L'Art Nouveau- en Paris!

Having recently traveled to one of my most dreamed about destinations, I am pleased to report that Paris, France is still quite as romantic as all the movies imply and as fairy tale inspired as a Disney Movie. Floating down the Bateau Mouche one night allowed my imagination to go in all different directions, but what inspired it the most was not the French music playing in random cafés, nor the scent of flowers in the air as we boated past, but the architecture.

The curvature of embellishments on many of the buildings within the heart of the city reminded me of a few French fairy-tale movies I treasured growing up. Outside of the city, the Palace of Versailles was incredible in its ornate decoration, but those styles aren’t solely unique to France. One style that isn’t unique either, but quite characteristic of France is Art Nouveau. (French for “New Art”)


If you’d like to sample a taste of Art Nouveau in Paris, you can start as you get off the Metro by just admiring the curvaceous green “Metropolitain” signs spread throughout the city. This flamboyant style originated at the turn of the 20th century, (1890-1905) and is seen as an “important bridge between the historicism of Neoclassism and modernism”. Basically, it was a style that connected two important eras in the art world, but is important in its own right, as it had itself a very strong flavor.

Siegfried Bing was an important character in the story of Art Nouveau in Paris. He opened up a gallery in 1895,”L’Art Nouveau”, and the fame of this gallery was made world-wide during the 1900 Exposition Universelle. There he presented “coordinated- in design and color- installations of modern furniture, tapestries and objets d’art.” Because these objects became so associated with the style itself, the movement took on the name of Bing’s gallery to become the most commonly used term for the entire style.

There are many descriptions of Art Nouveau, and since I’m terrible at trying to describe things, I’ll list a few here that I found in my research:

“Such decorative "whiplash" motifs, formed by dynamic, undulating, and flowing lines in a syncopated rhythm, are found throughout the architecture, painting, sculpture, and other forms of Art Nouveau design.”
- Wikipedia

“Because of typical flat, decorative patterns used in all art forms, Art Nouveau obtained a nickname 'the noodle style' in French, 'Le style nouilles'. Visual standards of the Art Nouveau style are flat, decorative patterns, intertwined organic forms of stems or flowers. Art Nouveau emphasized handcrafting as opposed to machine manufacturing, the use of new materials. Although curving lines characterize Art Nouveau, right-angled forms are also typical…..

Principal subjects are lavish birds and flowers, insects and polyformic femme fatale. Abstract lines and shapes are used widely as a filling for recognizable subject matter. Purposeful elimination of three-dimensions is often applied through reduced shading.”
-www.huntfor.com/arthistory

Art Nouveau was often considered to be a response to the great physical changes of the Industrial Revolution. Because so many things were starting to be mass produced, Art Nouveau, in a sense, became an effort to make the decorative arts a more esteemed way to express style. More emphasis was placed on “applying the highest standards of craftsmanship and design to everyday objects”, and that included using new materials of the time, like cast iron. Designers felt that there should be a consistency between all works of art, creating a harmony so that even things like buildings and furniture, clothes and jewelry could all flow together as one work of art.












Art Nouveau was more than a style, it was more a way of thinking. Paris embraced it, as so many other important European cities did, and its significance as a style, even a hundred years later, is that is has many reincarnations and effects on the style of today.

Pope John Paul II

Being raised protestant, I’m not generally interested in most things catholic. What that’s left me is a large void of ignorance in an area where Catholicism has shaped ancient and modern history. Traveling throughout Europe has increased my interest in Catholic history ten-fold. While I was in Italy I saw incredible monuments to the Catholic faith. In every museum I entered there were rooms full of paintings dedicated to the Virgin Mary and Holy Child. In the Vatican, especially, it astounded me to see such importance placed on the Popes’ memories- they had such immaculately decorated monuments in St. Peter’s, I was extremely impressed. In this particular church, (one of the most grandiose churches I’ve ever been to) I was able to visit the catacombs and see where the late Pope John Paul II was buried. SO many people were there paying their respects, it intrigued me. In response to that, I decided to learn a bit about the man and see what kind of mark he left on 20th century Europe.

