Politics and Culure in 20th Century Europe- Blog #8

In my art appreciation class, we went to see Le Corbusiers’ exhibit at the Barbican Art Gallery. I thought it was going to be a completely different exhibit than the other ones our class had been to because Le Corbusier was an architect; however, after spending some time in the exhibit, I realized that he his work was just as elaborate as the other artists exhibits we had been. The title of architect in my mind, essentially limited his range of creativity, but Le Corbusier did everything from architecture to furniture and even painting. His ideas were new to the 20th century and ultimately ended up influencing future architects as well as society. Le Corbusier had just as many critics as he did supporters, but regardless of which side you fall, he made an impact of 20th century Europe and possibly even the world.

Le Corbusier’s ideas were very much influenced by the places he surrounded himself with. His time in school, Switzerland, and Paris all gave him quite a unique spin on his designs. Traveling made a huge difference in his career because when he would go to these places, he would sketch what he saw. This was where being a multi talented artist would be very useful. In his early life, Le Corbusier was focused more on designing villas, which consisted of “an open floor plan consisting of concrete slabs supported by a minimal number of thin, reinforced concrete columns around the edges, with a stairway providing access to each level on one side of the floor plan.” This was a type of house he created for about ten years, but later on in his career, his ideas changed toward urbanism. There was a lot of need at this time for houses that could hold large numbers of individuals, and lot of these individuals would fall into lower poverty levels. These individuals were living under harsh conditions because of how overcrowded the city would be, and the city was constantly looking for someone to put together a plan to make the city better as a while. Le Corbusier wanted to “provide a new organizational solution that would raise the quality of live of the lower classes.” He thought people should be organized in buildings according to family size instead of based on class level. Le Corbusier would then design a city based on those ideas; however, city officials often rejected his plans. This architect looked past status and had ideas that were before his time even in 20th Century.

I think that Le Corbusier was a pivotal person in the 20th Century because of his ideas. He put what he believed out there regardless of it was going to be rejected. He was one of the few people who could ignore the label people were given based on their social class. It says a lot about him as a person as well as an artist. I think it even shows how people of different backgrounds and interests can make a difference. One doesn’t have to be a politician or priest to make a difference in culture or society. A person should take Le Corbusier’s example and find a way to use his or her talents to make an impact on the world. Even if the ideas they have are shot down as Le Corbusier’s were on numerous occasion, one day they will eventually make a difference.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier