Less Is More

LESS IS BORE. INTRODUCTION HOW CAN ONE DESCRIBE AND ANALYSE AN ARTISTIC MOMENT WHILE IT IS GOING ON? SO IN CASE OF POSTMODERNISM, HISTORY OFFERS NO INSIGHT AS TO THE SCOPE OF THE MOMENT BECAUSE WE ARE IN IT’S MIDST. EXPLANATION â€Å"I NEVER KNEW ANYBODY . . . WHO FOUND LIFE SIMPLE. I THINK A LIFE OR A TIME LOOKS SIMPLE WHEN YOU LEAVE OUT THE DETAILS. † SAME WAS THE THINKING OF ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI WHEN HE TOSSED HIS FAMOUS QUOTE ‘’LESS IS BORE’’, WHICH PAVED THE WAY FOR POSTMODERNISM IN THIS MODERN WORLD.ACCORDING TO THE CONCEPT ‘’LESS IS BORE’’ IT DEFINES THAT POSTMODERNISM IS SO ELUSIVE BECAUSE IT IS A SET OF COMPLEX CONCEPTS AND ABSTRACT PREMISES, NOT ONE CENTRAL IDEA. IT IS ONE OF THE HARDEST PHILOSOPHICAL AND ARTISTIC MOVEMENTS TO DEFINE; HOWEVER, ITS MUCH FORM CAN BE FOUND IN VISUAL ART, LITERATURE AND ARCHITECTURE. THIS CONCEPT ADVOCATES EMBRASING â€Å"CONTRADICTION AND COMPLEXITY’’ IN ORDER TO CREATE VALID AND VITAL WORKS. ITS ARGUES ARCHITECTS TO LEAVE THE TENETS OF TRADITIONAL MODERNISM BEHIND IN PURSUIT OF â€Å"TRUTH IN ITS TOTALITY’’.THIS MEANS THAT POSTMODERNISM IS A COMPLEX SET OF TRUE NATURE OF ARCHITECTURE AND IT IS MORE REAL THAN OVERLY PLANNED, HYPPER-LOGICAL MODERNIST CONSTRUCTIONS. POSTMODERNISM BEGAN AS AN INTERNATIONAL STYLE IN AROUND 1950’S AND CONTINUES TO INFLUENCE ARCHITECTURE TILL THIS DAY. POSTMODERNITY IN ARCHITECTURE IS SAID TO BE HERALDED BY THE RETURN OF â€Å"WIT, ORNAMENT AND REFERANCE† TO THE ARCHITECTYRE IN RESPONCSE TO THE FORMULATION OF INTERNATIONAL STYLE OF MODERNISM.WITH THE START OF POSTMODERNISM THE FUNCTIONAL AND FORMALIZED SHAPES AND SPACES OF THE MODERIST STYLE ARE REPLACED BY DIVERSE AESTHETICS AND NEW WAYS OF VIEWING FAMILIAR STYLE AND SPACES AROUND. THE MODERNISM IS ROTTED IN MINIMAL AND TRUE USE OF MATERIAL BUT WE FIND A WHOLE ABSENCE OF ORNAMENTATION. BUT IN CASE OF POSTMODERNISM, THERE IS A STRO NG REJECTION OF STRICT RULES SET BY THE EARLY MODERNISTS AND THERE IS A PURSUIT OF SEEKING MEANING AND EXPRESSION IN THE USE OF BUILDING TECHNIQUES, FORM AND STYLISTIC REFRENCES.WHY ACCORDING TO ROBERT CHARLES VENTURI â€Å"LESS IS BORE† â€Å"THE IDEAL ART, THE NOBLEST OF ART COULD ONLY BE DONE BY WORKING WITH THE COMPLEXITIES OF LIFE, REFUSING TO SIMPLIFY, TO â€Å"OVERCOME† DOUBT. † EVERY WHERE EXCEPT IN ARCHITECTURE, COMPLEXITTY AND CONTRADICTION HAS BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED, FROM GODEL’S PROFF OF ULTIMATE INCONSISTENCY IN MATHEMATICS TO ELIOT’S ANALYSIS OF DIFFICULT POETRY TILL JOSEPH ALBER’S DEFINATION OF THE PARADOXICAL QUALITY OF PAINTING. BUT LUCKLY VENTURI’S INFLUENCE SHOWS UP THE EMERGENCE OF WHOLLY NEW SITUATION IN ARCHITECTURE.HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE ARCHITECTURE CAME IN SUCH A TIME WHEN MODERNIST ARCHITECTS HAD ERRONEOUSLY ASSUMED THAT THEIR WORK WOULD EVENTULLY TAKE PLACE AS A CONGENIAL NEIGHBOR TO THE OTHER HISTORICAL STYLES. BUT VENTURIE’S AWARNESS TOWARDS THE VERSION OF CLASSICAL ELEMENTS OF DESIGN HELPED HIM TO INTRODUCE THE WORLD WITH â€Å"LESS IS BORE† CONCEPT. HE HAS MADE A SPECIAL ATTEMPT TO RELATE ARCHITECTURE TO OTHER THINGS, AND ALSO HE HAS SET A RELATION BETWEEN COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION IN ARCHITECTURE. SO, THE POSTMODERNISM WELCOMES