New Style Steel Casements Crosby Street Hotel - photo by Suzanne deChillo

Windows are not something we really think about on a daily basis. They are just there and we take them for granted. They let the light in, reveal the sun shining, reflect relentless rain when it is falling and the ever changing colour of the sky as well as the multitude of events continually happening on the street or the water outside. Evolving from a slit in the wall of a formidable defensive stone Keep to shoot arrows at enemies, ‘wind eyes’ as they were known in ancient times, have evolved through a series of interesting varieties to offering us an eye to the whole world within our vision, and all that lies beyond.

It was with interest that I read an article in the New York Times claiming that casement windows have now become a classic. And, that they are being installed in many new and renovated New York apartments as part of a contemporary architectural revival, which pays tribute to pre-war World War II buildings. NYTimes journalist Jonathan Vatner reported ‘that it was mostly down to one guy, Cary Tamarkin an architect and developer sometimes referred to as “the window guy,” because of use of distinctive casement windows in the apartments he develops’.

Although typically more expensive than conventional windows Tamarkin also said casement windows are ‘rooted in traditions of authenticity.’, which is a most intriguing statement or is it simply spin? It seems most of the window guy’s projects are in neighborhoods filled with warehouse buildings, that he converts into apartments and sells for over two million a pop so that people can “live comfortably amid their settings.” We all have choice and if what he is providing fits your dream and needs then it is certainly about the art of fine living. The fact remains however it happens, or why, the fact that someone is bravely reverting to quality opening windows must surely be good news. And if they are casements, then they are an attractive option.

Typical early English Tudor casement windows - great handmade red brickwork too

Casements are a window that allows the flow of air to be regulated easily and are a very pleasing feature, if well made. Casement windows that opened out were the norm in Europe and England for centuries, that is until the up and down style of sash window was invented around 1670.

They usually contained leaded glass in small panes at first, which became larger as time went on and glass making techniques allowed for larger panes to be produced. They were more usually hinged on the side, and opened inward allowing the occupant an uninterrupted view of the world.  The windows were also covered by functional exterior shutters, which opened outward.

This productive pair was a winning combination for centuries allowing air to circulate easily while keeping the heat of the sun out on a stinking hot day.  Casement windows made a come back in the late 20′s and 30′s in Art Deco pleasure palaces and skyscrapers but then they went out of contention following World War II with the re-emergence of the sash and all new fixed ‘picture’ (plate glass) windows.

Just the fact they are putting windows that open into any new multi storied building structure again anywhere must be a plus. For those living in apartments, or working in buildings where windows are fixed and rely only on air conditioning, it must be a liberating thought. I don’t know personally how they stand it.

French style casements and window boxes in Bleecker Street at New York where they have traditional curved 'stone headers'. Photo by Benjamin Norman

Sleeping or living with fresh air circulating for me is an absolute, but then here in Australia we are blessed with a good quality of air, even in out largest cities, which many other countries of the world don’t enjoy. And, for that we should always give thanks.

If we are to cut down on our use of energy so that it is effectual, in terms of the environment, then surely windows that open, like casement windows, must come back into contention with contemporary developers and fixed windows and air conditioners phased out.

Sara Lopergolo, a partner at Selldorf Architects in New York remarked to Vatner  at the New York Times ‘that the casement window was of interest today because “it breaks down the scale of a window opening. It frames views.” “It has a resonance with people, a character that people retain as something that belongs to an old world,”

Architects need to take responsibility by considering the way a view faces, the trajectory of the sun, winter and summer, as well as study the prevailing winds a little more before they make a decision on what windows to include in any buildings, not just high rise. There are many gurus of design blithely guiding all our futures so we must not be complacent but vigilant and, give them hell if they stuff up.

Stegbar Casement Windows Australia

Part of the reason for the resurgence that has made casements a classic (of acknowledged excellence) is obviously a romantic view, as well as the fact that once again in the last five years especially, window technology has improved yet again and, significantly.

Quality steel casements are now being manufactured with the label ‘energy efficient’, which means they stand up to rigorous tests relating to building codes.

New French style casements, that were historically wooden,  grace a building in Bleecker Street, New York and are made from quality steel. The design origins of the building are based in European classical architecture and so the casement windows suit it well architecturally, with its detailed curved stone headers, deep overhanging classical cornice and, the French essential projecting attic rooms.

But manufactures warn windows are complicated devices, made ever the more complicated by the fact recommended window types vary by climate.

Prior to ordering any sort of window, a classic or otherwise, you need to inform yourself about what kind of window is right for both your climate and your needs. It is no use having a fashionable French number that you cannot open simply because it faces the way gale force winds blow in your part of the world.

Claude Monet's Window at Giverny, courtesy Elizabeth Murray

If they face the more gentle breezes and the ideal north east in the southern hemisphere and south west in the northern, then a casement window, which goes from ceiling to floor, that is hinged on the outside, has no center mullion and when open allows an unobstructed view is certainly a very attractive option. Especially when you can open them up and easily attend to your herbs planted in a window box outside.

Casements + fresh herbs + French cuisine will obviously improve quality of life.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010 – 2012

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Roman fresco with banquet scene from the Casa dei Casti Amanti (IX 12, 6-8) in Pompeii

In western society we are inheritors of a legacy from Ancient Greece and Rome that despite the passing of over 2500 years is still potent. Through their ideas the desire to capture the essence of fine living was born. Today that art of living has evolved since the development of the domus in European antiquity to a residence in America and Australia, through a diverse and special mix of peoples and their cultures.

Ancient Greek gastronomy developed out of a practice of sacrificing domestic animals to a variety of gods. Afterwards, as one would expect in a democracy, the carcasses were equally proportioned and sold at market. During the fifth century before the Christ event herbs, spices and honey were added to heighten taste.

As documented in the literature of this period, cookery was considered a very important skill, because the Greeks understood it to be one of the basic arts that sustained human life. Romans of the first century embraced Greek ideas and art forms with great passion. Roman orator Cicero [106 BC -43 BC] believed that ‘to style the presence of guests at a dinner table’ lay at the heart of Roman civilised life ‘because it implied a community of enjoyment, a convivium, or ‘living together’.

Reconstruction of the Octagonal Room - Emperor Nero's Domus Aurea

Following the decline of the Republic and ascent of the Empirical system at Rome a shared meal became a vehicle for display, ostentation, rank, hierarchy and for flattering and influencing people, in a setting they could exercise the art of conversation. Roman Emperor Nero (37-68) enjoyed fine living with great gusto. When he entered his just completed residence, the Domus Aurea (or Golden House, built in 64 AD, he is said to have proclaimed, as he gazed upon its many splendours, words to the effect, ‘now at last I can live as a human being’.

Author of a first century best seller Satyricon, Gaius Petronius (27-66 A.D.), was Nero’s advisor in all matters of luxury and extravagance (his unofficial title was arbiter elegantia). He described guests arriving at a banquet as being requested to remove their shoes at the door, have their hands washed in iced water, no mean feat prior to refrigeration, while their toenails were trimmed to the sounds of a chorus singing. Perhaps today we may consider the last just a little excessive.

We do know that Nero’s guests reclined, along with their host, on couches enjoying conversation and cuisine prepared by chefs, who achieved some fame. His vast banqueting hall revolved in harmony with the rhythms of day and night, the ceiling opening to reveal the heavens as perfume and gifts showered onto guests.

The advent of Christianity created a challenge for those at the top because by now there was a well-established tradition of fine living throughout the Roman world.

The Apostle Paul struggled to attend gatherings where rich men and their friends were served different food and drink to those of a ‘lower status’. It was a dilemma he felt he could not resolve so in the end he decided the wealthy had better eat privately.

Paul advised the Corinthians [1 Corinthians 8: 9, 10] when asked should they eat meat sacrificed to idols by suggesting they should be careful about exercising freedom of choice in case it became a ‘stumbling block to the weak’. And, that if what he ate caused his brothers to fall into sin then for his part, he would never eat meat again. Powerful words with a meditative deep inner meaning that reflect Paul’s strength of mind and purpose.

There is a huge gap of reliable documentation from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, when the demise of eating in a reclining position also came about, until about the fourteenth century in Europe. Communal living by Christian monks and nuns meant communal eating, often to strict rules of silence, with an aim of feeding the soul.

Prolonged periods of peace also meant the aristocracy gentry and merchants could establish great houses in the countryside and along with it invented the concept of ‘eating outdoors’ or, having picnics, which became something new and exciting as described by fourteenth century French nobleman Gaston Phoebus Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn (1343-1391).

He summarized his life’s achievements: “I have delighted all my days in three things. The one is arms, the next is love, and the other is hunting.” He added, “There have been far better masters of the two former than I am.” Such humility, is definitely to be applauded.

