Anna Januchta-Szostak

Bio: Anna Januchta-Szostak is an academic researcher from Poznań University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Public space & Water-sensitive urban design. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 19 publications receiving 78 citations.

The Role of Public Visual Art in Urban Space Recognition

Abstract: People in a modern city are like rats in a maze1 They need a tool of space recognition to get acquainted with the environment they have been forced to live in Historically towns owed their uniqueness to deep roots in local tradition The central market square constituted the heart of the town A magic circle of the ramparts and the moat determined a safe and familiar existence space, which the inhabitants could easily recognize and flawlessly identify with It was the legible street network, connected by the nodes of squares, marking out formally important places, that facilitated the ‘wayfinding’ (Lynch, 1960) in urban maze Compact, hierarchical sky-line of the town, dominated by domes of churches and a town-hall tower, constituted a characteristic visual code of urban space2 Since the time of Industrial Revolution, cities used to give their inhabitants a sense of security and an opportunity of spatial orientation thanks to their small size and ordered grid layout within a limited area Along with spatial expansion of 19thand 20th-century cities, consequent development of their suburbs and mixture of forms, functions and architectural styles, a chaos crept into cities, defined by S Chermayeff and Ch Alexander as “modern space salad” Modernism, introducing globally unified architectural patterns and inhuman scale urban structures, rejecting traditional harmony and hierarchy, contributed to the sense of disaffection and alienation in a big city Simultaneously though, the same modern trends started off the revolution in visual arts Artists’ abandoning lounges for the sake of the streets, freedom of artistic voice and expression of form, inspired a number of research on the processes of artwork perception as well as its social and even political role in the public space (Kwon, 2002) The paper deals with the theories on urban space recognition and the role of public art in raising the ’imageability’ of urban enclosures as well as their cultural quality and social attractiveness The author presents the methodology of visual art location in urban public places on example of Poznan city

Methodology of Visual Art Localization in Public Spaces on Example of Poznan City

Abstract: In the times of unification of cultural patterns the art in public areas takes on a very responsible role – creating cognitive map and emphasizing identity of the place. Valuable architectural and sculpture monuments take deserved top position in creating unique townscape. But not only spectacular buildings create the image of the city, sometimes inconspicuous sculptures become city symbols. The subject of research conveyed by the author in Poznan was the quality of public areas and possibilities of making them more attractive by introducing monuments and water elements. Autor define the typology of public art objects (considering their function, form and scale) and methodology of lacalization from the city-scale (according to the viewing popularity aspects and rank of the place) to the csale of indyvidual urban interior. The spatial and social role of sculpture in urban area was analized on examples of public places in Poznan.

The Perception of the Visual World. By James J. Gibson. U.S.A.: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1950 (George Allen & Unwin, Ltd., London). Price 35s.

Abstract: Let's read! We will often find out this sentence everywhere. When still being a kid, mom used to order us to always read, so did the teacher. Some books are fully read in a week and we need the obligation to support reading. What about now? Do you still love reading? Is reading only for you who have obligation? Absolutely not! We here offer you a new book enPDFd the perception of the visual world to read.

Race on Display@@@All the World's a Fair: Visions of Empire at American International Expositions, 1876-1916.

Abstract: Robert W. Rydell contends that America's early world's fairs actually served to legitimate racial exploitation at home and the creation of an empire abroad. He looks in particular to the \"ethnological\" displays of nonwhites-set up by showmen but endorsed by prominent anthropologists-which lent scientific credibility to popular racial attitudes and helped build public support for domestic and foreign policies. Rydell's lively and thought-provoking study draws on archival records, newspaper and magazine articles, guidebooks, popular novels, and oral histories.

World of Fairs: The Century-of-Progress Expositions

Abstract: In the depths of the Great Depression, when America's future seemed bleak, nearly 100 million people visited expositions celebrating the \"century of progress.\" These fairs fired the national imagination and served as cultural icons on which Americans fixed their hopes for prosperity and power. In \"All the World's a Fair\", Robert W. Rydell described how Victorian-era world's fairs helped create a blueprint for modern America. Now, with \"World of Fairs\", he shows how the interwar exhibitions heralded the arrival of modern America - a new empire of abundance built on old foundations of inequality. Rydell demonstrates how the fairs reached their height of popularity following the crash of 1929 by offering a vision of recovery from the Depression through the united powers of science and industry. Beneath the surface, however, lay persistent themes of imperialism and racism as government officials, industrial leaders, and intellectuals alike used the fairs to reinforce their own authority and the established social order. Rydell revisits several fairs, highlighting the 1926 Philadelphia Sesquicentennial Exposition, the 1931 Paris Colonial Exposition, the 1933-34 Chicago Century of Progress Exposition, the 1935-36 San Diego California Pacific Exposition, the 1936 Dallas Texas Centennial Exposition, the 1937 Cleveland Great Lakes and International Exposition, the 1939-40 San Francisco Golden Gate International Exposition, the 1939-40 New York World's Fair, and the 1958 Brussels Universal Exposition.