THE PROBLEMS AND EXPLOIT THE UNCERTAINTIES.IT EMBRACES CONTRADICTIONS AS WELL AS COMPLEXITY AND AIM FOR VITALITY AS WELL AS VALIDITY. WHILE MODERNISM REJECTS DEVINE MEANING, THE BEAUTY OF NATURE AND THE FOCUS ON THE HUMAN BODY, POSTMODERNISM WISHES TO BRING TO FRUIT IDEAS OF ENLIGHTMENT THAT MODERNISM REJECTS. MODERNISM HOLDS THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE IDEA OR OBJECT A WORD REPRESENTS, POSTMODERNISM HOLDS THAT WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS THE ACTUAL WORD ITSELF. ART CAN BE SATISFACTORILY DESCRIBED ONLY WHEN IT IS UNDERSTOOD NOT TO FULFILL THE EXPECTATIONS WHICH IT AROUSES.SO WE MUST UNDERSTOOD THE NATURE OF ART, IT IS NECESSARY TO BEFORE FURTHER ANA LYZING COMPLEXITY AND CONTRADICTION IN ARCHITECTURE. ARCHITECTURE CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD AS ART UNTIL ART HAS BEEN UNDERSTOOD IN GENERAL. A MAJOR PROBLEM IN ART HAS BEEN A SUPPOSEDLY NECESSARY RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE WORK OF ART AND THE EXPERIENCE OF ART. LOOKING AT GRAPHIC DESIGN, THERE ARE NO â€Å"LAWS,† BUT THERE ARE CERTAIN IDEAS ABOUT SYSTEMS, RULES AND FORM. HOWEVER, IT SEEMS THAT MANY OF VENTURI'S PRINCIPLES WORK EFFECTIVELY IN A GRAPHIC DESIGN CONTEXT: VARIETY, INCLUSION, AND TENSION ARE ALL KEY COMPONENTS TO SUCCESSFUL AND COMPELLING WORKS.WHILE GRAPHIC DESIGN PROJECTS GENERALLY HAVE A MUCH SHORTER LIFE SPAN THAN ARCHITECTURAL WORKS, IT IS INTERESTING TO CONSIDER THE GRAPHIC LANDSCAPE IN REFERENCE TO THE CITY LANDSCAPE. AS VENTURI DISCUSSED THESE IDEAS IN RELATION TO BOTH THE SINGULAR BUILDING AND THE DYNAMIC, LIVING CITY, WE CAN ALSO THINK ABOUT OUR DESIGN WORK AS INDIVIDUAL ENTITIES AS WELL AS PARTS OF A WHOLE BY CONSIDERING HOW THEY FIT IN WITH BOTH CONTEMPORARY A ND HISTORIC EXAMPLES OF GRAPHIC DESIGN.CERTAINLY HIS IDEA OF REPURPOSING HISTORICAL OR TRADITIONAL ELEMENTS ALSO APPLIES TO ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN—POSTMODERNISM WOULD NOT EXIST WITHOUT THIS CONCEPT. LETS US TAKE THE EXAMPLE OF RESIDENCE IN CHESTNUT HILL, PA. , VENTURI AND RAUCH, 1962. THIS BUILDING RECOGNIZES COMPLEXITIES AND CONTRADICTIONS: IT IS BOTH COMPLEX AND SIMPLE, OPEN AND CLOSED, BIG AND LITTLE; SOME OF ITS ELEMENTS ARE GOOD ON ONE LEVEL AND BAD ON ANOTHER; ITS ORDER ACCOMMODATES THE GENERIC ELEMENTS OF THE HOUSE IN GENERAL, AND THE CIRCUMSTANTIAL ELEMENTS OF A HOUSE IN PARTICULAR.IT ACHIEVES THE DIFFICULT UNITY OF A MEDIUM NUMBER OF DIVERSE PARTS RATHER THAN THE EASY UNITY OF FEW OR MANY MOTIVAL PARTS. THE INSIDE SPACES, AS REPRESENTED IN PLAN AND SECTION, ARE COMPLEX AND DISTORTED IN THEIR SHAPES AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS. THEY CORRESPOND TO THE COMPLEXITIES INHERENT IN THE DOMESTIC PROGRAM AS WELL AS TO SOME WHIMSIES NOT INAPPROPRIATE TO AN INDIVIDUAL HOUSE. ON THE OTH ER HAND, THE OUTSIDE FORM–AS REPRESENTED BY THE PARAPETED WALL AND THE GABLE ROOF WHICH ENCLOSE THESE COMPLEXITIES AND DISTORTIONS IS SIMPLE AND CONSISTENT: IT REPRESENTS THIS HOUSE'S PUBLIC SCALE.THE FRONT, IN ITS CONVENTIONAL COMBINATIONS OF DOOR, WINDOWS, CHIMNEY AND GABLE, CREATES AN ALMOST SYMBOLIC IMAGE OF A HOUSE. SO, WE ALL MUST KNOW THAT POSTMODERNISM IS AN ART OF CREATING THE â€Å"ANOMALIES AND UNCERTAINTIES† THAT â€Å"GIVE VALIDITY TO ARCHITECTURE,† THE