Artist Two: Aldo Rossi

 

Aldo Rossi was an architect, born in Milan, Italy, he studied at the Politecnico di Milano.  By the time he died in 1997 Rossi had achieved international recognition in four areas: theory, drawing, architecture and product design.  Not only did Rossi study Italian modernism but he also traveled to the Soviet Union to study Stalinist architecture.  He became very focused on the architecture of the city as a whole and wrote about how the city was something constructed over time.  He also very firmly believed that monuments within the city give structure to the city.  Aldo Rossi is considered to be one of the founders of the Neo-Rationalist movements.  Through his ideas, writings, architecture, and design Rossi influenced many others in the postmodern movement.  I find his work to be very straightforward and aesthetically pleasing because it is clean and organized.  Rossi thought through each piece and each idea, so that those to follow would be able to see his work in a similar manor to how he saw it.  His product design and architecture follow a very similar style and can be viewed together.  From his straight edge designs to his curved building walls, Rossi created visually stimulating art that will continue to be admired for years to come.

Artist One: Barbara Stanczak

Barbara Stanczak is a German-American artist who focuses mainly on sculptures.  She works with both wood and stone to make her sculptures, which express the beauty and wonder of the earth.  Stanczak feels that by opening up the wood or stone she is revealing their secrets to the world.  Her idea for each piece is that the viewer can look at, touch and interact with a common material in a new way.  She uses the veins and textures of her materials to inspire her work.  Because of the natural feel of the materials, she wants to use the natural elements of her materials to bring the glory of nature to a world that is becoming less familiar with the beauty of nature.

Being interested in wooden sculpture I found Barbara Stanczak’s work to be very fascinating.  All of her pieces are carved and polished wood or stone.  Although I am not interested in carving wood, I am interested in trying to bring in a natural feel to the harsh world of sculpture.  I also like the idea of creating work that people can touch rather than just having to look at from behind a piece of glass.  Stanczak  creates work with the viewer in mind, making textures that invite and beg the viewer to run their hand over and touch.  Here is a link to her work Barbara Stanczak.