For Kings and noblemen of the fourteenth century hunting was so much more than just a sport. It was a game of chance in which the thrill of the chase was far more important than the desire to put food on the table.

An artful aristocratic diversion, the hunt ended with man proving he held power and sway over the animal kingdom. A complex event involving strategizing for success with highly valued, well trained dogs and fighting fit falcons hunts were often held on religious days.

They started with a feast for breakfast, as well as an analysis of the droppings of the potential prey to ensure it was both fit and worthy to be hunted at all. Then the hunt was on. The glorious day ended with everyone joining together in a celebratory meal and fittingly Phoebus himself died, as he should, during a bear hunt.

Fifteenth century Florentine author and philosopher Marsilio Ficino 1433 – 1499 revealed his thoughts about a meal that it ‘embraces all the parts of man, for it restores the limbs, renews the humours, revives the mind, refreshes the senses and sustains and sharpens reason’.

Throughout the fifteenth century in Italy dining at table was strongly symbolic of a good society one in which strong social relationships were forged, ideas exchanged and mutual respect established.

In England by the sixteenth century the head of a powerful household sat at the head of his table facing a fanciful portal crowned with trumpeters who heralded the exact moment the food, led by the marshal of the hall carrying a white staff appeared.

At the grandest banquets, a household officer on horseback emerged from underneath a screen that protected guests from draughts from the doorway and rode into the hall to announce that dinner was served. What fun.

At Hatfield House, home of the famous Cecil family, the ornately carved screen was crowned with the Cecil crest and family motto Sero Sed Serio “late, but in earnest’, surely one of the best mottos of all time.

Its painted decoration and a great panoply of decorative devices had been plundered from Turkish rugs and old Medieval manuscripts imposing a visual richness.

If a house during the Tudor period in England, included a Long Gallery hung with portraits of the family, famous patrons or friends it was the mark of a settled and civilized house; an Elizabethan magnate could contemplate their character or otherwise be inspired by their virtues. Owning such a house became important to practicing the art of fine living.

By the beginning of the seventeenth century the French court changed its philosophy from an ideal based on chivalry to one of refined manners.

The most influential teacher of architects in France during this period was Germain Boffrand. He revealed ‘the character of the master of a house…can be judged by the manner in which it is arranged, decorated and furnished’.

By now the art of fine living embraced a well-planned sophisticated garden as well. At Vaux le Vicomte Louis La Vau 1612-70 [architecture] Charles Le Brun 1619-90 [interiors] and Andre Le Notre 1613-1700 [gardens] spent five years building a chateau designed by the three for the glory of one, their patron and illustrious client the Minister for Finances, Nicolas Foucquet. It is at his Chateau, Vaux le Vicomte, that the French classical style was born.

Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre created this extraordinary ‘palace of the sun’ as described by the ancient Latin poet, Ovid for his patron, Apollo, The Sun King.

Here at last was the perfect place for a man of substance and his family to dwell; large, imposing, but not huge; with painted wood panelling, colourful carpets, painted illusionary ceilings, carved and gilded furniture, fabulous ceramics, superb textiles all made for the most splendid of man-made environments.  I know that when I visited to view its splendours I could have easily moved straight in. It was not over ambitious, but comfortable, cleverly disposed and in keeping with its times.

At Vaux le Vicomte Foucquet practiced the art of fine living well, eating his meat from a service that included a new fancy fangled invention called the fork, without fearing the accusation of depravity still associated with that practice only a few years earlier.

The publisher Charles de Sercy described Vaux’s gardens in 1652 as the place where ‘Foucquet made art and nature engage in a pleasant contest’. The genius of Le Notre lay not only in his invention of a new style, but in his absolute mastery of a repertoire widely used, at least in its many parts.

It was bringing them together in a controlled harmonious form that was not only pleasing but also a perfect place in which to practice the art of seduction.

Vaux was built for the enjoyment of the countryside while not giving up the pleasures of the city…something England did not emulate at this time as they concentrated on building country houses for sport and display, rather than as a place to practice the art of conversation.

The Baroque style from Vaux le Vicomte became a potent force that influenced the whole of the western world when guided by Louis XIV, he began expanding his father’s hunting lodge nearby the village of Versailles using the combined talents of Le Vau, Le Brun and Le Notre.

The Kings of France lived in the chateau of Versailles, which became a centre for political life from 1682 until 1789. It is today an amazing place to visit with its some 2,300 rooms and over 60 staircases. In its day it cost the equivalent price of what we would pay now for a modern city airport. It was an object of universal admiration in its time, enhancing French prestige on the world stage.

France’s appearance and way of life changed forever during the reign of Louis XIV the Sun King. Many great towns throughout France underwent metamorphosis and the landscape altered forever as Louis XIV devoted himself energetically to all his building projects. Today little remains of his other splendid palaces at Saint-Germain and Marly?

Well cursed as an extravagance when it was under construction, and accused of having ruined the nation at the time of the revolution, the chateau at Versailles stands today as a monument to French achievement and the many milestones reached in its historical and cultural journey.

Over the years since it was finished the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles has reflected many great moments in the history of the world. At the time Colbert, Louis’ 1^st Minister and master of ceremonies used it to launch the Royal Mirror Company. Its success gave considerable momentum to the glazing industry in France and increasingly the public became aware of the decor possibilities of a mirror. They enhanced the art of living well.

Despite all of the work Louis was to complete at Versailles it was always called le Chateau, (which means Gentleman’s seat) never le Palais, remaining the home of a young man, grand without being pompous, full of light, air and cheerfulness just like a large country house.

According to the Oxford Dictionary the term enlightenment means to be free of prejudice, ignorance or superstition. Grand Tourists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe were busy discovering the ruins at Rome and an expansion of knowledge revealed that ancient artists and writers had been accustomed to free expression, with religion and honour paramount to society’s daily existence.

This revelation affected the social and moral values of many European societies who were travelling in ever increasing circles in ‘search of the truth’. They began striving for aesthetic perfection wanting to emulate a new ideal; classical perfection.

As a result small temples in a landscape became focal points for those wanting a place of ease and repose.

By the turn of the nineteenth interiors as described by Jane Austen in her novels, presented an image of a sublime world. China, glassware and silverware displayed the family coat of arms proving to those who sat at table with you that your lineage was not only important, but also could be traced to ancient (the inference was more important) times.

Simple white starched linens with drawn thread work were surmounted by elegant vases made of glass, filled with fresh flowers picked from the garden loosely, but consciously arranged and placed on great tables. These were made from the new rage timber, mahogany with their elegantly fluted legs inspired by the columns from a Greek classical temple.

Women’s dresses emulated Greek statuary although some, endeavouring to appear like the goddesses on Greek temples by wetting their dresses, succumbed to pneumonia… because by now death was preferable to not being seen as part of a fashionable scene involved in the art of fine living.

William Morris (1834-1896) self-professed leader of the modern movement said ‘If I were asked to say what is at once the most important product of Art, and the thing most to be longed for, I should answer, a beautiful House’.

Building a house in the country made to appear as old and as venerable as the countryside itself, was what everyone was striving for. If you couldn’t build one you clamoured to be acquainted with those who owned a wonderful old pile. The aim was to affect an invitation to join a country house weekend where the art of pleasure was a very serious business and the art of fine living practiced with confidence and style.

‘Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality’ said English author and art critic John Ruskin 1819 – 1900. He resented social injustice and the squalor that was a direct result of the ‘greed is good’ mentality that accompanied the unbridled capitalism of the Industrial Revolution. His influence on the next generation of artists and craftsmen who led the way toward establishing Le Style Moderne was to be profound.

The agricultural depression of the late nineteenth century removed land as the chief source of wealth in England and by 1901 the money to pay for a country house had to be made in urban centres of trade or, somewhere else in the Empire, like Australia, where the English style and way of life had been transported. World War 1 marked a great divide in the age of the moderns bringing artists face to face with an alternative; either a clean sweep or hope of a reformed society, or alternatively the retention of a privileged art in the service of an elite and moneyed class.

After WWII a focus on art and design coming together again was rejuvenated. At Sydney, the unofficial capital of Australia, a quiet revolution in the art of living well has meant that its interior designers have finally come into their own. Stunning textiles instead of paintings are appearing on the very best walls. Smart eye-catching antique carpets are teaming brilliantly with wide plank nailed timber floors.

Despite the GFC, storm and tempest, floods and fire most owners remain optimistic. Good old Petronius, with his eye for detail and best in life, would have loved the whole concept of a one stop shop and having access to a fabulous design resource like Residence Australia.

During the last decade those who have set the scene for an art of fine living have reinterpreted late nineteenth century European Modernism with great enthusiasm, making it appear all brand new.

Great interiors today are innovative, convenient, comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, technology savvy and above all energy efficient. Sustainability, recycling and quiet elegance have become hallmarks of an interior that will both inspire and nurture its occupants, so that they can enjoy an art of living well.

Carolyn McDowall, ©The Culture Concept Circle 2011, 2012

*Quote by Aristotle (384 – 322 BC)

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Gustave Klimt, leading artist of the Vienna Secession - Judith 1901 Oil on Canvas

The industrial revolution of the nineteenth century as it progressed rapidly changed the face of the western world. By the beginning of the twentieth century in Europe, England and America immense wealth generated a youthful society, one who had very different priorities and objectives than their parents or grandparents. They were clamouring for the best that life could offer. Their aspirations and expectations were different, their views less dogmatic, manners much smoother, prose lighter and morals and codes of conduct easier. At the time England was indisputably the greatest and richest nation in the world with no rivals seriously threatening its trade and industry. The upper and middle classes were enjoying supremacy.

Life without industry is guilt, and industry without art is brutality author and art critic John Ruskin 1819 – 1900 declared. A moral guide or prophet, if you like during the latter years of the nineteenth century in England Ruskin resented social injustice and the squalor that was a direct result of the ‘greed is good’ mentality that accompanied the unbridled capitalism brought about by the Industrial Revolution. His influence was profound on his both his contemporary colleagues and the next generation of artists and craftsmen. They would lead the way towards establishing Le Style Moderne.

Window from Hill House by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

Vienna’s art world in the latter years of the nineteenth century, finally accepted the leadership role of the United Kingdom. in the world of innovation and design. Arts and Crafts leader William Morris and Scottish creative Charles Rennie Mackintosh fought to combat goods produced by machines by championing hand manufacturing. Charles Rennie Mackintosh cultivated a rigorous formal economy of design, which appealed to members of the newly established Viennese Secession.

They were a group of primarily young artists, painters, sculptors and architects in Vienna who seceded from the prestigious Kunsterhaus (Artists House) to set up a Society of Austrian Artists – the Vienna Secession. in I897. It included painted and illustrator Gustav Klimt. His brilliant individualism would dominate the era and his paintings set a stylistic tone that would resonate in far off places. His paintings lining the grand ascending staircase of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum reveal his movement towardthe hallmarks of a style that would become known as Art Nouveau.

The Secession staged their first exhibition in March 1898. Their aims were purely aesthetic and founded in Coffeehouse culture and the decorative arts magazine The Studio, which was devoured in all the capital’s stylish cafes.

Detail of the Secession building in Vienna, constructed by Joseph Maria Olbrich. It is one of the best known examples of Secessionist style of modern architecture.

Members of the Secession Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffman and Josef Maria Olbrich were so impressed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s austere aesthetic they invited him to come to Vienna and exhibit at the eighth Vienna Secession exhibition, which he did to critical acclaim.  Secession artists by their very nature were all fierce individuals striving to create a new style, one that would inform and help to imagine the future.

Vienna was struggling to leave behind its reputation for conservatism and the impact of the repressive political climate of their immediate past. Its citizens eagerly sought to embrace contemporary ideas and change under the influence and leadership of its artists, intellectuals and scientists.

Josef Hoffman in 1905-11 designed the Palais Stoclet in Brussels for Belgian industrialist Alfred Stoclet. It was a Villa built for a private financier who ‘wanted a large house, he loved the arts and gave us an entirely free hand’ said Hoffman.

It has been described as a universal, complete, flawless masterpiece of a thousand years of architectural history.

Gustav Klimt and Josef Hoffman combine to produce the design and style of the Palais Stoclet's Dining Room

Modernism demanded a distinction between interior architecture and decoration and a preference for open planned living.

Modernist interiors were meant to be devoid of applied decoration. They seek to concentrate solely on geometry, uninterrupted lines and form.

At the Villa Stoclet the Dining Room contained murals by Gustav Klimt and furniture by Josef Hoffman. Harmony governed every facet of this total work of art and it became the extreme statement of Viennese avant-garde design.

It was ambitious, an accomplished achievement of the Wiener Werkstatte, (Vienna Workshops) founded by Hoffman in 1903. A strange astonishing edifice it might have come from another planet, it was in fact transposed far from the city of its conception to a setting, which is still alien to it. It exemplified in embryo the major features of the coming Art Deco movement of which it was one of the great founding monuments.

During the late nineteenth and early twentieth century rivals America, Germany and Japan threatened Britain’s manufacturing power. At home industrial unrest, growing feminist and socialist movements were part of a general, and protracted crisis. The population of the United Kingdom was 41.5 million in 1901, twenty percent living in poverty. Emmelline Pankhurst founded the Women’s Social and Political Union in 1903 and it gained an international focus for militant action in the campaign for women’s suffrage. In Britain the Children’s Act of 1904 finally banned employment of children between nine at night and six in the morning.

A most profound influence in the UK and in America would be that of the long established system of French education in design and architecture at the Ecole des Beaux Arts at Paris. Its style of education was introduced into Britain amid scepticism, resentment and open hostility early in the twentieth century. Rejected previously, the Ecole’s approach to architecture laid heavy emphasis on distinct, formalized planning.

This is a school of design education founded that had no parallel in any other European country. It aimed at being and became a centre for intellectual debate about architecture during the eighteenth and nineteenth century. Its teaching program was conceived as a preparation for the design of public buildings.

Tutors taught architects to work up their designs through a series of project stages. They employed the classical orders in the required ‘correct proportions’, but only once the plan was fully developed. The aim of every student was to win the prestigious Grand Prix de Rome established by Napoleon through the Academie des Beaux Arts, so they could spend a year studying in that city.

In England the Ritz Hotel on Picadilly is in the ‘Beaux Arts’ style. In America, the Biltmore Estate (pictured) was designed by the first American educated at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts at Paris, Richard Morris Hunt. His ‘French Chateau’ style house for George Washington Vanderbilt II, ate up much of the family fortune, installing such new innovations as electricity, which at the time was not even in the area.

The population of Britain in 1800 was 10 million. In 1881 it was 31 million and by 1911 there would be 11 million more to house, and the resultant prosperity was enjoyed most of all by the affluent middle classes. Within the years from 1895 to 1906 more buildings were built than ever before in Britain’s history. Speculative developers, who employed both run of the mill, designed houses, hotels, offices and factories and talented architects in an attempt to invent a new sought after British style. They were the ones who held sway.

Idealists such as William Morris in the latter part of the nineteenth century had championed good design for the poor and had been overwhelmed by the fact it was only those of affluence who could afford to buy what he had to offer. Would that he was in Inala at Brisbane in 2002, to see part of his vision achieved in the revamping of 50′s housing commission bungalows.

The King Edward VII Galleries at the British Museum are the most elegant of all the Beaux Arts influenced Edwardian classical buildings at London. They won a knighthood for their architect Webb J.J. Burnet. While great public buildings were passing through the decade of the High Baroque the Neo Georgian style in architecture was also being revived heavily in the suburbs.

This was a decade where the expansionist and imperialist features of the previous century were displayed to excess, one in which the political tensions and economic frailties of the present century before World War I became apparent. Radical change was required.

Spanish draughtsman, painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) was a dominating figure of early twentieth century French art. He, with French painter Georges Braque (1882-1963) founded classical Cubism. Braque working with Picasso from 1908 to 1914 to explore cubism thorough its various phases. When their association ended Picasso designed costume and sets for Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes. He was above all an innovator.

His portrait of Olga avoided illusionist realism, which he achieved by flattening the figure against its background. Picasso’s first wife Olga Stepanovna Khokhlova was a Ukrainian-Russian dancer.

She is one of the many women who shed their restricting corsets, cut their hair, raised their hemlines and set out to find what feminine freedom and being modern was all about following World War I.

World War One marked the great divide in the age of the moderns. The upheaval of war brought artists face to face with an alternative, either a clean sweep or hope of a reformed society, or alternatively the retention of a privileged art in the service of an elite and moneyed class. The streamlined success of the style Art Deco would be one answer, at least until World War Two, which would change the face of the world forever.

At London in the year of the second Olympic Games held in England the Victoria & Albert Museum, undoubtedly the world’s greatest museum of art and design, is hosting an important exhibition that encompasses the period between the first ‘austerity’ games held in London in 1948 and the games of the all new austerity age in 2012.

Innovation in the Modern Age (31st March – 12th August 2012) will explore British design in the interim and the tension in England between tradition and modernity, conservatism and contemporary design and the economic, political and cultural forces that have shaped its evolution.

Vienna also has many plans for 2012, namely to inspire its guests from all over the world with harmonious diversity.

They have announced 2012 is their Gustav Klimt year and there are two exhibitions of his works opening in February.

Klimt´s key paintings will set the stylistic tone for his world-famous work from about 1900 onwards. They are at the center of a show “Gustav Klimt at the Kunsthistorisches Museum“.

