London Rooms: St. George's Bloomsburry Church

St. George's Bloomsburry built between 1716-1730, is a site of political/architectural mayhem, ultimately designed by the renowned architect Nicolas Hawksmoor.

The Architect:

Nicholas Hawksmoor(1661-1736) was a English architect, born in Nottinghamshire at Ragnall. Hawksmoor didn't come from a privileged back ground like the other famous architects of that time. He designed several beautiful churches and is known for his unique eye for details. His very original church designs are baroque in their monumentality and sense of mass. His work ranged from small architectural details to ambitious urban plans, from new parish churches to work on the monument of his age. Critics of the time found his work to be a bit of a mish mash and repetitive.

Introduction & History of the site:

St. Georges Bloomsburry

Due to the rapid development in the Bloomsburry area this historic church was built between 1716 and 1730 as a result of Queen Anne's New Churches Act of 1711, which called for "Fifty new Churches of stone and other proper materials, with towers or steeples to each of them." Hawksmoor designed six of these churches, St. Georges Bloomsburry being his last. The land at which this church was built was originally a part of the parish of St. Giles in the fields.

This plot of land was rectangular in shape with a north - south axis and surrounded by buildings on all sides thus raising a huge problem as the commissioners stipulation 1711 clearly stated that no new church can be built on any land if the axis of the same is not east-west. Hawksmoor's final designs for this church were only accepted after the initial designs of James Gibbs and Sir John Vanburgh were rejected.

Then there's the tower. This is surely the oddest church tower in the land: a pyramid, of all things, topped by a statue of George I in Roman garb, with a pair of lions and unicorns cavorting around its base !

St. Georges Bloomsburry, Stepped Pyramid Stepple

Hawksmoor, a master of the English Baroque style, is said to be inspired by the temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Lebanon, for this master piece and a stepped pyramidal steeple inspired by the Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus, an ancient Greek City in present - day Turkey. The steeple came topped with the only statue of George I and the pyramid also supported four 10' creatures - two lions and two unicorns.

The temple of Bacchus in Baalbek, Lebanon

The Tomb of Mausolus at Halicarnassus

The church continued to evolve and change and the last major restoration occurred in 1871 under the direction of George Edmund Street. He kept the north-south orientation and updated the church to Victorian tastes. At this time, the massive unicorns and lions on the steeple were deemed frivolous and potentially unsafe and were removed.

The Bloomsbury church had to be sandwiched into an existing street. The allotted site posed considerable problems, since it was longer running north-south than east-west. Ideally, in Christian tradition, the altar would be at the eastern end of the church, but in this case, that would have made for a short, wide nave rather than a long, narrow one. A sort of limited competition, between James Gibbs, Vanbrugh and Hawksmoor, was held to see who could come up with the best solution. The commissioners chose Vanbrugh's design, which put the altar to the north. But Hawksmoor persisted, and eventually won through, with an ingenious plan that allowed for an east-west orientation.


Interior:

The rectangular limestone building (130x90 ft. with a 42-ft. ceiling) featured a symmetrical interior with the apse and altar on the eastern wall, as dictated by the church at the time. Hawksmoor was able to incorporate this east-west orientation in spite of the rectangular north-south site. Two galleries along the north and south walls faced each other and provided open, clear views of the altar and massive reredos in the apse, and clerestory windows provided ample daylight.

Since the time of construction, the Church has a long architectural account that includes many twists and turns.

Within a year of the church's opening in 1731, there were complaints about the lack of space.
The church had under gone constant changes and a west gallery was added early on and additional pews were added to increase the seating to almost 1,000. In 1781, the interior was re-oriented on a north-south axis and the north gallery was removed so the reredos and altar could be moved to this wall. The south portico became the main entrance, the pews were shifted round 90 degrees and the windows behind it were blanked out. And that is more or less how the building stayed.

The most recent is a five-year restoration that was completed in 2006. Inspired by the World Monuments Fund (WMF), the project brought the ailing structure back to life to serve the community for at least another century or two.

