Jacopo de Pontormos The Visitation - Essay Example

Bill Viola's “The Greeting” was an attempt to put Pontormo’s “The Visitation” on video.  In order to bring a picture to life through video, Viola's scene begins with two women who after a few minutes are interrupted by a third.  In Viola's work, the first woman is middle-aged, the other younger, while the third woman is a friend of the older woman.  The third woman embraces the woman she knows, leaving out the other woman.  However, after a moment of awkwardness, the three make small talk.  All of this is an inference since there is no sound at all.  Everything on the video had to be interpretive through gestures and expressions.       

Like with “The Visitation”, “The Greeting” can be interpreted as friends visiting.  The painting and video only have more meaning, if the viewer is familiar with the Biblical story of Mary and Elizabeth.  Both Pontormo and Viola use their imaginations to portray this event.  Viola used Pontormo’s idea, to begin with, but then the video becomes his own.  Still, art has limitations that the medium of video does not have.  Viola could use more gestures and expressions to depict his thoughts, whereas Pontormo only had the medium of oil and a still depiction.  Both Pontormo and Viola's art are unique and individual, while of the same subject.

            Urban infrastructure must be sustainable.  Architecture must make urban infrastructures sustainable, whether New York City, Austin, or Tokyo.  Every urban infrastructure must have architects build public transport (buses, subways, roads, tracks), efficient buildings (green buildings, energy efficient), low impact development to protect water resources, parks, energy demanded managements.  Urban infrastructure can destroy natural resources needed to live, like trees, water, and wildlife.  Pollution can be a problem.  Good architecture can cut these problems down to manageable levels.  Architects build more than buildings.  They can plan parks, transportation routes, and every aspect of a city.

            Urban infrastructure can destroy the planet.  Pollution, destruction of water resources, pollution, and killing wildlife hurt the planet.  Artists like Mierle Landerman Ukeles bring this to attention.  She is encouraging architects to be more responsible through her art.  Mierle Landerman Ukeles’ “Percent for Art Fresh Kills Landfill Project New York City, the world's largest landfill” shows that even artists are concerned about what their art and architect do to the earth.  She also has another landfill project in Tel Aviv.  This shows how much trash humans produce in an urban setting.  This type of art depicts the horrors of irresponsible urban infrastructure. 

            With the new green movement, urban infrastructure has become more responsible.  Hopefully, in the future, this movement will continue.  Without responsible architecture and urban infrastructure, there will be no future for the human race.  Ukeles and other artists are bringing this to the attention of architects and urban infrastructure.  Soon cities will be green and helpful for the residents.  Architects will bring in a new type of city that is easy to breathe in, not polluted.