“Klimt: Up Close and Personal. Images, Letters, Insights” at the Leopold Museum will focus on the artist´s numerous travels as well as the the fact that he incorporated his impressions and observations during his travels into his paintings.

The styles that made up the Modern Movement are known as:
Arts and Crafts 1875-1915
Art Nouveau (1880-1910)
Wiener Werkstatte (1903-1933) and Bauhaus (1919-1933)
Art Deco (1920-1940)

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

NB: The dates are but a guide as all styles, as they rise and fall, overlap each other.

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During the seventeenth century at France King Louis XIV ordered architect Louis le Vau and gardener Andre le Notre to produce a tiny pleasure pavilion in the grounds of Versailles near the artificial lake. Built to practice the arts of seduction, the so-called Trianon de Porcelaine was lavishly embellished with ceramics in the Chinese taste. It was pulled down when Louis’s mistress Mme de Montespan fell from favour. In its place the Grand Trianon was built for the King to entertain family and friends.

By the eighteenth century in Europe and England all things Chinese had assumed incredible proportions. Fashionable society sought to transmit their ideas about the magical land of Cathay through a multiplicity of imagery. It manifested itself in intimate interiors, where mirrored rooms reflected scenes of frivolity well. It draped itself delightfully with sumptuous silk textiles that recorded scenes of fashion and folly. The admiration of all things Chinese also led to the ultimate cross over of cultural influences. Fans were among the earliest imports of the English and Dutch East India Companies and perfectly reflected the femininity associated with this movement, which combined flirtation with fantasy and frivolity.

On the scale of things a very few people in England or Europe had ever seen someone who was Chinese, so their vivid imagination took over. When combined with a great layering of charm, Chinoiserie was a design style that was very fetching. It was the European evocation of the Chinese. Our divine teapot is from from the Saxon porcelain factory Meissen, who invented European porcelain. Their Chinoiserie designs were all at once fun, fantastical and frivolous, yet quite sophisticated and enchantingly pretty.

Chinoiserie had a complete lack of pomposity and used clear bright colours, which had both amusing and fantastic qualities and displayed a preference for asymmetrical design. This aspect offered everyone a rest from the formality and relentless perfection demanded by the classical legacy of ancient Greece and Rome. It was about having fun.

In a little Salon in the Chateau de Craon the scenes painted delicately on the interior walls and ceiling in a delightful circular chamber were typical of the work of the French designer Jean Baptiste Pillement (1728-1808). Many of his designs were used on the newly popular small-scale feminine furniture and placed the emphasis on Chinoiserie as a style of luxury and refinement.

A beautiful Prussian blue vernis martin writing desk with Chinoiserie decoration was made for King Louis XV’s mistress Madame de Pompadour’s for her Chateau at Bellevue. The artist she patronized Francis Boucher delighted in rendering designs for her, including a painting of the sophisticated pleasures of the beau monde who are disported in a park as members of a pleasure seeking Parisian society.

Chippendale Frame on Painted Mirror on Chinese Wallpaper at Saltram

In England Thomas Chippendale and John Linnell both master craftsmen, were inspired by Chinese symbolism and motifs in the development of styles of chairs.

Chippendale’s mirrors in the Chinese taste were also highly sought after, their delightful whimsical decoration was delicate and had great charm.

Fabrics were imported from the East, satins and embroideries from India; painted silks from China were treated like wallpaper and lined an alcove. They were costly, but popular with those who could afford them.

Toile de Jouy

Less expensive was Toile de Jouy a cotton fabric produced in France and decorated with engraved copperplates of little vignette Chinoiserie scenes. Shops were filled with all sorts of delights for men and women of fashion to choose from as the style was taken up all over Europe.

In the Green Salon at Drottingholm and in the Oranienbaum, the summer palace of the Czars of Russia Chinoiserie reigned supreme. Catherine the Great remodelled an enfilade of rooms so that her guests could stroll through a sequence of Chinoiserie interiors.

A love of things oriental fitted into both the French and English garden genres at this time. There is a Chinese Tent preserved at Boughton House, which is a unique example of a collapsible garden pavilion made of oilskin, produced in London in the mid eighteenth century. It was also used in the garden of the London house of the Montague Douglas Scott family and can be seen in that place in a painting by Venetian artist Canaletto entitled View of the Thames.

Surprise was the key to the success of Chinoiserie pavilions and follies. On your journey your pulse would quicken as you came across some delightful building in which, unlike the house you lived in that had to conform to a conventional life style and its demands, you could allow your imagination to run free and create a total fantasy. The love affair with the exotic orient with its tales of a Forbidden City and exotic splendour provided a focus for tales of the fantastic. In an ancient Chinese Garden one of the most important characteristics to observe was the laying out of paths in curves and counter curves with circular moon gates.

Rare example of Chinese enamelling on a Royal Worcester white blank plate by Chinese artist Po Hing, courtesy Martyn Cook Antiques, Redfern Sydney

The Chinese House at Harristown in County Kildare in Ireland was built before 1738 for the garden at Stowe in Buckinghamshire. It is one of the earliest such pavilions in Great Britain. It was taken away in 1751 to Wooton House nearby until the 1950’s when it was taken across the Irish Sea to County Kildare.

Chinese enameling on porcelain eventually became so desirable in 1870 the Royal Worcester factory brought to Britain a Chinese enameller called Po Hing to England so that he could complete an especially commissioned dinner service for them. Po Hing was Cantonese and painted the tableware in his native style.

Now and then a plate from this service turns up on the international antique market. They are a reminder of time when the east was still a mystery to many and confirmed the idea that it was not only exotic but also difficult to access.

Unlike other styles that deteriorated to be replaced by another, Chinoiserie has never really left us. The western fascination for the east and its abiding images has endured although it continues to change to suit fashionable trends and politically correct poses.

These days it is more about a focus on food and the merriment enjoyed as it is shared in a mingling of the various traditions of a peaceful western multicultural society.

Plant hunter Robert Fortune recorded in his 1847 publication Wanderings in China ‘but the curtain, which had been drawn around the celestial country for ages, has now been rent asunder; and instead of viewing an enchanted fairyland, we find, after all, that China is just like other countries…’

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2011 – 2012

I went to dine
With a friend of mine
Who dined off porcelain plates
Of a kind so rare
That it stirred your hair
To think of their possible fates

For some were Ming
and others were Ch’ing
(Whatever those names may be)
And the food was divine
And the wine, the wine
Intoxicated me.

There were ices – those
Were of famille rose,
and coffee of famille noire,
and a choice dessert
of famille verte
Preceded a choice cigar.

But alas for the end
Of dinner and friend
For he happened his eyes to raise
As I started to rub
The burning stub
On a bit of his finest glaze.

He was perfectly nice,
But as cold as ice,
As he rang for my coat and hat,
For Ming is a thing,
And so is Ch’ing,
That mustn’t be used for that.

This delightful poem signed S.D.C. was found on a scrap of paper in a book on second hand glass….

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The Emperor Qianlong in his study (Before 1767) Artist: attributed to the Jesuit Priest Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766) and Jin Tingbiao (active at Court 1757-1767)

Many know about Salem in Massachusetts in America, mainly because of its association with witches. However one of its greatest treasures is the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM). The roots of the museum date to 1799 and the founding of the East India Marine Society, an organization of Salem captains and supercargoes, who had achieved what once was impossible, sailing beyond either the Cape of Good Hope or Cape Horn. The society’s charter included a provision for the establishment of a “cabinet of natural and artificial curiosities,” which is what we today would call a museum.

Recently the PEM had a show that revealed the contents of the Emperor’s Qianlong’s private retreat deep within the Forbidden City. There were some ninety objects, including murals, paintings, wall coverings, furniture, architectural elements, jades and cloisonné.  The Emperor Qianlong  (r.1736-1796) was one of Chinese history’s most influential figures. He was among the richest and most powerful men in the world during his life time. A connoisseur, scholar and devout Buddhist, within the forbidden city Qianlong created a luxurious garden compound to serve throughout his retirement as a secluded place of contemplation, repose and entertainment.

I first learned about the PEM in an unlikely place, Brisbane, Australia during the last year of the twentieth century. At Milton in Brisbane, where I was working at the time in an Antique Shop, we held an exhibition of Chinese textiles and many people came not only to look and purchase rare pieces, but also to show us theirs. One family turned up with a sea chest full of fabulous textiles and objects, which had been brought out of China early in the twentieth century at the time of the Chinese Revolution by a merchant sailor member of their family. It included a fabulous uncut Chinese silk Imperial Yellow Robe, which was still on the roll where it had been placed after it had been woven.

Chinese Rank Badge of a Scholar

An elderly friend, Jim Forbes came to visit and advise. Jim was a member of the renowned American Forbes family, whose wealth had its origins in the China trade that took place between North America and China during the nineteenth century. He had an innate understanding of the culture that surrounded the Emperors in the Forbidden City. Throughout the exhibition he often called in to view and talk about the textiles and the time they had been woven.

