"Die Gerade Linie ist gottlos und unmoralisch."
-"The straight line is ungodly and unethical."
Yesterday I visited the Kunsthauswien, an art museum dedicated to the eccentric Austrian artist and architect Hundertwasser. I was somewhat taken aback by his unusually strong opinions about lines. He said that the straight line was the only kind of line that did not exist in nature and therefore should not be incorporated in art. Yet, it was the one type of line most frequently used in manmade constructions. Architects who built with straight lines, he believed, were committing the crime of "visual pollution," brainw
ashing humans and disconnecting them from their true nature.Now, this kind of makes sense to me, yet I think it would be difficult to always build houses and other buidings using curvy lines and artzy patterns. The straight line is practical, even if it is not natural. But at the same time, our cities do give us the false illusion that we are self-sustained and independent of nature. These are artificial environments from which we need to escape periodically to re-experience the true, God-made environment.
2 comments:
I was dealing with the same question on my blog recently--what makes art good? Is it imitation of nature?
At any rate, I don't suppose this architect thinks much of Pablo Picasso!
Alright. This is good. I have an opinion, though I am sure I am plenty baised because I can't seem to look long enough at tendrils and curving vines.
If we built our cities like those of Rivendell or Lothlorien I think our mindset would cater more to the upkeep of nature.
But the style of Art Nouveau (Gaudi and others) is also quite nice. The construction of buildings allows for nearly straight lines that curve at the ends.
Again, I am more than biased. I am in love.
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