Anyone Can Become an Artist©
Posted: Sunday, July 17, 2011
by Arlene Wright-Correll
http://www.learn-america.com
This week’s “Art Only Spoken Here” question asks, “You keep contending that anyone can become an artist and that art is everywhere. How do you support that?”
What a challenging question and I have racked my brain and perhaps this will support my premise. When I was a kid living in a tenement in Brooklyn, NYI used to go to a beautiful park called ProspectPark. This park was one of the second parks in the USA designed upon the principal of the European Grand Parks and was designed to rival the first park which was Central Park in Manhattan.
Central Parkwas originally designed by artist Andrew Jackson Downing who died in a boat accident in 1852 and his partner Calvert Vaux asked Olmstead to help him when he submitted their design to the park competition in 1858. Literary writer Frederick Law Olmstead was Central Park’s head supervisor in 1858 and though he was no artist the design of the park had many aspects that would become trademarks of Olmsted's designs. There were winding paths, scenic views and large open areas for people to relax in. Olmsted served as the chief architect from 1858-1861, which allowed him to supervise the construction and to make any changes that he felt necessary. Thus the literary man became an artist and proved this as he went on to help design and create Central Parkand then ProspectPark.
Even though Olmsted and Vaux worked off and on with the Park's Commission on Central Park, there was a lot of political infighting and finally in 1877 Olmsted and Vaux were formally dismissed from the project. However, the die was cast and over his life time this man basically created artistic landscaping design as he went on to design 550 beautiful, city, state and national parks in his lifetime and giving the first wide open spaces for public enjoyment in the USA and his sons, groomed to carry on his work, eventually created over 6000 such parks throughout the country until their firm finally closed down in 1957 (I believe).
Olmstead did not see parks as just vast meadows, but rather he saw them as places of harmony; places where people would go to escape life and regain their sanity. He wanted these parks to be available to all people no matter what walk of life the person followed. The vast areas and open spaces he created were combined, artfully, with plants, trees, bridges, underground tunnels and waterways that often took horrible swamps and marshes to become beautiful lakes and rivers. While many park designers were taking existing water ways and filling them with landfill, Olmstead’s artistic eye saw boating areas for the public enjoyment. If this is not art then I do not know what is!
Olmsted’s premise was that the rural, picturesque landscape should contrast with and counteracted the confining and unhealthful conditions of the crowded urban environment serving to strengthen society by providing a place where all classes could mingle in contemplation and enjoyment of the pastoral experience. He screened his parks completely from the intrusions of daily life by screening them with thick plantings along their borders, separating and excluding commercial traffic, and discouraging all usage of the grounds which were not in harmony with this goal. He brought the landscape as close to as much of the urban population as possible, so that all could benefit from it.
Though not designed by Olmstead the existing ideas even prevails in our own little town of Munfordville, KY as Green River Park & Arboretum continues to grow through the ideas and works of the people of this small community as they continue to create a beautiful, artistically designed park for all to enjoy.
Hopefully, this may answer your question.
May the Creative Force be With You….
Arlene Wright-Correll
If your birthday falls between July 1st, & July 31st stop in for a visit at Avalon Stained Glass School & Creativity Center during our business hours and pick up your free birthday gift. There is nothing to buy and these birthday gifts will range from $10.00 to $150.00 so it might be your lucky day. Questions? Just email me at askarlene@scrtc.com
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