John Paul II was born in Poland in May of 1920. His Anglican name was Charles Joesph Wojtyla. His schooling was diverse and by the time he finished university he had learned as many as 12 foreign languages. Sadly, by the age of twenty, he’d lost all his family members and at this point started thinking seriously of joining the priesthood. He started his courses in an underground seminary in Poland around the time of the Second World War. He in fact escaped a German roundup of young men and boys by hiding in the basement of his uncle’s home. Until the end of the war, many accounts say that Wojtyla protected many Polish Jews from the Nazis.

For the sake of space, I’m going to skip forward to his role as the Pope in the 20th century, but if you’d like more information on his background, look up:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_John_Paul_II

Already having been the youngest bishop in Poland by the age of 38, he went on to become the only Polish pope, and the second longest pontificate, reigning for 27 years until his death in 2005.
Pope John Paul II has been named by many as being one of the most influential people in the twentieth century. One thing that impresses most people is that he is the most widely traveled pope in the 2,000 year history of Catholicism. He spoke many languages fluently: his native Polish, Portuguese, Croatian, Ancient Greek and Latin, as well as Italian, French, German, English, and Spanish. He was quite instrumental in bringing human rights to the forefront of society and is quite noted and quoted for his conservative position on issues like abortion, homosexuality, and the death penalty. His universal call to holiness ended in his beatifying 1,340 people and canonizing 483 saints.
One role that most remember John Paul II in is his aid in the fall of Communism. Although most descriptions are vague, many agree that his ideas on human rights influenced his battle against communism. One BBC article says “For the Pope, communism was a tyranny that chopped down human freedom and saw people as mere resources to be used as the state saw fit; an attitude utterly intolerable to a man to whom each and every human being was an image of God.
The Pope’s whole outlook on war and anything that played into human suffering was that of something that could and should be avoided.

"No to war! War is not always inevitable. It is always a defeat for humanity.”
- Pope John Paul II

John Paul II is respected for his many efforts in diversifying Roman Catholicism, making it more accessible to believers around the world. He really embraced people and his charismatic personality helped him draw HUGE crowds of people to hear him speak.

His death in 2005 was widely mourned, drawing the largest gathering of heads of state in history. More than 250,000 people watched the event from within the Vatican walls- and since I’ve been there, I can attest that that’s pretty impressive. Such a legacy did he leave, that he’s been considered and named Pope John Paul the “Great”. Only three popes until today have been given the title of “Great”, including “Leo I, who reigned from 440-61 and persuaded Attila the Hun to withdraw from Rome, Gregory I, 590-604, after whom the Gregorian Chant is named, and Pope Nicholas I,, 858-867.

Personally, after doing so much research, I’m very impressed with the man. I’m even glad, now as an afterthought, that I as able to see his final resting place. It was very much a reflection of the man himself, beautifully simple in its outward appearance, but completely impressive in its austerity and sense of hope that it invokes.

Medicinal Procedure Developments (20th Century)- An Overview

So much has happened in the 20th century. We’ve been blessed with luxuries like computers and cell phones, Tupperware, and Post-It-Notes and most importantly, Facebook, but there are some things that outweigh even those. Since the year 1900, not only medicine, but medicinal procedures have advanced to the point that no one could have ever predicted. Many things we now take for granted were invented during the last century: x-rays, many important vaccines, heart transplants, and even artificial hearts were invented, and we musn’t forget that DNA was discovered, which had MANY rippling effects throughout medicine’s long journey.
For the sake of time, I’ll only focus on a few, very critical advances.


**One experience most people can admit to having is getting an X-ray taken. Not many know the origins of x-rays, so I’ll give you a brief history. It all started when a physics professor in Bavaria, Willhelm Roentgen, discovered in 1895 that radiation could penetrate solid objects of low density. To try his new cathode ray generator out, he took an x-ray of his wife’s hand that clearly showed her wedding ring and her bones. The way x-rays work is that the images show the results of different absorption rates in tissues. The calcium in your bones absorb x-rays the most, so bones look white on a film, while fat and other soft tissues absorb less, and look gray.
Building on this basic approach to looking at the body, more tests have been developed that reach even further. For example, while the two tests show different types of information, a CAT-scan also shows different images of the body than an X-ray can. While an X-ray is two-dimensional, a CAT-scan is three-dimensional. It rotates around the body while it takes pictures, providing different “slices” of information.