Conclusion:

According to my observation Nicholas Hawksmoor did a very good job in designing the church according to the requirements of the authorities, within the limitations of the allocated site. He also managed to keep it as beautiful and hospitable as possible without taking any liberties outside the given parameters. Keeping the east west orientation on a rectangular plot with a north-south axis is the proof. He used the space very intelligently and kept it well lit ultimately creating a hallucination. But doing all this he missed out on the relevance of the structure for a longer period of time. The numbers of renovations on the structure are the result of that. The structure could not stand relevant for a very long period of time without being tampered with and in the end all the parameters he worked within had to be changed. What I infer from the example of Bloomsbury is that a structure should primarily be designed keeping in mind the available plot and resources and the design should be judged on the long-term relevance of the structure so that it stays relevant for a long period of time to stand as a representative of its architectural style without being hampered.

References

• Meller, Hugh (1975) St. George's Bloomsbury: an illustrated guide to the church. London: St George's Church ISBN 0 9504224 0 1
• Roberts, Ursula (1955) Portrait of a Parson; by Susan Miles [pseud.] London: Allen & Unwin (William Corbett Roberts, 1873-1953, rector of St George's)

I am uploading some pictures and a video which shows the kind of experimentation I've been up to with regards to enlightening people about film lighting. Al though this video might be very vague and confusing for some but for those who understand will see how I have described some technical words like Key light, Back light etc. in my own Language of art! This is an ongoing experiment and I wont stop till I see what I want people to see. Enjoy!

B4 the Designing starts!!

Before I move forward with what I wish the rooms to look like in shape size etc. I am putting my finger down to what will be projected in each one of them (lighting conditions). Also I'm uploading a video which is a quick tip on film set lighting. This is helping me choose what each room does! Al though the guys in the video might be boring the video is really helpful.

Thoughts and Ideaz

First ThoughtsThe above rough sketch is an idea developed from a film reel spool. Basically there are a set of rooms in the shape of a spool and in the center is a camera placed on a dolly that goes around in a circular motion. Each room has the same object inside it but is set up with different lighting conditions, thus enlightening people about how the change in lighting completely changes the view one receives through films. The camera is there for people to film themselves inside the rooms; Along with the camera is a pair of headphones playing different tracks as the dolly moves from one room to another for enhanced effect!

Enough Research!

So after gathering all the info I needed.. I am starting off I'm looking at a film reel spool for starters as the shape is quiet intriguing. For my project I wish to inform the people that film making is not just something you do by clicking the record button on your camera. Its an industry that has matured over time and the sheer reason for that is hard work! More to come ;)

More from Anthony McCall

My favourite-Anthony McCall

British artist Anthony McCall has a cross-disciplinary practice in which film, sculpture, installation, drawing and performance overlap. McCall was a key figure in the avant-garde London Film-makers Co-operative in the 1970s and his earliest films are documents of outdoor performances that were notable for their minimal use of the elements, most notably fire.
Below are some examples of his work that have really inspired me.

A break

Right time for a break enjoy the video. I loved the way they have shown the change in time. But what I also noticed here was Lights were used even in black and white films yet the change in technology has brought lighting to a complete new level!

More Lights!

Below are some more examples of lights used in different areas which I personally find interesting:

Olafur Eliasson - "Seeing Yourself Seeing"

More from Olafur Eliasson

work by Olafur Eliasson

Olafur Eliasson is a Danish-Icelandic artist. In 1995 he established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin, a laboratory for spatial research. Eliasson represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003 and later that year installed The Weather Project in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern, London.
Eliasson has engaged in a number of projects in public space, including the intervention Green river, carried out in various cities between 1998 and 2001; the Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2007, London.
Below is a particular piece by him that I really like, called "Your Making Things Explict"-2009

Dan Flavin- constructed light

more from Dan Flavin

work by Dan Flavin

Dan Flavin was an American minimalist artist. For more than three decades, he (1933-1996) vigorously pursued the artistic possibilities of fluorescent light. The artist radically limited his materials to commercially available fluorescent tubing in standard sizes, shapes, and colors, extracting banal hardware from its utilitarian context and inserting it into the world of high art. The resulting body of work at once possesses a straightforward simplicity and a deep sophistication.

Dan Flavin's "Untitled (To You, Heiner, With Admiration and Affection)" in the atrium of the National Gallery in Washington.

In Dan Flavin retrospective at the National Gallery in Washington: "Untitled (In Honor of Harold Joachim)," from 1977.

Dan Flavin's "Icon V (Coran's Broadway Flesh)," from 1962.

celestial events-James Turrell

Oh! for the record JAMES TURREL is an artist primarily concerned with light and space..LOL.

work by James turrel

Reasoning time!