He told us about the Boston trading firm Perkins & Company who had sent many young men, including his great grandfather to participate in their business activities abroad. Perkins & Co., like many other Boston trading firms in the early nineteenth century, had sent ships to China to obtain tea. They paid for it by exporting to China, from Boston, large quantities of silver, furs, manufactured goods, cloth, wood and the deadly opium along with any other items they thought the Chinese market would absorb.

The Forbes family founded and were involved in the running of the Museum of the American China Trade at Milton, Mass., on Boston’s South Shore. Until the 1980′s it was curated by a Forbes great-grandson, Dr. H. A. Crosby Forbes, who was an expert on Chinese porcelain and a relative of our Brisbane based expert.

He often went to visit him to discuss special finds and view the family collection. It was housed in one of the family members 1833 Greek Revival style house in ironically, Milton in Mass. In 1984 it merged with the The Peabody Essex Museum leaving the house in the management of the Forbes House Charitable Trust, which now operates it as the Captain Forbes House Museum.

The Forbes House Museum is located at: 215 Adams Street Milton, MA 02186

The PEM is about helping people to access and assess their relationship to creativity, or to help refine their ability to interpret art and culture.

The collection is diverse and cross cultural and includes African, American, Asian, maritime, Native American and Oceanic art. The focus is on enjoying a lively conversation through creativity across time, place and culture.

Their goal is not to hang art on the walls and then tell you what to think. Deep and far ranging, the collection is meant to open windows onto the world and other cultures to learn how people live, work and celebrate.

The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM),
East India Square (161 Essex St Milton) Salem, Massachusetts
Contact: 01970 978-745-9500

Carolyn McDowall The Culture Concept Circle 2010 – 2012

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One of the enchanting figures on the Chinoiserie Style Pavilion in Sansouci Park at Potsdam. Johnn Gottfried Büring was the architect and it was built between 1755 and 1764 by Frederick the Great, King of Prussia (1712-1786)

What is Art Deco
Art Deco (1920 – 1940) is a design style that reached the apex of its popularity between two global conflicts, World War I and II. It borrowed from virtually all the design styles of the past in order to fashion the future. It was the perfect expression of Paris during the 20’s to the 30’s and embraced every area of design and the decorative arts including architecture, interiors, furniture, jewellery, painting and graphics, bookbinding, costume, glass and ceramics. It was all about glamour. It was also about completing a deeply felt need for a style that would never be threatened by change. Its protagonists wanted to ward off the threat of a civilization dominated by either industry or technology, or both. The idea was to integrate contemporary living with art and turn life into art and for a while they succeeded.

Chinoiserie, More than Fantasy and Fashion
During the eighteenth century in Europe and England all things Chinese had assumed incredible proportions as fashionable society sought to transmit their ideas about the magical land of Cathay through a multiplicity of imagery. It manifested itself in intimate interiors where mirrored rooms reflected scenes of frivolity well. It draped itself delightfully with sumptuous silk textiles that recorded scenes of fashion and folly. The admiration of all things Chinese also led to the ultimate crossing over of cultural influences. On the scale of things a very few people in England and Europe had ever seen someone who was Chinese so their vivid imagination took over and, when combined with a great layering of charm, Chinoiserie was a style that was very fetching.

Jane Austen, more than the cultivation of the mind?
While her only known image may seem to reveal otherwise, there was nothing really plain about Jane Austen 1775 – 1817. Her novels, which have become classics in their own right, allow us today to share the memory of the robust society in which she lived and its privileges of rank. It was a colourful, turbulent and seemingly romantic world in the process of rapid evolution. The English provincial life, as led by Jane Austen and some of her heroines, was one of quality and modesty. A cultivated ambiance of politeness, with a keen though delicate sensibility was well balanced by common sense.

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Carolyn McDowall, Writer in Residence, The Culture Concept Circle 2012

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The ink, chalk and watercolor painting was believed to be the only surviving impression of this, the favourite palace of Henry VIII and his daughter Elizabeth 1, recording for posterity what it actually looked like. London Auction house Christie’s offered the picture in December 2010 but sadly it failed to sell. They said it was special, because it had originally been painted in situ by Joris Hoefnagel in 1568, as a record of the most important buildings in Europe. There were four contemporary impressions made. The others however were later representations. Apparently this image had only been displayed in public twice before and had last been seen some twenty five years ago in America. The watercolour of the south front facade of the legendary palace was one of the earliest, and most detailed depictions known to exist of Nonsuch – named because it was considered at the time that there was ‘None Other Such’.

Remnant of gilded slate excavated from the site of Nonsuch Palace, there was certainly none other such as it in existence

Due to Henry’s  health, the distance to the planned Palace of Nonsuch could not be too far from Hampton Court. Henry chose a site near the small village of Cuddington, which was surrounded by forests and a wonderful place for the King and his friends to enjoy the hunt. He was very envious of his rival, the French King Francois 1 (1515-1547), who was the last product of chivalry and first modern King of France. Francois collected around him men of letters, thinkers, humanists, painters and architects, each of whom played their part in building up the setting against which the King wished to be seen. Francois’s palace at Fontainbleau in France was renowned for its incredible interiors and its master of entertainments, the ageing artist Leonardo da Vinci. It was also near to a beautiful forest where the King could hunt.

Throughout their lifetime Henry and Francois continually tried to outdo each other by making one more extravagance after another, Henry wanted to provide evidence of his ability to do better.  It had become for him a matter of honour. He was in a good mood at the time as his heir and son had just been born. On completion Nonsuch Palace emerged as a palace known throughout Europe for its unrivaled splendour. Originally built from 1538 the façade we are told, had elaborate stucco decorations and heraldic beasts, while the tower on the left contained water cisterns that supplied the whole house with running water. At Nonsuch the main timbers of the palace were hung with the wonder material slate, as much as one inch thick. Each slate tile was deeply carved and the image gilded and then attached to a timber frame. When complete the whole effect must have been quite sumptuous, as well as dazzling as they glinted gloriously in the sunlight.

The walls of the Inner Court, surrounded by the royal apartments, had three levels of decoration: 32 Roman emperors (above), 30 Roman gods and goddesses (in the middle), 16 Labours and Adventures of Hercules and 16 figures of the Liberal Arts and Virtues (below). All bore mottoes to teach Henry’s heir Prince Edward the duties of a king in- waiting. The use of slate during this period was quite unique.

Ben Taggart and his marvellous model of the demolished Nonsuch Palace

The tiles were so deeply moulded Anthony Watson, the rector of Cheam School when visiting the palace described them as virtually leaping off the walls toward him. He said ‘The stonework was carved with the ‘living image’ of plants and animals, the ground floor walls of stone, the upper storey of timbered construction whose stucco panels were decorated with a variety of classical motifs in high relief’

His important fluid eye witness account of its splendour was recorded between 1582-92 and is valued because Nonesuch was demolished by King Charles II’s mistress Lady Castlemaine, Baroness Nonesuch in 1687. She wanted something much easier to maintain, and live in, and so now Nonsuch is only a historical fact.

Eyewitness accounts reveal that Nonsuch had a simple stone clad outer court, which only emphasized the glories that lay within. This layout view was painted in 1660 when Charles II came back to the English throne. It depicts avenues of trees.

It was Charles, who encouraged intensive tree planting in Britain at this time,  primarily oak, intended at providing supplies of timber for the British navy following deprivations of the forests and parks under the rule of Cromwell and the Commonwealth. English writer, gardener and diarist John Evelyn, who is attributed with introducing the word ‘avenue’ into the English language, was involved.

The view reveals, that unlike other houses of the Tudor period, the central courts at Nonsuch were only approached through a gatehouse and up a flight of steps. Once inside the steps leading to the inner court slowed the approach down in order to heighten the impact of its highly showy and elaborate Renaissance splendour and recorded opulence.In the inner courtyard the visitor found themselves surrounded by huge stucco figures of gods and goddesses from mythology.

Diarist Samuel Pepys visited Nonsuch on September 21, 1665, and wrote in his diary ‘all the house on the outside [is] filled with figures of story, and good paintings of Rubens or Holben’s doing. And one great thing is that most of the house is covered, I mean the posts and quarters in the walls, covered with lead and gilded.’ No contemporary interior views of Nonsuch are known and to speculate one would have to use imagination or study paintings of interiors of the period in order to appreciate the opulence of this Tudor Palace. The publicity surrounding the watercolour did stir up a lot of interest and spurred others into action. Professor Biddle, Emeritus (retired) Professor of Medieval Archaeology at Oxford University, who is now in his 70s, was an undergraduate when he directed the excavation of the site of Nonsuch palace in 1959.

Professor Biddle revealed that the nearest replicas of the corner towers of Nonsuch were found in the castle and palace architecture of northern Italy, and notably had parallels in sketches by Leonardo da Vinci for a tower or towers intended for the Sforza Castle in Milan. He spent years analysing all the available contemporary illustrations, archaeological evidence, written sources, and surviving fragments of stucco and slate excavated from the site of Nonsuch. He has pieced together how it once looked and the huge challenge it posed for craftsman.  This research provided the basis for Ben Taggart’s marvellous model. Measuring 2.2 m by 1.2 m. It was publicly unveiled by the Friends of Nonsuch Museum on 6 September 2011.

An elaborate large-scale model of Henry VIII’s Nonsuch Palace, the model apparently cost more to build than the original palace, not allowing for inflation

Ben Taggart, who is a master modelmaker and has also made models for exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum took 1,250 hours to complete the project.It cost £40,000 to build, £15,000 more than the Tudor masterwork, reputed to be the most luxurious residence in England, if not in Europe back in the day. Applying inflation to the building costs it would now cost about £10.3m. The superb model will be a permanent feature at the Service Wing Museum in Nonsuch Mansion, Nonsuch Park.

There is a group of antique timber chests that also take their name from the palace. The so-called Nonsuch Chests bear images of architectural decoration, which is deeply inscribed. For a long time they were thought to have represented the palace, although it is more likely they were just fantasy creations.

Nonesuch Palace during its time was a centre where foreign artists executed elaborate and very costly work, confirmed by the excavations carried out by archaeologists in 1959-60 of the site where it had stood. It certainly proved there was ‘none other such’ palace in existence by revealing none of the secrets within to those who approached its all encompassing walls.

Carolyn McDowall, The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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He did this by ruthlessly executing a severe political agenda, which included abolishing feudal ranks and disarming private individuals who may oppose him. He standardized coinage, weights, measures and writing giving authority to a central government he dictated to. He violently imposed systems that kept everyone in their place and in a pecking order established through rank. He then ruled through fear, not unconditional love, which the present western system of democracy is founded on. What we do know from ancient texts and archaeological evidence is that there was no harmony at the first Emperor’s court. Everyone lived in fear of their lives and what would happen to them and importantly, to their descendants for eternity, if they did not obey their demonic despot’s wishes. This latter point goes to the very essence of Chinese culture and its beliefs. No one would want to offend their ancestors or to make life for their descendants unbearable, so they complied.

It is estimated some 700,000 conscripts were involved in the construction of a vast complex underground, which is thought to be as luxurious as any of the palaces the Qin Emperor maintained during his mortal life on top of it. A group of villagers uncovered the first of the terracotta figures that surround the complex to protect its occupant, when they were building a water-well in the Xian province of China in 1974. ‘We thought it was a temple statue – a Buddha perhaps. a spokesman for the group told a USA journalist ‘The women thought it might bring a curse down on the village.’

The terracotta army was originally found in hundreds of pieces. Not one was found intact. Before they could be displayed they had to be completely and painstakingly restored. Today the terracotta army he built for his afterlife have no battles to fight, but rather seek to win the war for China about culture as art.

As part of events highlighting an exhibition at the Art Gallery of NSW entitled The First Emperor: China’s Entombed Warriors in 2010/2011 a group of learned academics, working in the field of Chinese art and archaeology around the world, lectured at a symposium held on the first weekend in December. During question time they gathered on stage to collectively remind participants how the west must be careful not to take a romantic view of the terracotta army on display or to seek to glorify it, or the first Emperor of China Qin Shihuang (259–210 BC) and his achievements in any way. They pointed out that while the first Emperor’s vision in constructing a vast universe for his afterlife was in many ways remarkable, that they couldn’t stress enough how it had come at a huge price to humanity.

At Sydney the exhibition featured ten complete ritual terracotta foot soldiers: some generals and a kneeling and a standing bowman. They were shown off alongside a variety of Chinese ritual ceremonial vessels, bronze bells and some ornamental gold and jade weapons, all of which have been crafted with great skill. There were also sets of amazing stone armour, which weigh about 20kg and consisted of approximately 1020 pieces. As archaeologists pointed out the workers making these could add six pieces a day. So that means each piece of armour took about 170 days to complete.

There were two complete bronze charioteers with bronze horses uncovered in 1980. The originals are always kept safe back in China and it is a replica that travels and was on display at Sydney. It still captured the imagination and commanded attention. Also included were the little known about bronze birds.

Discovered during the last decade, they were arranged disported on the banks of a notional river. This had been designed to flow around the symbolic haven created by the first Emperor of the Qin dynasty (221 to 206) for his journey into the afterlife. There are also other ceramics and palatial architectural remains. These included ritual items and bronzes that were crafted by individuals and considered and viewed as works of art.

Sydney was the first city in the world to host the terracotta army in 1983, only nine years after they were first found. I was there and remember the show and its atmosphere well. I also remember the figures were lauded as ‘art’ and as portraits of real people. This supposition is now very definitely retracted by those who first proclaimed it, the archaeologists.

It seems the more they excavate and uncover the remains of the first Emperor’s huge army the more it has been realized that the figures simply follow a hierarchical stereotype. They were mass produced using moulds and are really only objects of propaganda, whose designs are affected by traditions of ritual and symbolism.

To produce the figures in seven parts the hands were produced in the kilns of ceramic workers in one province, the feet in another, the torso, the head and so on. It is estimated 1000 people worked for three years to make the army of 8000 warriors and their horses. The ill-fated workers who assembled and applied their original various vibrant colours, including bright red, vermilion, burgundy, dark green, pastel green, sky blue and ‘Han purple’, more than likely perished along with the Emperor in his tomb, as per established custom. This would seem to be proved by the fact there was nothing like them before, or since the reign of the first Emperor.

The style of figure known as the Generals give the impression they were not men to be trifled with. Originally presented standing on a raised platform, a device that reflected their privileged place at the top of both the food and power chain, they become an even more imposing presence looking down on their subordinates. Robust both in body and facial features, which reflect their rank and that they had plenty to eat, the armour they wear is heavy and foreboding. It acts as a warning they are invincible and, at 2.2 metres tall, they are slightly larger than life.

By way of contrast there was the standing or a kneeling Archer who ranked way down the pecking order. They were much smaller and wore no protective armour, because they were required to be agile and fleet of foot when protecting their master. Their bodies and faces were noticeably thinner than that of the generals and the rest of the army in between. This indicates they were not as well off financially.  There were thousands of them taking the first line of defense surrounding the infantry and cavalry and, as such were expendable.

The Terracotta Army at Sydney 2010

The exhibition allowed Sydney people, visitors and tourists with an opportunity to view the terracotta army up close and personal without having to travel to Xian province. There they stood in a dark, dusky recreated tomb like setting evoking the atmosphere of the mausoleum underground in which they were found. Herein lay the problem for me. A burial ground is something everyone in the west respects so the way they were displayed both affected and informed what the majority of people took away from the exhibition with them. Professionally it was a great piece of staging. However the setting was deliberately designed to get the majority of people’s emotions going.

It demanded from the viewer an almost romantic emotional response the Academics and the Director of the Art Gallery of NSW were warning the informed group, that made up the audience at the Symposium, against. So it begged the question. If it’s not for a diplomatic reason, why didn’t the brief for display require of the designers they put the objects into a setting that allowed them to be viewed by the light of day? And, yes, there are lighting issues in terms of preservation and conservation. But this is only a challenge very clever designers would have surmounted. If the terracotta army were placed in such contemporary setting, rather than one evoking the gloom of the underworld, it would provide a very different and much more dispassionate forum for the community at large to assess them by.

Much of what is believed to be under the surface in China still remains buried and, we were told that if the archaeologists continue to excavate the site of the mausoleum fully it is estimated it will take up to a hundred years + to reveal the full extent of its contents, including what remains of its first Emperor and the setting in which he placed himself.

The terracotta army are fabulous objects. They are of great historical and cultural significance and achievement to the people of China, much like the finds from the tombs in Egypt are for their peoples and so on around the world. This is not something anyone would dispute. But the question needs to be asked. Is the terracotta army art or artifice ? Should they be displayed in an ‘art’ gallery, which is all about presenting fine international and Australian art, or rather in a Museum whose premise is about presenting stories of cultural development and history.

For the simple villagers who found the buried army and the ancient village they grew up in, the entombed warriors have seemingly proved more of a curse than a blessing. While they made history they lost their land, which was reclaimed. Some of the last remaining earn their living today signing books in a gift shop in the Museum of Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses, where they are paid for their trouble. The terracotta army is a billion dollar business for China and a great money earner for the galleries that display it.

As a final aside, Edmond Capon reminded Symposium participants that the man who discovered the first piece of a warrior, was only paid about A$5 for his find, although he was issued with a certificate from the government to confirm he was the first man to see the terracotta warriors again after 2000+ years.