The MRI, developed in 1973, is another more commonly used form of imaging. Instead of using radiation, like an x-ray, the MRI uses a powerful magnetic field to align magnetized sides of hydrogen atoms of water in the body. Then radio frequency fields are used to alter the magnetization, causing the hydrogen nuclei to produce a rotating magnetic field detecable by the scanner. Whew. Thus creating an image of the body. X-rays became very popular during WWII as they were used to “diagnose pneumonia, pleurisy, tuberculosis, and to help doctors before surgery.” Pretty nifty, eh?

X-rays and MRIs aren’t the only important development of the 20th century. We also have Dr. Paul Winchell to thank for patenting the fist artificial heart in the mid-1950s. The “synthetic replacement for the heart remains one of the long-sought holy grails of modern medicine.” Even though the first heart wasn’t implanted until 1982, Dr. Willem Kolff’s persistence led to the Jarvik-7, which allowed its near death patient to live another 112 days. Since then major obstacles have had to be grappled with, issues like foreign-body rejection and external battery mobilization issues.

Lastly, I’d like to introduce the importance of the discovery of DNA during the 20th century. James Watson, of the USA, and Francis Crick, of Great Britain, introduced their double helix model in 1953, discovered in part, by x-ray diffraction images taken by Rosalind Franklin.
Being able to study the blue-prints to human life has provided many useful medical applications. Genetic engineering, or the purifying of DNA, is a medical possibility, hotly debated over. DNA is also used in forensics, as a sort of genetic fingerprinting. If any of you have ever watched CSI, you know what I’m talking about.

DNA contains the genetic information for the reproduction of a species, found in the body cells of ALL living organisms… and that includes viruses. What this means for us is that doctors have been able to produce vaccines for a wide variety of previously life-threatening diseases. “Vaccines are among the greatest achievements of modern medicine – in industrial nations, they have eliminated naturally-occurring cases of smallpox, and nearly eliminated polio, while other diseases, such as typhus, rotavirus, hepatitis A and B and others are well controlled.”

As I can’t talk all day, I will sum up by telling you that there are absolutely too many medical advances that occurred during the 20th century for me to mention.. The research and development that has gone into modern medicines during the 20th century has made an immense contribution to the improvement in health and life expectancy. YAY!

Dancing Through the 20th Century: A Brief Look

As hemlines were rising, and wars were being fought, fortunes made and lost, another part of history was being made- through dance. As I’ve written in an earlier blog about how fashion has influenced lives, I decided to write about something that affected everyone, young or old, poor or rich. Because the 20th century was full of change, culturally and technologically, it’s no surprise that many different types of entertainment emerged.

Around the time of both World Wars, a sort of craze started, as if those living during that period knew change was imminent and everything was becoming fast paced.
Dancing socially was becoming an important part of society’s entertainment, and much emphasis was placed on linking it to modern movements in the music industry. Jazz was becoming quite popular in America, and it spilled over into Europe along with swing music and dance. Encyclopedia Britannica summarizes the overwhelming popularity of Afro-American Jazz, saying “the entire spirit and style of social dancing altered radically, becoming vastly more free, relaxed, and intimate through the following decades.”

Much of the younger generation in 20th century Europe were inspired by the more provocative dances of largely more popular Latin America. The tango became the “rage of the dancing world” and other ballroom dances like the turkey-trot and the fox-trot got new jazzed up versions. Latin and African rhythmic roots inspired many of the changes in music throughout the 20th century, and its influence was and still is predominate today. Syncopated rhythms and a more “mellow swing” are just examples of this.

Just so I don’t bore you with the written information, I’ll include for you the more important visuals: dances from the 20th century. As you watch, make sure to note the quickness of the steps and the enthusiasm of the dancers. Pay attention also to their dress, as it’s very indicative of the time period and the lengths these persons were going to become more unique.

Café de Paris 1929- here's a great sample of the "club" scene

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEAVBsGd3gc


Ballroom Dancing for beginners (1929) ( Quite hilarious!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8TBHmLk1R4

another random video, just for kicks:
British Latin & Ballroom Dance competition 1963

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKd5lkFSyok

Transportation in London- What a Nifty Thing!

One aspect of British culture that changed quite rapidly during the 20th century was the system of transportation. In smaller cities, change didn’t occur as quickly as it would have in larger, more populated areas, like London. For the sole reason that I am living and traveling in London, I decided that it would be interesting to investigate the development of transportation and its effects on London’s residents.

