Cruiser Bikes!

After the successful commercialization of the automobile, bicycles became recreational vehicles. These were expensive and occupied a comparable market to the modern road bike. During the depression, demand for an inexpensive and practical bike came into view. This evolved into the cruiser bike, a single speed bike with large tires, stylized after the motorcycle. During their peak, cruisers were valued for their simplicity and utility. Eventually, they evolved and were largely superseded by mountain bikes and BMX bikes. Cruisers have made a comeback however, and ironically…

Rock Stacking

As a Mechanical Engineer, I have found the aesthetics and physics of  rock stacking to be interesting. For people that do not know of this art, rock stacking is when you take rocks and stack them on top of each other to produce a structure. Rocks tend to(but not always) have minimal flat edges, are stacked vertically and only 1 rock tends to be used as a base. This art requires the creator to find the center of mass of each rock and place it perfectly…

Aesthetics of Suburbia in TV Commercials

Suburban communities, also known as suburbia, is an ideal epitome of the American Dream. This ideal way to live started in the 20th century, and was particularly helped by the end of World War II because military personnel were drawn to the aspects of a comfortable community built for families and safety [1]. Suburbia is well known for its pleasing homes which are well maintained and well ordered away from city centers. A big aspect of these communities is the idea that your house needs…

An Architect’s Aesthetic

An architect has their own aesthetics, not just their buildings. These aesthetics generally reflect an architect’s attitude and desire to stand out from everyone else. The idea of an architect’s style of clothing probably originated sometime around Le Corbusier (1930’s) who is seen wearing the iconic black, round-framed “Harry Potter” glasses. He was known as “the raven” because he dressed in all black. This was more for function than anything else, because he could work all day and get his clothes dirty, but go to a…

The Beautifully Deadly Box Jellyfish

Nature consists of some of the most amazing aesthetics not just in the visual design, but in the functional design as well.  I wanted to look specifically at the strongest and weakest animal on earth, the box jellyfish. http://www.planetdeadly.com/animals/dangerous-jellyfish https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwjVppSfqLLKAhVQ2mMKHekYCGwQjRwIBw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.tumblr.com%2Ftagged%2FBox%2Bjellyfish&psig=AFQjCNE4opDMSWYP-6NoRmmxsu9hcTv9UA&ust=1453170044800788 The box jellyfish is a beautifully delicate and extremely lethal animal.  This carnivorous jellyfish located off the coast of Australia has an extremely fragile body and lives less than a year.  To overcome its anatomical flaws, this jellyfish developed the most deadly venom that stings…

Strandbeest

Animaris Umerus, Scheveningen beach, The Netherlands (2009). Courtesy of Theo Jansen. Photo by Loek van der Klis As a future engineer taking Aesthetic of Design class, one of the first things that came in mind was the Giant Beest, better known as StrandBeest. Strandbeests are the work of artist and physicist Theo Jansen. He started building them in 1090 and today he is one of the most recognized artists for his work. Giant Beesta are truly giant standing as big as 6m in length, 5 m in width, 4.7 m in height…

The Chinese Lion Dance

This aesthetic dates back to the Qin Dynasty (221BC-206BC). The lion dance is one of the most vibrant performance arts that the Chinese history passed along. It was so popular that other Asian countries like Japan, Tibet, Korea and Vietnam adopted it and to this day have their own versions of the lion and performance. The lion dance is usually performed on the Chinese New Year accompanied with musical instruments consisting of gongs, drums and cymbals. The beating music helps the performers synchronize the Lion’s…

“Retro” architecture

In modern architecture, the retro-style appears when brand new buildings are built with the same features (brick facades, roof materials, etc.) as the older buildings that surround them. The time difference between the new and old buildings is often nearly a century. This aesthetic instills a sense of oneness/homogeneity and nostalgia to the region in which it is applied. Modern baseball stadiums (since the early 90’s) have heavily used retro-style architecture. Here are some examples: Left to right: Coors Field (1995), Mine & Smelter Supply Warehouse (1909), Zang Building (late 1800s) Left to…

The Art of Running and the Kenyan Lifestyle

My aesthetic of choice would have to be Kenyan Runners as a whole. Though many people would not consider athletes to be aesthetics, I believe that the form they run with is a work of art. Everything they do has purpose and intent. The Kalenjin runners, in particular, are known to be some of the strongest distance runners in the world. This tribe of runners come from the Rift Valley Province of Kenya. “Kalenjin have particularly thin ankles and calves” (MacDougall). This serves as a…

Shabby Chic

image: pintrest.com, courtesy of “Here’s Earl.” As we prepare for our warm-up project in Upcycling, the aesthetic that first comes to mind is “Shabby Chic”. The popularity of Shabby Chic is evident by the vast number of articles and images featuring it. It’s also a mainstay in artisan marketplaces like Etsy.com, where creative hopefuls go to try their hand in e-commerce. So what is Shabby Chic? And why is it so popular? You know it when you see it. That telltale sign of an old…