ARCHITECTURE MUST BE REACTING AGAINST SOMETHING. SO WHILE â€Å"THERE ARE NO FIXED LAWS,† ARCHITECTURE BENEFITS FROM SOME SENSE OF ORDER OR A SYSTEM SO THAT IT CAN REACT. BECAUSE SYSTEMS CANNOT ACCOMMODATE EVER CIRCUMSTANCE, ARCHITECTURE SHOULD STRIVE TO DEFY ORDER AND THE ALTERING OR BREAKING OF ORDER ENHANCES THE DEEPER MEANINGS OF THE ARCHITECTURE. Less Is More Less Is More Some say that short stories are pointless, who could possibly write a story in just 55 words and it make sense? Well it has been done and it works quite well! It takes an author of great skill to be able to put so much information into such a small piece of writing, to be able to fit in all the necessities. These authors have their own genre of writing. Some of these amazing authors include Lydia Davis, Margaret Atwood, and Terry L. Tilton. These are just a few of the outstanding brains behind some of the best short stories ever written.Not only do these authors use the lack of words in such a way to make the reader more involved in the outcome of the story, they also use fewer words to be more dramatic, and to leave you with questions. In the short story â€Å"That Settles Thatâ€Å", Terry L. Tilton uses 55 words to complete an entire story. Here it is, Tom was a handsome, fun-loving young man, albeit a bit drunk when he got into the argument with Sam, his roommate o f just two months. ‘You can’t. You can not write a short story in just 55 words, you idiot? ’ Sam shot him dead on the spot. Oh yes you can,’ Sam said, smiling. This story is outstanding! It shows how much can be said in just a few words and leaves so many blanks for the reader to fill in. Some may look at this as being lazy, to leave so much for the reader to figure out on their own, however, for someone to conduct a story in 55 words that make sense, that is total genus! These authors that create these masterpieces know that a lot of readers prefer to be more active as they read. They like to read between the lines, look underneath the text. Feature Article – Short Story  The Plane of the Sleeping BeautyThese readers are very common and the authors know this, they know that their target audience are those who feel as if they are included in the writing process, that they get to decide what people look like and what they wear. They like to have the ability to make these decisions based upon the surrounding text, the information that the author does give. Stories like this one, give the reader the chance to work their brains, not just read the plain text for face value. This is a huge reason that short stories are important, they let active readers give their brain the work out it needs! Happy Endings† by Margaret Atwood is very dramatic. This short story is all about different ways to write a happy ending, although these ways involve extraneous situations involving lives that do not end happily, and in the end, no matter what, the main characters end up dying. A short story has to be more dramatic, more thi ngs need to happen in a short amount of time so the reader doesn’t get all the extra information. Think about it as if it is a Thanksgiving dinner, you don’t get all the stuffing and mashed potatoes, just the turkey, that’s all you have time for!These writers know that they only have a