"He began his architectural career as an apprentice at the studio of Peter Behrens from 1908 to 1912

where he was exposed to the current design theories and to progressive German culture. His talent was quickly recognized and he soon began independent commissions, despite his lack of a formal college-level education. A physically imposing, deliberative, and reticent man, Ludwig Mies renamed himself as part of his rapid transformation from a tradesman's son to an architect working with Berlin's cultural elite, adding the more aristocratic surname "van der Rohe"."




how many people are able to transform themselves in this manner anymore?

is this a function of talent? mind you, i'm no fan of mies van der rohe, but it doesn't seem that people aren't as free to create themselves independent of some institution.

the thing i've noticed about educational systems is that they take from the individual as much as they create.

for example, in the university setting, if you undertake to pursue knowledge for knowledge's sake (which seems rarer and rarer nowadays) you gain much, but you lose even more from a societal (and its obsession with the punishment ethic) standpoint.

say you study philosophy, you can get a well-formed mind in the offing, but you will be somewhat unemployable in many ways.

or if you are the person who pursues a college education as a form of advanced "vo-tech" or job training (which seems to be the motivating factor for most students, the people who go on and on about "what they're gonna be when they graduate").

your courses will be heavy on multiple choice tests, the ability to fill out forms correctly and you will end up distinctly able to comply and conform with further systems beyond the university setting; namely, large corporations.

is there a middle ground, is there a way to travel lightly, aesthetically, or a way to be somewhat non-conformist that doesn't involve complete alienation and abject poverty?



le corbusier named himself that because he believed that people could reinvent themselves. how do you reinvent yourself when every road leads to the bottom line ($$$$$) or more consumer purchases?

how do you reinvent yourself when every road leads to the bottom line ($$$$$) or more consumer purchases?


tune in :tv:

turn on :smoke:

drop out :hippie:


truly, i have no idea... i just wanted to use those smilies :shrug:

you are not the person you were when you were ten.

the point is that these people made a conscientious plan about their reinvention and life.

and they were determined.

also -- especially in the case of people like van der rohe or madonna -- they LEARNED as they went along.

not allowing their mistakes to keep them down.

:thumbsup:

well, actually not my observations -- it's all stuff i leaned in history of art classes...:think: