. Last year was my last at college and i completed two portfolios, one for art painting and the other for art design. I really enjoyed the design course i did in my last year at school and is one of the reasons i wanted to do a BDI at university. I am a very hands on person and like to be involved in making and constructing things especially smaller and detailed objects or items. I would much prefer to spend my time studying doing design than anything else purely for the fact that i like to be very open minded and creative. My aspirations in design aren't exactly too clear to me at this stage however i look to be able to be hands on in my approach to my study and have an active involvement