English School, 19th Century, Snow Hill, Holburn, London from Wikipedia Commons
English School, 19th Century, Snow Hill, Holburn, London from Wikipedia Commons
CC 4.0 Sourced from Christie’s
CC PD 4.0 Sourced from Musopen
Upon researching topics the idea of the Industrial Revolution came into mind as I’ve always been more of a city buff. Yet at the same time I enjoy nature and it’s gifts such as horses, dogs, cats, trees, and flowers. How can someone want to both be in an urban center yet have nature all around them at the same time? Although I’ve never been or lived in London I have lived in New York and often would find myself strolling in Central Park, appreciating flower stands, or watching birds and squirrels make homes in the trees. Wondering why people are drawn to the nostalgia of living more among nature it brought me to my audio choice being a part of Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, specially the pastoral suite pt. III. The theme of the pastoral contrasting with London a portrait of Industrial Era London may seem strange at first. However, when you look more closely at the painting you see elements of nature all through the cityscape such as the roads still being open dirts, trees growing along the buildings, and storefronts painted with earthy colors. It makes me feel that people even in large cities still feel a sense of nostalgia for when humans were more immersed in nature and are still trying to recreate it.
Hi Jacob,
You’ve selected a reproduction of one of my favorite kinds of paintings for your post: historical landscapes/cityscapes. I spent a good deal of time looking over each detail in the frame, with a densely packed composition that invites the viewer to spend time with the image. I’m particularly drawn to the storefronts and advertising; early manifestations of a commodity-driven culture. The height of the buildings and presence of horse-drawn buggies and carriages are the primary elements that separate the image from those of more recent, 20th century cityscapes. The movement from Beethoven’s 6th Symphony that you selected for the soundscape is evocative, bringing to mind both the pastoral theme of the piece, as you mentioned, but also the increasing urbanization and cultural literacy of 19th century Europe (the original patrons of Beethoven’s masterworks). Highlighting the perseverance of nature in spite of industrialization is an interesting path to take in exploring urbanization, since the two seem initially opposed, yet the continued proliferation of urban greenery in contemporary city design (The High Line in NYC comes to mind) speaks to the importance of this dichotomy.
The formatting of your audio and that of your citations needs a little bit of workshopping. The audio itself is not embedded in the post, instead linking to an external page for playback and an option to download it to the users’ device. If you encountered difficulty with WordPress due to the duration of the file, you could probably upload the file to Soundcloud and embed a URL for playback within the post accordingly. I see that the author of the painting is listed as anonymous on the Wikimedia Commons page, but I think you should still acknowledge this in your attribution. Also, there is no hyperlink to the corresponding Creative Commons pages for the image and audio’s respective licenses. Remember to provide an attribution for your newly created derivative! With a couple quick modifications, your post will be looking perfect.
Hi Jacob,
Your image is a beautiful painting. It evokes a historical atmosphere, transporting the viewer to the old world. I like how it represents an urban landscape with elements of nature present as well. Personally, it reminds me of an old game I used to play with my family, Masterpiece. In this game, there were many old paintings like your image. I feel nostalgic and appreciate the beautiful artwork from so long ago.
Your audio also reminds me of the old world. It feels timeless and brings a sense of calm, complementing the atmosphere of the painting. I like the paring as it evokes a historical atmosphere and transports me back into 19th-century London. I can almost imagine walking down those streets with this music playing as people walk through the city.
Other audio pairings like nature sounds or city noises could have worked well with the point you are trying to make about the intersection between industry and nature.
Unfortunately, your audio pairing is not set up to be embedded in your blog post. To hear the audio, I have to either download or click the link, which takes me to a separate page with just the audio. I cannot experience the image and audio together seamlessly. Make sure you are going through the Media tab to import your audio and test your blog post before posting! This can help you catch small mistakes. Other than that, great job!
Hi Jacob! The image you chose is super cool and has a lot of elements to look at. It is a nice peek into the past and it’s strange to think about how different our streets used to look. I really enjoyed looking at all of the small pieces that the painting depicts. The audio you chose is upbeat and instrumental, and on its own evokes a sense of adventure for me. The audio and image paired together make me feel like I’m setting off on a new adventure in the big city. The pairing is really nice and I think what you said about finding bits of nature sprinkled throughout the industrial landscape was really fascinating. I didn’t even notice the earthy tones until you pointed them out.
From a technical standpoint, the only thing I noticed was that you did not embed the audio to play through the built in audio player. I had to either download the audio or open it in a new tab. Next time I would suggest using the embedded audio player so that readers can more easily access the audio.