Art History Notes mod 9 done

Ancient Andean peoples developed textile technology before ceramics or metallurgy.
Textile fragments found at Guitarrero Cave date back to approximately 5780 B.C.E.
Techniques evolved from simple twining to complex woven fabrics over millennia.
By the first millennium C.E., Andean weavers had mastered techniques such as double-faced cloth and lace-like open weaves.
Early Andean textiles were made from reeds, later transitioning to yarn from cotton and camelid fibers.
Cotton was cultivated in various colors (white, brown, grayish blue) on the coast.
Alpaca provided soft, strong wool in natural colors (white, brown, black) in the highlands.
Cotton and wool were dyed using sources like cochineal (red), indigo (blue), and other local plants.
Alpaca wool dyes more easily than cotton.
Brightly colored fibers symbolized status and wealth due to the time and effort required for dyeing.

Ceramics were less valuable than textiles but important for spreading religious ideas and showing status.
Plain everyday wares were used for cooking and storing foods.
Elites used finely made ceramic vessels for eating, drinking, and as status symbols.
Vessels decorated with images of gods or spiritually important creatures were given as gifts to cement social obligations.
Andean ceramic styles varied, but some elements were consistent.
Wares were mostly fired in an oxygenating atmosphere, resulting in ceramics with a red cast from the clay's iron content.
Some cultures, like the Sicán and Chimú, used kilns that deprived the clay of oxygen, resulting in brown to black surfaces.

The New York Public Library is located amidst busy streets near Times Square and Grand Central Terminal.
When construction began in 1899, Fifth Avenue north of 42nd Street was mostly residential, with mansions of wealthy industrialists and bankers.
The library's horizontality contrasts with the tall skyscrapers surrounding it.
The library's official name is The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations, resulting from an 1895 merger.
The merger included the Astor and Lenox private libraries and the Samuel J. Tilden Trust, which was created to fund a public library.
New York City's population grew dramatically in the 19th century (from about 60,000 in 1800 to over 1.5 million in 1890).
Civic leaders and philanthropists believed that new cultural and social institutions were needed to serve the growing and diverse population.
The earlier libraries were small and not centrally located enough to serve the needs of the growing city.

The Terrace is divided into upper and lower sections with symmetrical stairs and formal design.
Jacob Wrey Mould designed the Terrace's ornament until 1874.
The Terrace features a fountain with Emma Stubbins' Angel of the Waters sculpture, installed in 1873.
The Arcade, located beneath the Terrace steps, has a ceiling decorated with tiles designed by Mould and manufactured by the Minton Tile Works in England.
The Terrace was conceived as the city's "open air hall of reception."
North of the Lake is the Ramble, with twisting paths and rocky outcroppings of schist.
The northernmost edge of the park is the most rugged and least visited section.
The Ravine, Glen Span Arch, small brook, and waterfalls are located in the Ramble.
Glen Span Arch is made from massive, rough-faced stones.

Central Park was a product of its time, combining aesthetic ideas, urban concerns, and political will.
Its success led Olmsted and Vaux to design Prospect Park in Brooklyn (1866-73), the Buffalo park system (begun 1868), and Riverside, Illinois (1868).
Olmsted later designed the campus of Stanford University (1889), the Druid Hills district in Atlanta (1892), and the grounds of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893).
The landscape philosophy developed by Olmsted and Vaux influenced Jens Jensen's "prairie landscapes" in Chicago.
Harper's Magazine declared in 1862 that Central Park was "the finest work of art ever executed in this country."

The photograph uses artistic conventions of landscape painting.
The composition is narrowly focused, confining the viewer's eye to the rock and ruins.
The photograph lacks a standard light source, but light plays a role in the play of light and dark on the rock walls.
The ruins emphasize the traditional Romantic interest in man's insignificance when confronted with nature.

Timothy O'Sullivan began his career as an apprentice in Mathew Brady's studio.
He documented the Civil War as part of Brady's team but resigned due to a dispute over authorship.
O'Sullivan's war images have a haunting quality, such as "A Harvest of Death" (1863), which depicts a misty landscape in Gettysburg littered with corpses.
O'Sullivan's photograph is a stark reminder of the realities of the conflict.

O'Sullivan traveled west photographing as part of geological survey teams in the late 1860s and 1870s.
The expeditions were challenging, involving the transportation of men and equipment through the wilderness.
O'Sullivan nearly drowned on an early expedition.
Photographs were exposed on large glass plates, and many images were lost.
In 1873, O'Sullivan led a group to explore the rock formations and archaeological remains in Arizona around the Canyon de Chelly.
The photograph in Canyon de Chelly depicts ancient pueblos built by the Anasazi or Navajo.
O'Sullivan was one of the first to capture this scene, followed by others like Ansel Adams.
The Canyon de Chelly became a National Monument in 1931 and is jointly managed by the National Park Service and the Navajo Nation.

The competition brief required four roadways connecting the east and west sides of Manhattan through the park.
Olmsted and Vaux submerged their "transverse" roads below ground level.
This design created a continuous expanse of park differentiated by designed topography.
The submerged roads allowed for attractive bridges to embellish the drives and walking paths.

The park is laid out to create distinct visual experiences.
The layout helps visitors navigate the vast space and provides picturesque variety, contrasting with the city's gridded layout.
South of the reservoirs, the park features pastoral areas, including the Sheep Meadow.