short amount of space to write in everything that they need so they want the big meaty pieces in there so it makes a huge impact! Lydia Davis beautifully wrote â€Å"Letter to a Funeral Parlorâ€Å". This short story is a letter that someone composed about their father passing away and the funeral parlor using the word â€Å"Cremains† to describe him. Lyndia Davis says, â€Å"Then we were sitting there in our chairs in the living room trying not to weep in front of your representative who†¦ referred to [my father] as ‘the cremains’†.This shows Davis’ ability to pull at the readers heart strings and make a point. This is a wonderfully writte n piece and it does exactly what a short story should do! Not only does it use a lack of words to have the readers fill in the blanks themselves but she also writes in a dramatic way. She is very to the point. She also does the final thing that is conveyed within short stories, she leaves you with questions. This is an amazing thing to do, as it leaves the readers wondering. Sometimes there are sequels to short stories and other times it is just another way to get the reader more involved.This give the reader another chance to fill in the blanks. Like in the Letter to a Funeral Parlor, it does not speak of how the father dies, nor does it talk about where they are from or what the people look like. These are all questions the author leaves the readers with, to think about. Readers enjoy reading short stories because they are something different from novels. Some people don’t want to have a book that takes a week or longer to read, some people don’t have attention spans that will last through an entire book.Those people want something they can read in 30 seconds or a half hour depending on if it’s a short short or not. Just because someone is a reader who prefers to read something short does not make then any worse or a reader that someone who likes 1000 page novels. It is all in the preference of the reader. Reading a short story is a good idea for readers because it gives you more options of reading. They are there for the readers who like to figure things out on their own. Short stories are amazing to read.They always leave you with something to think about. These essays are difficult to construct because of the amount of information that needs to be in such a small piece of writing. That is why the authors that do create these pieces of work are to be applauded because not everyone can do it. In a short story the author lets the reader be an active reader, filling in all the extra blanks and details. Short story authors also use fewer w ords to be dramatic. The less space you have to write, the fewer useless details and things that you will have.Therefore, the whole content is the important meat. This makes it so that the points are not drawn out, it creates a more climactic piece of work. These authors also leave their readers with questions. This creates the ability to keep the readers intrigued. Short story authors are amazing at what they do, someone like Terry L. Tilton, who has the ability to write a story in 55 words, should be commended or what they do. Works Cited Meyer, Michael, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 9th ed. Boston: St Martins, 2008. Print. Works Cited Knight