Art in Interior Architecture

Gaurav  Jain  

ABOUT  THE  BUILDING    

The   case   is   based   on   Kasturbhai   Lalbhai   Campus,   that   houses   the   CEPT   University   with   its   various  departments,   faculGes   and   schools.   An   enGre   design   campus,   it   includes   technical   studios,   exhibiGon  areas,  painGng  and  sculpture  studios,  resource  centre,  and  open  and  closed  auditoria.  

Centre   for   Environmental   Planning   and   Technology   (CEPT)   at   was  established   at   Ahmedabad   in   1962   with   the   incepGon   of   the   School   of  Architecture.     Designed   by   Ar.   BV   Doshi,   the   architectural   language   is  modern.   ExperimentaGon    with   plain   brick  walls,     overhanging   slabs   and  verandahs  based  on  concrete  canGlevers  adds  the  influence  of  Louis  Khan  to  that  of  Le  Corbusier  and  also  underlines  the  architect’s  commitment  to  structure  as  a  generator  of  form.  The  School  of  Architecture   contains   studios   for  mulGple  uses,   and  has  an  open   feel.  The  architect,   in  his   iniGal  Statement  of  purpose,  had  spoke  of  the  design  base  as  “No  feeling  of  restricGon  to  the  exchange  of  ideas.”  Hence   he   decided   on   a   simple   structure   of   parallel   brick   walls,   concrete  beams  and  floors.    

Although   modern   sculpture   and   architecture   are   reckoned   to   have  emerged   at   the   end   of   the   nineteenth   century,   the   beginnings   of  modern   painGng   can   be   located   earlier   in   about   1860’s.   A   tendency  toward   abstracGon   is   characterisGc   of  much  modern   art.     The   term   is  usually  associated  with  art  in  which  the  tradiGons  of  the  past  have  been  abandoned  for  experimentaGon.  More   recent   arGsGc   producGon   is   oYen   called   Contemporary  art  or  Postmodern  art.    

MODERN  ART    

Pablo  Picasso,  Le  guitariste  

POP  ART  

Pop   art,   aimed   to   employ   images   of   popular   as  opposed   to   eliGst   culture   in   art,   emphasizing   the  banal  or  kitschy  elements  of  any  given  culture.  Pop  removes   the  material   from   its  context  and   isolates  the   object,   or   combines   it   with   other   objects,   for  contemplaGon.   Pop  Art   also  was   a   conGnuaGon  of  certain  aspects  of  Abstract  Expressionism,      

Op  art,  a  branch  of  Modern  Art  also  known  as  op(cal  art,  is  a  genre  of  visual  art  that  makes  use  of  opGcal  illusions.  Op   art   is   a   perceptual   experience   related   to   how   vision  funcGons.   It   is   a   dynamic   visual   art,   stemming   from   a  discordant  figure-­‐ground  relaGonship  that  causes  the  two  planes   to   be   in   a   tense   and   contradictory  juxtaposiGon.  When  the  viewer  looks  at  them,  he  gets  an  impression   of   movement,   hidden   images,   flashing   and  vibraGon,   pa`erns,   or   alternaGvely,   of   swelling   or  warping.       Movement  in  Squares,  by  Bridget  Riley1961.  

OP  ART    

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

Since  the  campus  was  conceived  as  a  habitat  of  art  and  design,  it  has  an  inherited  the  aestheGc  value.    Thus   the   students,   like   the   patrons   and   the  mentors,   have   a   creaGve   urge   within   them.   This  creaGve   urge,   finds   expression,   apart   from   their  studios,  on  the  walls  of  the  buildings  they  inhabit.  Hence  there   is  a  flow  of  aestheGcs  and   ,  design   is  carried  from  inside  to  outside,   just   in  the  way  the  campus  built  form  was  conceived.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

A  typically  Indian  pop  art,  inspired  from  the  movie  posters.  

A   work   d i sp lay ing   a  stylised   student,   with   a  degree,   hanging   upside  down  

Work   with   an,   underlying  theme   of   Rock   ‘n’   Roll,    shows   a   lot   of   stylised  human  figures,  in  different  posiGons  and  acGviGes.  

A  colourful  artwork,  reflecGng  pop  art  icons,  with  influences  of  tantric  colours  and  geometric  forms.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

Art  work  with  a  music  theme.  Influences   of   Pop   art   and   Op  Art   can   be   seen.   The   LP  Disk,  and   the   curvilinear   lines  appearing   as   vibraGons   of  music,   have   in   them   dancing  human  figures.  

A  novel  pop  art  work,  with  the  Google   homepage   that   has  become   the   icon   of   today’s  Gmes.  Also  showing  in  inset  as  a   pop-­‐up   window,   a   portrait  of  a  popular  actress.  

Art   work   displaying   a   popular  fashion   brand,   with   stylised  cross   legs,   and   as   an   illusion   of  the   background   we   also   see   a  female  form.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

Colours   find   expression   on   a   garden   shed,  giving  the  impression  of  a  mosaic  work.  

The  truck,  a  popular  icon  of  India,  represents  Pop  art.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

Pop  art  influenced  art  works,  with  use  of  bright  colours.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

The  art  work   is   the  only  work  of  art  on  the  campus  that  is  Folk  art.  This  is  influenced   by   the   Warli   painGng   of  Maharashrta.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

The  art  work   (right)     draws  on  post  modern  influences,   and   has   a   mechanical   and  industrial   influence   to   it.   Far   right,   a   mural,  though   colourful   also   is   more   industrial   and  mechanical.   Both   art   works,   opposite   the  School   of   Building   Science   and   Technology,  seem  appropriate  for  the  space.  

ART  IN  THE  CAMPUS  

Colours  used  to  show  an  opGcal  illusion.     A  black  and  white  work,  gives  the  illusion  of  a  female  form  emerging  out  of  a  pillar.  

The  art  works  seen  essenGally  are  the  part  of  the  modernist  era.  There  is  a  strong  Indian  influence  by  virtue  of  the  arGsts  being  Indian  and  barring  one  folk  piece  one  sees  the  art  work  most  influenced  by  pop  art    and  op  art    for  expression.  They  are  appropriate  for  the  campus  as  the  campus  is  made  mostly  of  the  students,  and  the  desire  to  personalise  the  space  they  inhabit  for  a  majority  of  their  Gme,  is  well  expressed.  Though  most  art  works  are  contemporary,  they  suit  the  language  of  the  architecture.  But  even  the  solitary  folk  art  pieces  do  not  feel  odd,  as  the  school   insGlls   the   cultural   values   and   respect   and   sensiGvity   to   Indian  cultural   heritage.  Hence   the   art   piece   is  more  welcome   than  being   an  odd  one  out  in  a  sea  of  pop  art  and  op  art  expressions.  

CONCLUSION