In 1904 the first motor bus service began in London, followed shortly afterwards by the first underground electric train in 1906. What this meant for those living in London was greater freedom of movement, especially for those in the workforce. Commuting was now an option, and would become a greater one as the century progressed.

After WWI, public transportation expanded a great deal. New “omnibus” routes were established and new railway lines laid. Sir John Betjeman, a favorite broadcaster of the British, even termed it “metroland”. This metro system, now fondly referred to as the Tube, has developed into something of an icon in British culture. As the world’s oldest underground railway, it was also the first to operate electric trains. The Underground has 270 stations, and something like 250 miles of track. This effectively makes it the longest metro system in the world and, if Wikipedia is to be trusted, in 2007, “over one billion passenger journeys were recorded”. Whew. What a popular London attraction!

There are two other forms of transportation that come to mind when I think of London: the black taxi cab and the red double-decker bus. The red London bus has undergone many transformations since its beginnings as a horse drawn omnibus service providing transportation from Paddington into the city in 1829. Since then it has developed to coincide with the London Underground as part of the “London Passenger Transport Board”. What this means, you might wonder, is that anyone with an “Oyster Card” can jump on the bus or struggle onto the tube anytime they want. Personally, I think the view from the top of a cheerful red double-decker is much more fun.

As not all residents of the London area are as poor as me, I’ll take the time to give a brief history of the taxi system as well (as it is also quite vital to the transportation of happy Londoners and their guests from around the world). The taxi system in London has the longest history, starting out as a hackney coach in the 17th century. There were as few as twenty available for hire, and as tariffs started to be applied, the first taxi rank appeared in 1636. The British still use the official term ‘Hackney carriage’ to describe their taxis. Anywho, technology increased, as it is known to do, and by the beginning of the 20th century petrol-powered taxis were in service. Today, taxicab service in London is provided by the famous black cabs and by minicabs.
One piece of information I found quite interesting, and which I am going to copy and paste into my blog is about “The Knowledge” taxi cab drivers here in London have to have. My source is: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxicabs_of_the_United_Kingdom

“The taxicab driver is required to be able to decide routes immediately in response to a passenger's request or traffic conditions, rather than stopping to look at a map, rely on satellite navigation or ask a controller by radio. Consequently, the 'Knowledge of London' Examination System, informally known as 'The Knowledge', is the in-depth study of London street routes and places of interest that taxicab-drivers in that city must complete to obtain a licence to operate a black cab. It was initiated in 1865, and has changed little since. It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab-drivers, and applicants will usually need at least 12 'Appearances' (attempts at the final test), after preparation averaging 34 months, to pass the examination.”

Quite interesting, mm?

Overall, the history and information I could provide you about the transportation system here in London is quite interesting, but at times too long and too much to tell. What I can conclude though, is that Britain has been an extraordinary influence for the rest of the world, blazing a path for modern transportation with momentous innovations and many icons to leave us with a smile on our face.

If you’re still interested to learn more about transportation in London, here are some websites!
The History of the London Black Cab:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A744888

A Comprehensive History of Buses in London:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buses_in_London

The London Underground: (!)
http://underground-history.co.uk/front.php
(this one’s got great information about “ghost stations”!)

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Underground

Coco Chanel- A Fashion Must of the 20th Century

“Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening.” - Coco Chanel

As I wrote recently about women’s fashion, my interest turned to one particular woman who influenced fashion in a major way in the 20th century, Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel. This woman was famous for her contemporary relaxed style of “casual elegance” in design, but also for her pioneering fashion firsts, like pea jackets and bellbottom pants. She led a very interesting life, not only designing fashionable clothes, but also helping serve her country as a nurse in WWI. I’d like to give you a little more of a background on this influential woman of the 20th century.

Though Chanel made great effort to change her real origins, it’s determined that she was born in a poorhouse in 1883 to parents, Albert Chanel and Jeanne Devolle in the small city of Saumur, France. She was one of five children and unfortunately when she was twelve her mother died of tuberculosis. As a result of the family’s monetary problems, young Chanel was sent off to a monestary in Aubazine where she learned the trade of seamstress.
At the ripe age of 18, Coco left the monastery to work for a local tailor. While working there she met Étienne Balsan, a man whose generosity knew no bounds. He introduced Chanel to a life of “diamonds, dresses and pearls”. While Chanel lived with Balsan she started up a hobby of designing hats, which later helped her when she opened her first shop in 1913 selling fashionable raincoats and jackets.