Carolyn McDowall The Culture Concept Circle 2010, 2011

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Munich in the south of Germany is the capital of Bavaria. It was voted the world's most livable city in 2010. The city father's took a great decision to rebuild it exactly as it had been prior to World War II

The intellectual ideas of every period and culture in world history are reflected in architecture and their are consequences if we tear down our living heritage, even in regard to modern buildings of great merit. Heritage is not about age. It is about buildings that have contributed to the growth and cultural development of a society, a city, a town or hamlet. The decision to be made is really all about whether they can continue to have a role to play by using clever design to incorporate old into the new. Nearly every instance where this happens the result is not only pleasing but helps in aiding people’s quality of life.

Conservation of an amazing building gives a city character. As a bonus for all time, the layers of history can be peeled back to reveal what its citizens have achieved. It can also help inspire and motivate the future we are moving toward. Consider the city fathers and citizens of Munich, who took a decision to rebuild and preserve their old city, despite it being bombed nearly out of existence during World War II. This extraordinary feat means that today. with a little wear and tear, it is almost impossible to tell the difference between the old and the new. What is important is the contribution the restored city has made to its economic welfare, which noted in the billions of dollars it attracts as a financial and publishing hub in the south of Germany. The capital of Bavaria, in 2010 it was voted the world’s most livable city.

Careful efforts at reconstruction are underway and have been for twenty years or more. This involves fixing problems from previous reconstruction among other issues

The fabulous stone buildings on the Acropolis at Athens are another wonderful example. They stood for over 2,400 years, despite human folly, bloody mindedness and sheer stupidity. They are a symbolic foundation stone for today’s western culture. There is still so much to learn from, and about them, as currently those working on their conservation and reconstruction can confirm. The ruins remain as visual evidence of a society that had a great grasp on the natural environment and why space should be an integral aspect of, and important to, the production of aesthetically pleasing design. The mathematical genius of the Parthenon whose columns optically stand in a straight line, but are in fact all deliberately curved, is gob-smacking stuff. It has stood on the high ground of the Acropolis for thousands of years. It has been blown, up, rocked by earthquakes and its sculptural treasures plundered. Its aesthetic has been disfigured by people hell bent on destroying humanity. Today in ruin it manages to provide us with a platform of knowledge to learn from, which is nothing short of amazing.

In almost every field of their endeavor the ancient Greeks were pioneers and their achievements in architecture, in literature, thought and science are a part of the Greek legacy to the world at large. It was in a garden dedicated to the Greek hero Academus, hence the word Academy, that Plato taught Greek philosophy. Early Greek philosophy is nothing less than the discovery of the cosmos, i.e. the realization the world as a whole had a structure, revealing it to rational enquiry. The Greek word kosmos means order.

Among other things Plato developed was the art of self-criticism, seeing his own life as a divine mission to his fellow citizens. That required picking out the ‘soul’, and not the body, as that part of a man that required cultivation. As the body is improved by healthy exercise, so the soul benefits from morally right behaviour and ruined by the opposite, the soul was traditionally regarded as the source of life…but we digress.

The word classic means of the first class having acknowledged excellence; the word classical pertaining to the standard achieved by ancient Greek and Latin authors or their works, or the culture, art, architecture of Greek and Roman antiquity generally. The main characteristics are clarity of outline, restrained, harmonious and in accordance with established forms.

Gothic style stables belonging to the Governor now the Conservatorium of Music at NSW

In the late 60’s and throughout the 70′s, the scene that unfolded in most major cities in Australia was also happening in many other parts of the world. At Sydney aesthetically pleasing well-designed solidly built buildings, either domestic or commercial, were biting the dust. I must admit while being a witness to this chain of events I could not foresee a time in the future when we would have any regard, or appreciation, for our built heritage.

It is a miracle really that the ‘Gothic style’ stables, built to be part of the first Government House at Sydney survived to be incorporated into and provide such a wonderful point of contrast for a backdrop of amazing architectural modernity that is the Conservatorium of Music. Learning about music and the harmony of life in such surroundings for students must be a powerful experience and motivator.

When working in the 60′s as a personal assistant (interior design student) to an architect in a building firm heavily involved in small commercial work and the modern renovation of many fabulous large bungalows in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney, Whelan the Wrecker and his swinging ball was destroying much of Sydney’s early heritage. The interesting aspect of the story is that he got so sick of the destruction himself he had the union impose bans to stop it. Today he holds an important position protecting what remains of Sydney’s heritage.

Goodness, how many fabulous stone and brick buildings did we witness being wiped out in the name of ‘progress’? I was constantly in hot water with the architect for asking why we could not have better solutions to re-arranging a living space without destroying the aesthetic and the architectural integrity of the original house’s design. There was so many quality fittings and superb timbers originally used. And these were being removed. He would tell me I was not to ‘rock the boat’, and ‘I was really too young to know what I was on about’. What we were getting was going to be much ‘better’ and that the clients were going to be ‘better off’.

But are we better off today than we were? And, will we be better off 20 years from now? I am not against change. Personally I embrace it constantly and its part of a progressive society. I also enjoy advancements in the arts, sciences and technology, however I am against change for change’s sake.

Change needs rhyme, reason and intelligent unemotional and unselfish debate.

Federation style Flats, Carr Street, Coogee Beach, Sydney

At the time my architect boss didn’t realize I had lived most of my life in a wonderful old block of what we now describe as Federation style flats near the sea. I just love old blocks of Flats (as opposed to apartments) because they have large rooms with high ceilings, superb architectural detailing, sometimes a walk in pantry or butler’s pantry, milk boxes, letter boxes, a back door and spaces that conformed to the tenets of the golden ratio of measurement. This meant human beings really felt good when they were at home.

One 30′s deco flat I lived in also had its original maid’s quarters. In direct contrast to the Victorian way of accommodating maids in an attic, it was indeed luxurious with a bedroom, sitting room, with built in bookcases, cupboards and easy access to the kitchen.

The block I lived in as a child was vandalised on an ongoing basis by an owner hell bent on dragging the tenants into a ‘promising future’. This meant replacing beautifully rendered in excellent condition timber window frames with mean thin aluminium ones. They were hard to maintain, especially near the sea (you can paint and stain timber) and this was pre-powder coated, which still has to be maintained if its going to continue to look good.

Ceilings were lowered by false ceilings by an ugly board studded with holes. As a child I used to think these were hideous. Today we can perhaps say at least they protected the original ceilings so they could later be restored. Then lovely details like picture rails were also stripped off in the name of fashion. They were usually part of a scheme that divided the room into aesthetic proportions, so that when removed they put the design out of kilter.

Deep open arched verandahs were glassed and boxed in with a combination of dreaded aluminium windows and cheap ply board. This ongoing awful act of ‘modernisation’ (vandalism) sealed my fate. I actively went in search of knowledge about the history of the evolution of design, especially as it related to architecture. I wanted to gain an insight into, and better understanding of, the intellectual ideas that gave great buildings around the world, birth. The objective was of being a fully informed interior designer. It turned out to be so much more of a journey, one I have riding along on ever since.

I still haven’t quite got over the council at Sydney allowing the destruction of one of its most respected architect Harry Seidler’s groundbreaking buildings at the bottom of Macquarie Street during the early 90’s. At the time, after practicing my trade for nearly 20 years, together with like-minded colleagues, I started a lecture series about the evolution of western art and design.

The objective was to use our collective knowledge to raise people’s awareness of the visual arts and also offer an appreciation for our living heritage and cultural inheritance. The first lectures were held in one of the rooms in the concrete modern annexe at the State Library of NSW, Australia.

During the break we would stand out on the roof terrace overlooking Macquarie Street and discuss how we all felt a great pit of despair inside as we viewed the sad and sorry state of the Macquarie street-scape.Ghastly late 60’s and 70’s brick buildings had replaced many of the beautiful nineteenth century Sydney sandstone classically styled town houses and commercial buildings that had made this one of the most classy and elegant streets in the country.

Between the wars these quite wonderful buildings had been interspersed with some other very good buildings, such as the first Sydney New York Gothic style skyscraper (BMA House).  It did add up to a very charming mix.

When they were torn down they were replaced by quite simply dreadful box style buildings, whose interiors and exteriors were proportionally disparate. Bland beyond belief they had ubiquitous low ceilings, that made people feel claustrophobic with often awful consequences. Many had crumbling mortar and were dotted with mean rust-ridden air condioning boxes that stuck out of previously fashionably framed timber windows – replaced by those mean metal windows. They dripped stale water onto all those walking along the street below, while slowly staining the walls on the way down. ‘Yuk’ was the only word that came to mind as we stood there looking at them. Here was visual evidence of the ‘good life’ we were all aspiring to and the riches money could buy and, as we were constantly reminded, all in the name of ‘progress’.

