Difference between revisions of "325--2011--Week 4 Questions/Comments"
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It is surprising that the artists were showing picturesque scenes of the railroads. What was their motivation? For some of the artists, they were paid to paint the scenes within the train cars and on the coal cars, but what about the other artists? It may be that the artists did not quite grasp the long-term effects of the train. They saw it as bringing economic prosperity and opening up new lands, which are all positive things. The most obvious answer is the idea of Manifest Destiny. Some of the paintings, such as Lackawanna Valley, show a transition between modernity and the beautiful pastoral lands, but the changing landscape does not look ugly or repulsive. In Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, it is interesting that the smoke is blowing onto the Native Americans. This could be symbolic of many things, but mostly how technology will conquer the West. ~~Kyle Allwine | It is surprising that the artists were showing picturesque scenes of the railroads. What was their motivation? For some of the artists, they were paid to paint the scenes within the train cars and on the coal cars, but what about the other artists? It may be that the artists did not quite grasp the long-term effects of the train. They saw it as bringing economic prosperity and opening up new lands, which are all positive things. The most obvious answer is the idea of Manifest Destiny. Some of the paintings, such as Lackawanna Valley, show a transition between modernity and the beautiful pastoral lands, but the changing landscape does not look ugly or repulsive. In Westward the Course of Empire Takes Its Way, it is interesting that the smoke is blowing onto the Native Americans. This could be symbolic of many things, but mostly how technology will conquer the West. ~~Kyle Allwine | ||
| − | + | In response to Kyle and what the motivation was for making the scenes of the railroad picturesque: I feel that early on, to try and convince people to travel by railway, the artists goal was to paint a picture of something that was beautiful and inviting. Drawing a picture of a train going through the desert doesn't have the same appeal to a first time traveler as a picture of a train going past a river with mountains in the background. - Matthew Beere | |
== Arthur McEvoy, “Working Environments: An Ecological Approach to Industrial Health and Safety” == | == Arthur McEvoy, “Working Environments: An Ecological Approach to Industrial Health and Safety” == | ||
