Modern Architecture

¶ … International style of architecture was a major style that emerged, and rose in popularity, in the 1920s and 1930s. The term "International Style" stems from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson written to record an International Exhibition of Modern Architecture that was held at the Museum of Modern Art. This occurred in New York City in 1932. This International Exhibition not only identified, but categorized and expanded upon characteristics common to Modernism. The impact was felt across the world.

Hitchcock's and Johnson's goals were to define a style of that time, which would encompass this new, modern architecture. They identified three unique principles: "the expression of volume rather than mass, balance rather than preconceived symmetry and the expulsion of applied ornament" (Henry Russell Hitchcock). All the works which were displayed as part of the exhibition were carefully selected, as only works which strictly followed the set of rules were displayed.

"The most common characteristics of International Style buildings are rectilinear forms; light, taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decoration; open interior spaces; and a visually weightless quality engendered by the use of cantilever construction. Glass and steel, in combination with usually less visible" (Encyclopedia Britanica). The stark, undecorated appearance of the International style was met with harsh criticism and continues to be criticized even today. Such criticism gained momentum in the later part of the 20th Century.

Academics even contributed to the rise of such counter-movements. The negative reaction to internationalist modernism can be linked "…to public antipathy to development overall" (Jobst). By the 1920s the most important icons in modern architecture established their reputations. The three main architects of this style in the United States at the time were: Louis Sullivan and Frank Lloyd Wright in Chicago, as well as the west-coast residences of Irving Gill.

The main ideals of the style are commonly summed up in four slogans: ornament is a crime, truth to materials, form follows function, and Le Corbusier's description of houses as "machines for living." Due to the Great Depression, this minimalist trend swept the nation. This was a serious change for America and the artists living in America. Because of the Great Depression, most artists were finding their selves unemployed and starving. The government started what they called the New Deal. This was a program to help employ these artists.

The New Deal lead to Mount Rushmore, poster art, multiple murals and more. Everyone was facing turmoil and yet there was a light that drove people which was their spirit to survive. In art of all forms from the new jazz and musicals filling the air and radios to the great books produced and architecture, it was transformed into an extreme with one end looking overly optimistic with insight and hope to the other end of the spectrum seeking escapism from the plight.

In architecture we saw the grandest buildings constructed like the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building which helped citizens to maintain their faith in the American system in a time desperation was conquering. It helped give us an identity as a nation with many new styles of art from music, photography, fine art, literature, sculpting or architecture. Bibliography Encyclopedia Britanica. "International Style." Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2011. 1105-1108. The authors of Encyclopedia Britanica provide details on specific subjects.

In this specific occurrence, the authors visit the topic of the International Style of Architecture. The most common characteristics of International Style buildings are rectilinear forms; light, taut plane surfaces that have been completely stripped of applied ornamentation and decoration; open interior spaces; and a visually weightless quality engendered by the use of cantilever construction. Henry Russell Hitchcock, Philip Johnson. The International Style. W.W. Norton and Company, 1997. This work is one of the most influential works of architectural criticism and history of the twentieth century.

Initially produced as a catalog to accompany a controversial and groundbreaking 1932 Museum of Modern Art show of the then new architecture emerging in Europe and America,.