But did that mean it was going to be better? An article by Richard Reeves in a 2005 Journal of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufacture and Commerce in England entitled ‘The Sun sets on the Enlightenment’ poses many interesting questions. One point he makes is that ‘only by having a clear view of where it is we want to go can we stand any chance of determining our path. We need to rejuvenate the spirit, reinvent the sense of progress or be condemned to managerial politics bleached of idealism and vision, corporate short sightedness and disillusionment’.

Powerful stuff.

© Carolyn McDowall The Culture Concept Circle 2009 – 2011

Related posts:

1. A Cultural Conundrum – Melbourne vs Brisbane, the new Black?
2. A Passion for Gothic Decoration
3. A ‘Compleat’ Gentleman, more than a leader of style

Riveting reading, reading aloud to kids, cooking together, considered DVD watching and beautiful music listening experiences are all great can-do activities for the holiday season, as are long walks each day. All of these will be sure to keep you entertained and help recharge the body’s batteries,  refresh the spirit, the mind, the body and the soul.

2012 in Australia will be the National Year of Reading, promoting the positive benefits of literacy skills to the public at large. It is a collaborative project of Australia’s public libraries, government, community groups, media and commercial partners and the public. A staggering statistic revealed on their website is that 46% of Australians are unable to read a newspaper, follow a recipe or make sense of instructions of any kind. So the campaign next year is about promoting literacy, which we support wholeheartedly at The Culture Concept Circle.

Reading aloud to children is vital. The earlier children are exposed to the reading experience the greater the possibility they will enjoy it both at school and in life. Our list of children’s books contain choices from birth to young adult readers. All have been nominated, or have won awards through The Children’s Book Council of Australia. The family that cooks together seems to be a latest trend and it is good to know great chefs are producing cook books for families. We have included a few as well. Whether you read a book that is printed, or download ebooks to your computer, Kindle or iPad is not the issue. What is important is taking in the words.

For adults the Festive season is the time to enjoy some great escapist thrillers and entirely switch off. It is good to mix it up however and challenge ourselves, and our intellects. Reading current essays and journals, whose writers tackle sensitive issues about protecting the environment, ensuring sustainability and addressing societal concerns provides a balance. Pushing our own boundaries is good for all of us. Books suggested are available at www.bookoffers.com.au, an Australian on line searching tool you can use/bookmark to find the cheapest price on any book or ebook.  The DVD’s are available at the ABC Shop and Music choices can be downloaded from iTunes or purchased through www.fishrecords.com.au.

BOOKS 4 ADULTS

Notebooks by Betty Churcher

Discovering works of art with Betty Churcher is a positive, completely wonderful and transforming experience. Her favourite artists have that je ne sais quoi, or indescribable intangible quality that makes them both very attractive and enormously appealing, as they simulate the artists reality of their world in constant flux. Notebooks has proved so popular it has already been re-printed three times in 2011, the year it has been published.

Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography – Walter Isaacson

An extraordinary book, which gives us a unique insight into the life and thinking of the man who single-handedly transformed and helped make the modern world.  From bestselling author Walter Isaacson the landmark biography of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs is an amazing account of Jobs’ professional and personal life. Drawn from three years of exclusive and unprecedented interviews Isaacson conducted with Jobs, as well as extensive interviews with Jobs’ family members, key colleagues from Apple and its competitors, this is the definitive portrait of the greatest innovator of his generation

Women’s Stuff by Caz Cooke

The essential guide to life for women aged 18 to 108. With the best info, independent advice and great fun this is THE book every Australian woman truly needs if they want to know anything about everything from confidence, body image, eating, health, hormones, bosoms, hairy bits, love, heartbreak, to sex, mental health, wrinkle creams, cosmetic surgery, friends, sleep, home, false eyelashes and menopause. Best of all, there’s no fibs, fantasy or fakery. It also includes more than 2,000 illuminating, amazing, hilarious and heartbreaking quotes from real women who shared their own secrets and stories.

The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin

On last year’s list but one to revisit. This is an extraordinary tale, beautifully crafted and terrifically told of an epic quest undertaken by Canadian rock critic Eric Siblin. It is a great book about the search for a Baroque masterpiece, a score specifically written for the cello. Eric Siblin had an epiphany of sorts when he attended a recital of J S Bach’s six Cello Suites, falling completely under the spell of this classic musical masterpiece. He decided to go on his own journey to learn all about the works and their composer and to record his findings. By all accounts he certainly got more than he bargained for.

Smut by Alan Bennett

This contains two ‘unseemly stories’ that concern women in middle life; Mrs Donaldson, whom sex takes by surprise, and Mrs Forbes, who is not surprised at all. The stories are naughty, honest and very funny. British playwright Alan Bennett has been a leading dramatist since the 1960′s and this is the latest in his ‘small collection’ that last year included his other brilliant offering, The Uncommon Reader.

Hegarty on Advertising: Turning Intelligence into Magic

A book that no creative mind should be without – Hegarty on Advertising contains more than four decades of wisdom and insight from one of the world’s leading advertising men. The book is packed with anecdotes and insights, from advice on the elements of advertising, pitching and the effects of new technology, to the personal story of John Hegarty’s career from his early days at Saatchi and Saatchi and the global force that is Bartle Bogle Hegarty today.

Winter King: The Dawn of Tudor England by Thomas Penn

Shifting alliances at home and abroad, ruthless accumulation of capital and endless court intrigues form the backdrop to a chilling and enticing portrait of Henry VII. He was the founder of the Tudor dynasty that created a centralised English state. Well written and well researched, the book helps us understand why Shakespeare decided to give this Henry a miss. It would have been difficult to prettify him. According to some English critics The Royal National Theatre should seek to remedy the omission rapidly: Winter King has a very contemporary feel.

The Tiger’s Wife by Tea Obreht

Deeply engaging Téa Obreht, the youngest of The New Yorker’s twenty best American fiction writers under forty, has spun a timeless novel, weaving a brilliant latticework of family legend, loss, and love that will establish her as one of the most vibrant, original authors of her generation. In a Balkan country mending from years of conflict, Natalia, a young doctor, arrives on a mission of mercy at an orphanage by the sea. By the time she and her lifelong friend Zóra begin to inoculate the children there, she feels age-old superstitions and secrets gathering everywhere around her.

The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

Like many of the heroines of the Victorian novels she favors, Madeline Hanna, Brown University class of 1982 English major, must choose between men: the hungry wanderer Mitchell Grammaticus or the brilliant but troubled Leonard Bankhead. Madeline goes with the latter, sidelining her own intellectual pursuits in favor of riding a manic depressive’s roller-coaster through the dawn of semiotics, post-structuralism, identity politics, and psychopharmacology. A coming-of-age novel that’s as unapologetically erudite as it is funny, fun, and profound.

Afgantsy: The Russians in Afghanistan 1979-89 by Rodric Braithwaite

Written largely from material obtained from Soviet archives, this account of a winter nightmare explains why the Afghans hate being occupied and each chapter offers a warning to the Nato occupiers of today.

Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens

As a political, cultural, and literary critic, Christopher Hitchens really stands alone. This is demonstrated by his major collection of mostly recent essays and reviews, covering a range of topics, from America’s founding fathers to the state of the English language. You don’t always have to agree with this fearless author and polemicist to appreciate his erudite mind. Last year, his prolific career was derailed by a grim cancer diagnosis. His Vanity Fair essay on losing his “writer’s voice” as cancer attacked his vocal chords is a must. The anthology collects some of his best recent work. It is unapologetically candid, wryly humorous and keenly insightful, the essays examines such cultural icons as Isaac Newton, Charles Dickens, Benjamin Franklin, Karl Marx, Thomas Jefferson, Ezra Pound, Abraham Lincoln, George Orwell, and even Harry Potter in the context of contemporary events, weaving history and present together as he reflects on the most pressing political and social issues of our time.

Death Comes To Pemberley by P.D. James

The year is 1803, and Darcy and Elizabeth have been married for six years. There are now two handsome and healthy sons, the heir and the spare in the Pemberley nursery, Elizabeth’s beloved sister Jane and her husband, Bingley, live within seventeen miles. The ordered and secure life of Pemberley seems unassailable, and Elizabeth’s happiness in her marriage is complete. But their peace is threatened and old sins and misunderstandings rekindled on the eve of the annual autumn ball. In a pitch-perfect recreation of the world of Pride and Prejudice, P.D. James elegantly fuses her lifelong passion for the work of Jane Austen with her talent for writing detective fiction. She weaves a compelling story, combining a sensitive insight into the happy but threatened marriage of the Darcy’s and the excitement and suspense of a brilliantly crafted detective story.

Related posts:

1. Carolyn’s Reading Choices for the Holidays 2010/2011
2. The Culture Concept Circle – You Tube Channel
3. Festive Season Fancies – From Christmas Day to New Year 2012