Andromeda International Documentary - Makedonia 5/5

Year(production) 1984 Thessaloniki, Thessalonica or Salonica (Greek: Θεσσαλονίκη) is the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia and the second-largest city of Greece. It is also the capital of the Thessaloniki prefecture and the capital of the EU region (or, synonymously, Greek periphery) of Central Macedonia. Today's population of the city's metropolitan area is around 1000000. The city was founded circa 315 BC by Cassander, the King of Macedon (Μακεδών), on or near the site of the ancient town of Therma. He named it after his wife Thessalonica, the half sister of Alexander the Great. Thessaloniki means the "victory of Thessalians". The Apostle Paul landed at Thessaloníki (after Kavala and before Veria) on his second voyage to Europe (Acts, xvi. 11), and in Byzantine times the city was called symbasileousa 'συμβασιλεύουσα' (vice-capital) in Greek. Byzantine Greek brothers Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius were born in Thessaloníki. Thessaloníki was part of the Ottoman Empire from 1430 to 1912. Thessaloniki was the main "prize" of the First Balkan War, as a result of which it was united with Greece on October 26, 1912. This date has an immense importance for the city as, in addition to the aforementioned historic event of the unification, it also marks the nameday of Saint Demetrius, its patron Saint. Thessaloniki is a vibrant city and its commercial port is of a strategic importance for Greece. It is a major economic, industrial, commercial and cultural center as well as ...

Saving Civilization Through Architecture - Rationalism and the International Style

Image : http://www.flickr.com

A recurring theme in all forms of modern art is the attempt to reform civilization through art. In the first half of the twentieth century, this idea was taken quite literally in the realm of architecture. The architect saw himself as a potential savior for mankind. Mies Van der Rohe, the father of the International Style, focused on ideal, purified forms with rectangular shapes.

These intersecting planes were free of ornamentation and challenged the traditional notion of buildings as mass and weight. Steel beams and large panes of glass were increasingly available due to the emerging industrial technology. These materials could be used to create impersonal, universal forms. Through architecture, the proponents of the International Style claimed, man would experience a more egalitarian, rational way of living. The insanity and horror of World War I had demonstrated that man was in desperate need of rational thought and action.

Although appropriate for corporate structures, the new style proved to be too impersonal and unaffordable for the common man. Responses to the International Style included the more organic forms, irregular shapes and textured surfaces of the architect LeCorbusier. Frank Lloyd Wright, the most famous of modern architects, emphasized the relationship between buildings and their natural environments. Other Post-Modernists such as Charles Moore returned to utilizing references to tradition to create delightfully ornate structures.

Likewise, the attempt to focus on rational forms extended into the realm of fine art and applied crafts. The Bauhaus, a school of modern art formed in 1918, produced designs with simple forms and clean surfaces which could be mass-produced. These prototypes were intended as low cost alternatives which would be both attractive and utilitarian.

Instead, some critics interpreted them as anti-human. Responses to these designs included the organic, decorative Arts and Crafts movement in England and Art Noveau in general. Ironically, the rationalism exemplified in the sterile forms of the International Style was eventually replaced in both architecture and fine art by movements such as Surrealism which were a conscious exploration of man's hidden, irrational nature.

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