Signifier of Victorian Architecture - Annotated Bibliography Example

Signifier of Victorian Architecture Research Question: What qualities (e.g. doors and windows) of the Victorian architecture have a particular meaning? Annotated Bibliography Crinson, Mark. Empire Building: Orientalism and Victorian Architecture. Routledge, 2013. Print. Crinson claims that the Victorian architectures have a lot to tell regarding the cultural exchanges that have taken place over the years. This claim is based on his sub claim that the buildings from the Victorian era are forgotten convictions and monuments in a world that has lost its glory. The colonial architectures from the nineteenth century have a lot to tell regarding the cultural exchanges that have taken place over the years and the history of colonialism. Crinson further adds grounds to support his claim by explaining that those buildings represent an architectural style that the architects made absurdly incongruous. The architecture was like that, so that it could fit with the period and all that was going on at that time. This architecture applied to almost all the buildings from that time. Some people maintained older architectures. The Victorian architectures have several readable meanings because the forgotten convictions, monuments and architectural style show the religious and cultural aspect (Crimson 5). The forgotten convictions, monuments and the architectural style show that there has been a transformation over the years probably due to interaction with other cultures and architectures from all over the world that have influenced the current architecture. The source is valid as Crinson presents evidences that support his arguments fully. For example, he gives sufficient evidence to support his claim by showing the cultural exchanges that influenced the Victorian architecture. The evidences presented by the author are objective research and not personal narrations. Moreover, Mark Crinson is a professor of Art History in Manchester University. This book is relevant to my topic as it addresses the qualities of the Victorian architecture that have a meaning. The book’s conclusion on the Victorian architecture is applicable to my subject area because the book succeeds in showing that religious and political agendas and the racial theory were responsible for guiding the architects during the Victorian era. The book’s targeted audience is any individual who is interested in learning about how the Western architecture has changed over time and what has been its major influence and in turn how it has influenced the architectures in other continents especially the architecture and history students. The book develops my research by providing a lot of information on the changes that have occurred from the Victorian era. This book builds on Psappp rra’s research by adding more content to the factors that influence architecture like Orientalism and religion. Top of Form Dobraszczyk, Paul. Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2014. Print. Dobraszczyk points out his main claim that some engineers, manufacturers, architects and theorists from the Victorian era believed that fussing iron and ornaments would end up in the reconciliation of art and technology because of the evolving architecture. The evolving architecture leads to the creation of new, modern architecture. Then, he states his sub claim that the Victorian architectures have several readable meanings because of the development of mechanized iron architectural ornament during that period. To support his sub claim, he describes the mechanized iron architectural ornament developed in Victorian architecture. In addition, the flourishing and the theorization could be seen as grounds because it shows how the Victorian architecture has evolved with the changing culture (Dobraszczyk 260). By analyzing his article, it is obvious to know that some people did not embrace the use of iron as much as it had flourished during the Victorian era and not every architect or building owner was into iron. However, the development of mechanized iron architectural ornament shows that the architectures were modernized over time and that it was received well as it was the choice for many architects. Dobraszczyk’s book is valid as he presents evidences that support his claim fully. For example, he gives sufficient evidence to support his claim by showing how architects embraced the use of iron very well. The evidences presented by the author are objective research and not personal narrations. Moreover, Paul Dobraszczyk is a qualified researcher as he is a research associate of Art History & Visual Studies t in the University of Manchester in the UK. The book is relevant to my topic. This is because the book talks about the Victorian era and the significance/ meaning of the materials used in constructions. However, it is not broad enough to address the qualities of the Victorian architecture that have a meaning and thus its conclusion cannot be generalized to fit my research. The book’s targeted audience is any individual who is interested in learning about the different materials used in the Victorian architecture and the significance of iron over the years, especially the architecture and history students. The book develops my research by providing a lot of information on the construction materials from the Victorian era. This book builds on the all the researches by describing the materials used in construction. Hood, Jamie S. "William Burges -- Designer, Scholar And Collector: Accurate Representations Of Arms And Armor In The Architecture Of Cardiff Castle." Arms & Armor 6.2 (2009): 144-174. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. The image shows Armor displayed above a Cabinet (Burges's collection). Hood claims that the collection of arms and armor and their use in architectural decorations was extremely popular all over Europe during the 19th century because the arms and armor were utilized to create ambience and decorate baronial halls in the Gothic castles. He uses the work of William Burges to show this because William Burges was a great collector of illuminated manuscripts and those manuscripts supplied the bulk of evidence for Hood’s research (Hood 149). The use of armor and arms sprung up all over Europe in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars. Hood then states his sub-claim that this style of using arms and armor was influenced by the world around and it ultimately affected the art of the period. Hood adds grounds to support his claims by explaining that there was an abundance of antique arms and armor available on the open market. The conquering French army liberated a bulk of this material as trophies of war and they originated from arsenals and various dynastic collections from across Europe, especially those of Vienna and Munich. Much of this ultimately found its way into the possession of the Parisian antiquity dealers and, in turn, used for decorating buildings. Hood’s article is valid as he presents evidences that support his argument fully. For