Upon Further Reflection

 I'm starting to understand where Loos and Le Corbusier are coming from now, being that there entire world was covered in some type of decor, and I guess I cant hate them for wanting to try something different.  The other two articles I only glanced over,  but they paint a better picture, these guys were introducing entire new schools of thought to the world of design., which can never be a bad thing.  However, I believe strongly that ornament is part of what makes us human, it is the proof of abstract thought even amongst the most primitive tribes. People need ornament, whether they are aware of it or not. The problem with ornament in the west today is that it is not treated as something sacred,  it is almost non existent, it has been replaced by advertising and kitch.  Here is something interesting for us to ponder, in Sao Paulo, despite being a big shit babylon hell hole, they figured something out. They made a law there against visual pollution, due to all the advertisements and billboards that had sprung up. On the other hand, they have a relaxed attitude towards graffiti, it is legal as long as you are using multiple colors and have chosen a suitable location.  This attitude allowed street artists to take the act of painting walls further, spending more time on their work , advancing the entire subculture. 

 

 Le Corbusier expresses great admiration for painters, unless I missed his sarcasm.  I wonder how he would react to the idea of designing buildings so the public can paint them freely, which would show the pulse of a city in a way that other types of ornamentation do not, due to its constant evolution and originality. Below is some graffiti typical of Sao Paul streets. 

Photo JD

Sao Paulo Housing Projects

Sao Paulo, from urbandecay.ca

Hot Blooded. Sorry I'm Scottish and Pisces.

 

  Le Corbusier speaks of architecture from an almost romantic standpoint, with more than just a hint of existentialism. I like the way he speaks of his craft, and I like a majority of his work even more, yet I find some of his idea's expressed through his work quite controversial to his words in these articles. His proposal for low income housing in Paris is frightening, we've seen the effects of these buildings in many cities world wide.  These highrises set in a grid pattern across a poor section of a city must affect the minds of their inhabitants in ways unimaginable to us. Not only are these people already on the periphery of society, but they are all squashed into these buildings and subliminally told that they are all the same, and always will be. 

 In Sao Paulo, young men scale these buildings and adorn them with graffiti, putting their lives at risk almost daily just to stand out amongst their peers. All across the U.S.A. these projects have become fortresses for gangs, and are symbol of hopelessness for ghetto youth.  These buildings are a cheap band-aid for a massive problem, they are a symbol of "the man's" minimal efforts to correct his past crimes, just give these people shelter, some food stamps and let them eat each other. 

 I personally think Le Corbusier's house's to be some of the most beautiful buildings of the modern age, the only problem is I have only ever seen them in the country side, where only the "big business man" he speaks of can afford to live.  

 Of course these plans for Paris were drawn up along time ago, before Rap music made everyone violent, how could he have known?  Guns or no guns, "badmanism" or not, it doesn't take a Jainist monk to realize that cramming all the welfare recipients into the same hive is inhumane.  

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Ornament and Crime

  

 Mr. Loos makes some interesting points about the usefulness of ornament, and I tend to agree with him in many cases.  If done wrong it is incredibly tacky and can ruin what could've been a beautiful object, and I understand that he came from an era when nearly everything was decorated.  At the same time he sounds like a complete idiot while making his "educated" yet pig headed statement about the craft and reasoning behind ornament. I imagine he would swallow his words if he saw an Ikea factory, full of under-payed workers laminating particle board, preparing it for its maximum life span of 4 years. A chinese worker spending 16 hours carving a nature inspired pattern onto a bookshelf doesn't seem that bad suddenly. The fact that the worker goes home being proud of something rubs off on his wife, his children and his neighbor.  Its better for the world when people feel like they've accomplished something, rather than toiling in a plant for some unknown economic authority. 

 Loos makes no effort to understand the difference between a  plate set stamped with tacky images and work which is built with incredible care by someone who has spent years perfecting his/her craft.  However, his opinionated rant is colorful and fun to read, his harshest expressions bringing me to laugh aloud. I think his depiction of the Papuans may be accurate on some levels despite its unapologetic linear approach, but at the end of the day Loos' superior cultivated brain has left him just another boring white guy with no flavor.