0 00:00:08,538 --> 00:00:11,234 - Now we come to the symbolic aspect of the Brooklyn Bridge, 1 00:00:11,234 --> 00:00:13,130 and to look at the symbolic aspect, 2 00:00:13,130 --> 00:00:16,258 I will touch upon just three artists that were stimulated 3 00:00:16,258 --> 00:00:19,063 by this bridge, although there are many more. 4 00:00:19,063 --> 00:00:23,258 John Marin was an American modern artist of the early 1900s 5 00:00:23,258 --> 00:00:26,918 who is known for his abstract landscapes and watercolors. 6 00:00:26,918 --> 00:00:30,381 Marin sees this bridge as a dance, and a few years ago, 7 00:00:30,381 --> 00:00:32,622 when David Billington was here with his son, 8 00:00:32,622 --> 00:00:35,424 his son was actually inspired to dance as well, 9 00:00:35,424 --> 00:00:38,581 so we see his son jumping as he's crossing 10 00:00:38,581 --> 00:00:41,731 this elevated walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge. 11 00:00:41,731 --> 00:00:43,819 Another artist that was inspired 12 00:00:43,819 --> 00:00:46,313 by the Brooklyn Bridge is Joseph Stella, 13 00:00:46,313 --> 00:00:49,695 who sees the city through the bridge. 14 00:00:49,695 --> 00:00:52,522 Stella is an Italian-born American painter best known 15 00:00:52,522 --> 00:00:55,084 for his depictions of industrial America, 16 00:00:55,084 --> 00:00:57,998 especially his images of the Brooklyn Bridge. 17 00:00:57,998 --> 00:01:00,295 In this painting, The Brooklyn Bridge, 18 00:01:00,295 --> 00:01:03,795 he sees three components of the city in a Dante-esque way: 19 00:01:03,795 --> 00:01:07,785 the subway is Inferno, the streets and deck are Purgatory, 20 00:01:07,785 --> 00:01:10,261 the cables are Paradise, 21 00:01:10,261 --> 00:01:13,583 and the bridge expresses these emotions. 22 00:01:13,583 --> 00:01:16,184 The theme of Stella's painting is seeing the city 23 00:01:16,184 --> 00:01:19,750 through the bridge, seeing the culture through engineering, 24 00:01:19,750 --> 00:01:22,979 and one of his most famous is a set of five paintings 25 00:01:22,979 --> 00:01:25,506 called New York Interpreted. 26 00:01:25,506 --> 00:01:27,221 Finally, we'll look at Hart Crane, 27 00:01:27,221 --> 00:01:29,127 who's not a painter but a poet. 28 00:01:29,127 --> 00:01:32,776 Hart Crane sees the nation through the bridge. 29 00:01:32,776 --> 00:01:36,115 In the 1920s, one of the most famous poets, T.S. Eliot wrote 30 00:01:36,115 --> 00:01:39,717 The Wasteland, which is a very depressing poem, 31 00:01:39,717 --> 00:01:42,109 and Hart Crane, who was a controversial poet, 32 00:01:42,109 --> 00:01:44,867 responded with The Bridge, 33 00:01:44,867 --> 00:01:47,985 which is a more optimistic and lyrical view. 34 00:01:47,985 --> 00:01:51,233 Author Alan Trachtenberg's interpretation of The Bridge 35 00:01:51,233 --> 00:01:55,070 is this, he says, quote, "Brooklyn Bridge lay at the end 36 00:01:55,070 --> 00:01:58,335 of the poet's journey, the pledge of a cognizance 37 00:01:58,335 --> 00:02:00,535 that would explain and redeem history. 38 00:02:00,535 --> 00:02:03,017 To reach the bridge, to attain its understanding, 39 00:02:03,017 --> 00:02:05,342 the poet suffered the travail of hell. 40 00:02:05,342 --> 00:02:08,449 But he emerges unscathed and ascends the span. 41 00:02:08,449 --> 00:02:11,116 The entire action implies a steady optimism 42 00:02:11,116 --> 00:02:13,953 that no matter how bad history may be, 43 00:02:13,953 --> 00:02:17,427 the bridge will reward the struggle richly." 44 00:02:17,427 --> 00:02:19,993 Hart Crane lived for many years in Brooklyn, 45 00:02:19,993 --> 00:02:22,814 and an eerie coincidence is that he actually lived 46 00:02:22,814 --> 00:02:25,892 in the same place that Washington Roebling lived 47 00:02:25,892 --> 00:02:28,479 while he was paralyzed and looked out the window 48 00:02:28,479 --> 00:02:31,495 at the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. 49 00:02:31,495 --> 00:02:36,110 100 years later, in 1983, a centennial celebration was held 50 00:02:36,110 --> 00:02:38,471 with fireworks, similar to when it opened, 51 00:02:38,471 --> 00:02:41,835 we had fireworks, 100 years later there were fireworks. 52 00:02:41,835 --> 00:02:45,633 Many people were there to celebrate this landmark bridge 53 00:02:45,633 --> 00:02:49,099 and many people didn't understand the significance 54 00:02:49,099 --> 00:02:51,589 or the history of the bridge, as you now understand it, 55 00:02:51,589 --> 00:02:53,933 but they know it was an important bridge. 56 00:02:53,933 --> 00:02:55,850 It was a Roebling family effort, 57 00:02:55,850 --> 00:02:59,451 John Roebling, Washington Roebling, and Emily Roebling, 58 00:02:59,451 --> 00:03:02,775 that made this bridge a reality, but it was John Roebling's 59 00:03:02,775 --> 00:03:05,772 vision, dream, and perseverance that made it 60 00:03:05,772 --> 00:03:09,307 a technical and a symbolic success. 61 00:03:09,307 --> 00:03:11,969 That concludes an abbreviated study of the Brooklyn Bridge 62 00:03:11,969 --> 00:03:15,063 but I definitely encourage you to read more about this. 63 00:03:15,063 --> 00:03:17,924 This is not just a technical story of a bridge, 64 00:03:17,924 --> 00:03:20,359 but is a story that demonstrates the perseverance 65 00:03:20,359 --> 00:03:24,000 of not only a family, but of a community of builders. 66 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:26,046 In the next lecture, we stay in New York City 67 00:03:26,046 --> 00:03:28,591 and study other iconic bridges of the area, 68 00:03:28,591 --> 00:03:31,020 bridges that transformed communities, 69 00:03:31,020 --> 00:03:34,165 and also set bridge design trends across the nation. 70 00:03:34,165 --> 00:03:38,112 I hope you'll join us.