God as architect of the world
folio 1 verso of a moralized Bible
from Paris, France
c. 1220-1230

Whoever painted this didn't know what the world looks like.  I think a better title would have been:  "Bearded man claiming to represent god stabs a jellied squash with a protractor.  Let me rephrase that:  "stabs a jellied squash that has been swallowed by a watermelon with a protractor ." Yes, the people living in France in the 1200's wouldn't have had satellite imaging of the interior of the earth.  But that is why it is so funny to look back and see their guess as to how to represent what they didn't know. It is also curious to see how talented God was as an architect.  I mean, who else could hold the entire world in one hand, while using the other hand to measure it with a compass, not even looking at what he was doing...all while standing on one foot!  I guess he really is amazing.

A Unique Cathedral

Laon Cathedral

Laon, France

begun ca. 1190

This cathedral is the link connecting the Romanesque and Gothic architectural styles.  Rib vaulting is built on top of pointed arches, creating a tall, airy effect. This cathedral has a special feature which no other has: a triforium. The triforium is the band of arcades below the clerestory. (The third row of columns from the bottom.) It has no structural use, as the spaces only open onto the more stone.  As my teacher said, it was just an “intricately framed void.” It’s only function is to break up flat wall surfaces. This 4-level elevation style is distinctly ‘Early Gothic.’  At the bottom is the name arcade, then the vaulted gallery, then the triforium, and finally the clerestory windows.  Later on, large cathedrals were built with taller arcades, galleries, and clerestories, but they lacked the triforium.  This is really a shame, because if it were up to me I would have kept them.  They could have been turned into secret passage ways, or places to display art and statues. Or, they could have just provided a nice view for over-flow congregation members, running late for church.

A Mesh of Styles

Annunciation to the Shepherds

Folio in the Lecitonary of Henry II

Recichenau, Germany

1002-1014 CE

Tempera on Vellum

This work is a unique combination of all of the recent styles of art we have studied: Late Antique, Byzantine, and Carolingian-Ottonian.  The solid gold background immediately brings to mind Byzantine art like the Transfiguration in the apse of the monastery at Mount Sinai, or Crucifixion in the Church of the Dormition, among others whose trademark is the shining gold leaf as a basis for the images on top.  Early Christian landscape and animal portrayal, like that found in The Good Shepherd at Galla Placidia can be seen in this work as well.  The narrative that is told through the angel’s gestures and the people’s response is purely Carolingian tradition, now carried out by the Ottonians.  Thus, this piece shows how ideas were passed down, copied, and refined to create new styles in art.  

Local "Art"

Some of the best landscape architecture in Tennessee can be found in several beautiful golf courses located within an hour or two of Ensworth.  While most people don’t associate golf with art, playing a round outside on a nice day can be extra pleasant when you are playing on an aesthetically well-designed course.  A visually stunning course is Bear Trace at Tim’s Ford, designed by the infamous Jack Nicklaus. Like Frank Lloyd Wrights “Falling Water,” it has been built according to the contours of the land: the curves of the fairways leading up the natural hills, and bending around the huge lakes that surround the area.  You can’t help but be struck by the beauty of Tennessee nature when you come across a turn in the cart path and see the green, surrounded on all sides by sparkling lake, and see families boating a mile away.   Driving your ball off the tee and having it hit a tree then roll backwards down the hill is not a proud moment for the average golfer, yet it is these trees and hills that make the landscape, and the game, interesting.  I hooked a ball into the forest, and in an effort to retrieve it discovered interesting flora and fauna: butterflies, squirrels, everything, in fact, except for my ball.

The clubhouse itself was built with the purpose of preserving traditional rustic values.  It is a comely log cabin, and would not look out of place in a previous century with the exception of its soda machines and iron terrace.

The ninth hole is a par three, 200 + yards away, yet there is a twist.  The hole has been made so that the lake juts through the middle of it, heightening suspense when you are hitting, as the golfer knows a lost ball into the water is fatal for his/her score.  But, when scores are tallied, compared, forgotten, and bets are won or lost, the only thing visitors remember looking back is not if they putted for par on the 16^th hole, but the excitement of playing an interesting course. Bear Trace is truly one of the most beautiful public courses available in Tennessee.  So, reader, if you ever get tired of gallery-hopping, or want to trade your turtleneck and smokes for a polo and spikes, head out to Tim’s Ford to appreciate landscape art, sport, and nature blended into one.

December 27, a sketch by Clare Coyle Taylor

If this abstract work, painted by Clare Coyle Taylor on December 27, 2006, is a glimpse into her feelings and a cathartic exercise, I would say she had a very confusing day, filled with stops and starts, and a lack of surety as to what she believed in and chose to do.  The hectic turmoil is represented through her use of wavy, straight, broken, and twisting lines of colored pencil, creating maze-like paths that weave across the (Bristol) paper like snarls in a rat’s nest, or thin trailing roots, lacing the ground as they spread outward.  The only place where there is a semblance of unity and stability is in the top left and bottom right corners, where Taylor has created two squares, filled in with a mix of green and red colors.  Among the lines, bits of green, gray, yellow, tan, and brown colors pop up­, causing the eye to travel along the otherwise-confusing black lines.  To me, this work is a representation of the inside of her mind; it seems the solid squares are concrete ideas or beliefs that the artist holds, and the rest, her jumble of thoughts and confusion.  The lines form almost a spiral in the middle of the page, suggesting endless possibilities, and hinting at the fact that there is an infinite number of feelings that will continue to swirl up in the artist’s psyche, overwhelming her.  However, due to the ambiguity of abstract art, a definite explanation and analysis of this piece is a near impossibility.  The artist herself may not even know what it means or stands for.  For all we know, she could have sat down at her canvas, closed her eyes, and scribbled.  Yet, the importance of abstract art is not in its definition, but rather the viewer’s personal reaction to it.