example, he supports his claims by showing the work of William Burges a renowned scholar, designer and collector who is known for collecting manuscripts regarding the Victorian style. Additionally, the evidences presented by the author are objective research and not personal narrations. Moreover, Jamie Hood is a conservator in the Metals Section at the Department of Conservation and Scientific Research in the British Museum and his article is peer reviewed. The article is relevant to my topic. This is because the article describes the use of armor in decorating buildings and its meaning. The research is broad enough to address the qualities of the Victorian architecture that have a meaning and thus its conclusion can be generalized to fit my research. The article’s targeted audiences are mostly design students. The article develops my research by providing a lot of information on how the use of arms and armor in the Victorian era. This article builds on the research provided by the other four scholars as the author provides in-depth information the buildings and materials used during the Victorian era. He even goes ahead to provide photographic evidence in his research. Top of Form Psappp rra, Sophia. Architecture and Narrative: The Formation of Space and Cultural Meaning. Routledge, 2009. Print. Psappp rra points out her main claim that the Victorian architectures have a lot to tell regarding the art of designing buildings and other spaces that can be experienced through movements and usage because of the pspatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering. The pspatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering constitute the most important ways of shaping, using and perceiving buildings. Then she states her sub-claim that the Victorian architectures have several readable meanings. She further adds grounds to support her claim and sub-claim by explaining that the spatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering show that the Victorian architecture is perceived in an almost similar manner. Of course, the spatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering vary greatly among the Victorian architectures. Even if the culture and colonialism affected the Victorian architectures, there is no way people could have shaped, viewed and perceived the buildings in a similar manner. Therefore, the buildings were built differently but with some similar qualities that defined the Victorian architecture. Psappp rra’s book is valid as she presents evidences that support her argument fully. For example, she supports her claims by showing the numerous factors, including culture and colonialism, that affect the architecture. The evidences presented by the author are objective research and not personal narrations. Moreover, Sophia Psarra is an Architecture Professor who has collaborated with leading scholars in both the US and the UK in conducting her research. The book is relevant to my topic. This is because the book talks about architecture as part of the whole, in reference to the Victorian architecture (Psarra 260). The research is broad enough to address the qualities of the Victorian architecture that have a meaning and thus its conclusion can be generalized to fit my research. The book’s targeted audiences are mostly architecture students. The book develops my research by providing a lot of information on how the spatial, social narrative and conceptual ordering affect the architecture of a building. This book builds on the research provided by the other four scholars as the author provides in-depth information on the factors that influence the type of architecture. Bottom of Form Wheeler, Katherine. Victorian Perceptions of Renaissance Architecture. Farnham Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014. Print.Bottom of Form Wheeler claims that the Victorian architecture is a corruption of the Renaissance architecture that existed before because they share some similar qualities, though minimum. Many changes have taken place over the years, from the Renaissance architecture to the Victorian architecture to now the modern architecture. Wheeler supports his arguments by citing a mid-1880s article by a British architectural journal that was influential, which described the Victorian Architecture as being a corruption of the Renaissance architecture. She then states her sub-claim that the Victorian architectures have several readable meanings because of the conflicting characterizations that exist on the effect of Victorian Architecture to the modern Architecture (Wheeler 103). She further adds grounds to supports her sub-claim by explaining that the modern architectural profession attributes its discovery to the Victorian Architecture. Of course, not all scholars agree that the Victorian Architecture influences the modern architectural profession. This is because not all scholars are objective. However, all scholars agree that the buildings in the Victorian era had similar qualities that defined the era and all that were happening during that period. Wheeler’s book is valid as she presents evidences that support her argument fully. For example, she supports her argument very well by citing a mid-1880s article by a British architectural journal that was influential, which described the Victorian Architecture as being a corruption of the Renaissance architecture. The evidence is thus objective. Moreover, Katherine Wheeler is an assistant Professor at the University of Miami in the USA and scholars have reviewed the book. The book is relevant to my topic. This is because the book talks about the Renaissance architecture in the Victorian era. However, it is not broad enough to address the qualities of the Victorian architecture that have a meaning and thus its conclusion cannot be generalized to fit my research. The book’s targeted audience is any individual who is interested in learning about the conflicting characterizations of Victorian architecture in the late nineteenth-century especially architecture and history students. The book develops my research by providing a lot of information on Renaissance architecture. This book builds on Psappp rra’s research by adding more content to the factors that influence architecture. Work CitedBottom of Form Crinson, Mark. Empire Building: Orientalism and Victorian Architecture. Routledge, 2013. Print. Dobraszczyk, Paul. Iron, Ornament and Architecture in Victorian Britain: Myth and Modernity, Excess and Enchantment. Burlington, VT: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2014. Print. Hood, Jamie S. "William Burges -- Designer, Scholar And Collector: Accurate Representations Of Arms And Armor In The Architecture Of Cardiff Castle." Arms & Armor 6.2 (2009): 144-174. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Oct. 2014. Psappp rra, Sophia. Architecture and Narrative: The Formation of Space and Cultural Meaning. Routledge, 2009. Print. Wheeler, Katherine. Victorian Perceptions of Renaissance Architecture. Farnham Surrey, England ; Burlington, VT: Ashgate, 2014. Print. Read More