From her humble beginnings as a simple seamstress, Chanel’s livelihood grew to include another shop in Brittany, France where she sold hats to famous French actresses. Thus, her reputation was established and by the 1920s she was expanding to include couture in her line. She started using simpler, less fashionable fabrics of the time, like jersey, which was a first in the French fashion world. According to Wikipedia, she told Harper’s Bazaar that “simplicity is the keynote of true elegance”. Her designs reflected this in her simple yet chic apparel. Interestingly enough, Chanel was quite instrumental in developing the style of the 1920’s flapper.

Chanel developed her signature cardigan jacket in 1925 and her signature “little black dress” in 1926. Her first signature fragrance, Chanel No. 5, introduced in 1921 has enjoyed immense success even until the present day. In fact, one Chanel No. 5 bottle is sold every 30 seconds. Impressive, I’d say.

As I mentioned previously, Coco Chanel had a nursing stint earlier in the First World War, and yet she’s noted more for affair with a Nazi Spy in WWII. As I had never heard this information prior to researching her on the net, it was rather interesting to me that Chanel has such an interesting liason. Unfortunately, the affair put a hold on her career as she was exiled, in a manner, to Switzerland. When she returned to Paris four years later her new collections took a while to gain success with the Parisian people. Instead, her designs took hold with Americans and her popularity grew worldwide.

Coco Chanel lived and worked in Paris until her death in 1971 at the ripe age of 87. Her legacy is a large one, full of enduring fashion classics, and yet her strong presence as a female figurehead is what makes her unforgettable still today.

“In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different”. -Coco Chanel

Women's Fashions in Early 20th Century Europe

During the 20th century much was changing in Europe. There were two major world wars and in a large part cultural views were transforming. The family’s values were changing and a sense of freedom was being instilled more in women. Because of their new found freedom, women started to revamp their lifestyles. One thing in particular I’d like to focus on is how much women’s fashions were redefined during the earlier part of the 20th century.

Because of the First World War (1914-1918), many fashions that had once been rather static began changing at an accelerated pace. The largest and most noticeable change was the hemline. According to costumes.org hems, which had risen from floor length to ankle length prior to the war, rose to midcalf by 1916 and have stayed higher ever since. Before the war, where dressing like a man had been declared ugly and immoral, now it was more acceptable for women to wear trousers and short hair. This transition towards a masculine appearance had much to do with the jobs women were taking during the war. Many men were gone to fight, and when women took over their jobs it was much more practical, and in fact safer, to habituate a masculine style. Eventually during the twenties short hair became very popular and the flapper movement upped the drama of women’s clothing. Hemlines rose to the knee and more exciting still, flesh colored stockings were being used and paired with sexy heels, (not the button up boots of years past).

As fashion is just a reflection of the values of society, trends continued to take a more casual approach as the twenties progressed. Because the values of the older generation had gotten them into war, the younger generation tended to shy away from anything that reminded them of that, most especially in clothing styles. Sexuality in all it’s forms were beginning to be embraced by women and this movement was echoed in their clothing. Thinner figures started to become popular among women and diets were put in place so they could mold themselves into that “stylish”, slimmer, flatter teenage shape. Waistlines dropped to hip length and the brassiere started to replace corsets completely.

Hollywood had a large effect not only on the fashion of America, but Europe as well. Lipstick and perms became quite popular, making salons a fashionable place for ladies to gather and socialize.

The Second World War broke out in Europe in 1939, the same year as Nylon was introduced. Even though there were other exciting new innovations during this period, because of the war, rations caused fashion to became a rather “make do and mend” style. Women’s styles made the greatest changes during this period. Men’s old suits were reused and sewn into women’s suits, “complete with the tailored details and shoulder padding previously found in the garments” (costumes.org). Rationing in Europe also encouraged less fabric use, and thus the invention of every woman’s must, “The Little Black Dress”. Trying to stay fashionable during the war was tough, but style magazines promoted this style as quite practical. Just take that simple, short black dress and change it up from day to night with different accessories.

All in all, the changes made to women’s fashion in the early part of the 20th century were considerable and quite influential during the rest of the century. I find that viewing fashion as a historical marker is quite useful and interesting if one knows what to look for.