I was told that the video's I uploaded recently; topic called 'light show' are "cheesy" and has no reference to what I've been researching i.e. they are Random (Thank you very much as this has helped me a million). After reasoning with myself I realized that they aren't. I've been studying how lights are used in the film world to gain technical knowledge but at the same time I'm looking at how that can be used in my project. These light shows might be pointless but the point I'm trying to prove here I that lights form an important part in one's life (Every one had a smile on their face when the light show started at least for the first few seconds). Imagine the whole world being like an old, early 19th century black/white film! The thought itself makes me go crazy. Anyway I'll soon be uploading the work of some great artists who have been working with lights and I think I know where I'm taking this project now! Al thought my knowledge about lighting might be not that great but its sufficient to prove to all those who think film making is a piece of cake. I'm thinking of calling my project 'The Making' as one doesn't understand the fact that a simple shot like a man sitting in a car in daylight takes many people holding Floods, reflectors etc. to gain the perfect lighting conditions inside the car to achieve the best final shot!
To be Continued...

Lights on different Surfaces

I am adding a link to this particular website which describes where and how lights are used and projected ! (Both natural and man made)

http://www.itchy-animation.co.uk/tutorials/light01.htm

Lights on 3D Images

This is an experiment with some 3D images of planet Mars on which I have added some artificial lights. Basically after reading about Light projections I decided to play with the same on 3D images. I don't know if the Images are still 3D but I'm pondering over the thought that what will happen if real lights are used on 3D images. Will there be any difference??


Spot Light

Point Light

Original Image

Light show!

Science Museum

This is one place I often visit to see the high level of interactivity between the museum and the people in there. But in this visit I went with a specific purpose. I was looking for a section where they'd have something related to lights. Unfortunately I never found anything but because I had an agenda I noticed that they had a huge no. of spots and LED's everywhere to add to the look of the place just like the way lighting is used in movies!!
I am now looking at different light shows to see how one gives life to lights!

Invention

Rembrandt lighting!!

More lighting tips

lighting tricks and tips

Light in Depth

LOW KEY LIGHTING

Low-key lighting is a style of lighting for photography, film or television. It attempts to create a chiaroscuro effect. In traditional photographic lighting, three-point lighting uses a key light, a fill light, and a back light for even illumination. Low-key lighting requires only one key light, optionally controlled with a fill light or a simple reflector.

Low key light accentuates the contours of an object by throwing areas into shade while a fill light or reflector may illuminate the shadow areas to control contrast. The relative strength of key-to-fill, known as the lighting ratio, can be measured using a light meter. Low key lighting has a higher lighting ratio, e.g. 8:1, than high key lighting, which can approach 1:1.

The term "low key" is used in cinematography to refer to any scene with a high lighting ratio, especially if there is a predominance of shadowy areas. It tends to heighten the sense of alienation felt by the viewer, hence is commonly used in film noir and horror genres.

HIGH KEY LIGHTING

High-key lighting is a style of lighting for film, television, or photography that aims to reduce the lighting ratio present in the scene. This was originally done partly for technological reasons, since early film and television did not deal well with high contrast ratios, but now is used to suggest an upbeat mood. It is often used in sitcoms and comedies. High-key lighting is usually quite homogeneous and free from dark shadows.

In the 1950s and 1960s, high-key lighting was achieved through multiple light sources lighting a scene—usually using three fixtures per person (left, right, and central) —which resulted in a uniform lighting pattern with very little modeling. Nowadays, multiple hot light sources are substituted with much more efficient fluorescent soft lights which provide a similar effect.

The advantage to high-key lighting is that it doesn't require adjustment for each scene which allows the production to complete the shooting in hours instead of days. The primary drawback is that high-key lighting fails to add meaning or drama by lighting certain parts more prominently than others.

Most recently, shows with bigger budgets moved away from high-key lighting by using lighting set-ups different from the standard three-point lighting. Part of the reason for this is the advent of new lighting fixtures which are easier to use and quicker to set up. Another reason is the growing sophistication of the audience for TV programs and the need to differentiate.

The term "high-key" has found its way from cinema into more widespread usage, for example referring to an event that requires much organization or is subject to a great deal of publicity.