Jack Rushton‘What If? Metropolis’

Online Greenlight Review

Robert Delaunay

• Robert Delaunay was a French artist who was known for his role in cofounding orphism, a type of art which is based around cubism but eventually moved towards a "pure lyrical abstraction". Orphism is known for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes in an absract fashion. Delaunay's work was first noticed in early 1907 and was noted for its use of mosaic-like 'cubes' to construct small but highly symbolic compositions. He continued to paint in the same style of large mosaic strikes until 1908. In this time Delaunay worked closely with his fellow french painter and good friend Jean Metzinger, with whom he developed a new sub-style of Neo-Impressionism that had great significance within the context of their Cubist works. From 1908-1913 Delaunay worked on 'the Saint-Sévrin series‘

• From 1912 onwards Delaunay started painting "nonfigurative paintings based on the optical characteristics of brilliant colors that were so dynamic they would function as the form.""His writings on color, which were influenced by scientists and theoreticians, are intuitive and can be sometimes random statements based on the belief that color is a thing in itself with its own powers of expression and form" Delaunay believed "painting is a purely visual art that depends on intellectual elements, and perception is in the impact of colored light from the eye. The contrasts and harmonies of color produce in the eye simultaneous movements and correspond to movement in nature. Vision becomes the subject of painting." This is quite an alternative view on the use of colours in art and explains the thought behind his style of painting.

• Delaunay uses strong colours and geometric shapes to create a picture rather than line drawing. For my own city I imagine that all the buildings are vibrantly coloured and consist of different geometric shapes, but when looked at from a specific angle the buildings form to make a larger picture. This is just one idea but I hope I come up with more as he is a great artist with a lot of work to take inspiration from, especially when it comes to designing a city.

•Upon further looks I discovered some art of Delaunay which is his own concepts of cities, some of which are less abstract than some of his other paintings including his series based on the eiffel tower, however some still incorporate his abstract cubism style.

Travelogue

• There are many ways in which someone can access Knullore, the most commonly used method of transport is the high speed trains that are constantly seen going to and from the city, from a distance it looks quite magical especially at night as you just see many fast moving colours attracting and retracting from the city. You can travel by foot although this is an arduous alternative as you must make your way through a complex maze of winding roads mostly blocked out by sunlight. Knullore is vastly different from any city you may have ever seen, for one distinct reason; when buildings get old and dilapidated they do not get knocked down or rejuvenated, every building is as it was made, yet the new buildings get built on top supported by metal stilts or supports from the buildings beneath them. All the buildings are separated yet still extend miles into the sky. This is why it is not easy to access the city by foot as in the lower areas the buildings are all old and mostly blocked from sunlight, very few people live near the bottom and it’s usually the poorest of the citizens who resort to dwelling there. In the very centre of the city is the Access Building (named due to it being the main access point for navigating or leaving the city) Unlike the other buildings in the city this is the only building which is one solid building from the ground to the very top, also being one of the tallest buildings in the city. It is very wide as it has been continuously built upon to remain at the same height as the latest buildings. As you walk through the access centre you notice numerous levels with many different glass tunnels pointing off in different directions. This is how you get from one building to another due to the buildings being so high off the ground this is the best way for people to get from one place to another. This means that many buildings have public walkthrough points where you can go through one building to get to another. In some areas you can walk to the roof of a building and there will be a garden area. Due to the city being so high above ground and on the ground the sunlight is usually covered up by buildings, it means that a lot of outdoor space has had to be created on the top of buildings. You would wonder how they remain resourceful in the city, despite the vast amount of trade that comes through the access centre the city also tries to be self-reliant in some aspects in the case that trade with other civilisations stops and they have to rely on their own resources. Because of this you can see many multi-level farms shining bright from the indoor luminescent lighting. By having layer upon layer of farm space built on top of each other there is easily plenty of room to grow the required amount of sustenance for the population. One of the more fascinating aspects of the city is the individual design of the buildings, not one building is the same as another in the city. Each building is a carefully designed shape often sporting a distinct colour. From a distance at daylight the city looks like a mash of vibrantly coloured geometric shapes. It is said that when looked at from a certain angle, certain sections of the city form to create an image said to be of the main architect and visionary for the city, although this is just a rumour as it is yet to be discovered. Many of the buildings have balconies extending far around the buildings due to the lack of outdoor space and the peoples’ desire for fresh air and daylight. This is in addition to the outdoor space on the tops of many buildings, including artificial parks. This is certainly not a city to visit if you have a fear of heights as it extends miles above sea level and the ground cannot be seen from many of the buildings, just an endless extension into the abyss of brightly coloured buildings, slowly getting duller and more faded the further down the city goes. At the edge of the city are 5 more access points as the city forms a pentagon-like shape when viewed from a bird’s eye view. Each linking to the main central access point, as well as extending in multiple directions to every nearby civilisation. When walking from building to building you can notice the distinct style of the city, whilst a lot of buildings follow a central theme, they are all still distinct, but the main theme that can be seen throughout is the metal supports to the buildings, without the concrete or glass walls for all the buildings it would just be a huge network of metal supports much like a crazy metal 3 dimensional spider web. But as it is it just looks like a mash of colours with metal supports and stilts going between them as well as the many glass tunnels spanning from building to building creating a large network of tunnels for people to access any corner of the city. The interior of buildings varies from building to building, some which try to be very conservative with the space inside yet some take advantage of the available space to decorate it extravagantly with lavish waterfalls and large glass sculptures to show off the lobby of their buildings or access tunnels. There are many buildings with various purposes, some just for housing the population, whereas some buildings to grow food for the people. The only form of transport between buildings is by escalators or by foot, as due to the compact composure of the buildings it would be impossible to have any other form of transport, except for of course the trains going between the access points and extending out of the city.

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