Study On Landscape Architecture Artistic View Of Dan Kiley

Dan Kiley was the founder of American landscape architecture in the modernist style. Standing at a turn from old to new era of the American landscape architecture, he advanced along the inherited path and translated various classic garden elements into a modern spatial sensibility. He played a significant role as a nexus connecting traditional design principles and new architectural thinking. In this study, I found that Dan Kiley’s deep affiliations with nature as a whole are rooted in his landscape architecture artistic view, by which he strived to reveal nature’s power, create spaces of structural integrity, and build landscapes of clarity and infinity. This paper also studies on Dan Kiley’s understanding of garden art design, which seeks to contribute to the future research on the philosophical side of modern garden design.This paper studies Dan Kiley’s speeches, panel discussions, publications, and influential projects, based on landscape architecture artistic view, as well as various philosophical and aesthetical theories, such as classicism, deconstructivism, modernism, and transcendentalism. This studies uses literature review and case study as two major research methods. Three main conclusions are as follows:(1)As his practical experience grew with his age, he critically reflected on the Le Notre’s garden designs, the relationship between human and nature and lifestyle, as well as the relationship between landscape and architecture, and the art. He criticized the traditional two-dimensional design, the design that mimics nature, and the behaviors that destroy traditions. He also challenged the "Revival Style" and Harvard’s curriculum in the architecture department. In his reflection, Dan Kiley gradually developed his view of garden art, which was not only influenced by the society, but also was driven by his inner desire and the acknowledgement of his own identity.(2)Dan Kiley, inspired by space, the universe, and the nature, developed an art view that links to landscape architecture. Dan Kiley thought that garden was a space of flows and that the design shouldn’t have been two-dimensional, but three-dimensional, because space is continuous and infinite. Since nature has secret strength of growth, landscape design should use an organic structural way to reflect this natural order. Also, because garden is a combination of form and function, the design should follow the principle by which form follows function. In addition, the garden should be designed in a way that promotes harmony between landscape architecture and landscape, the landscape and the natural world.(3)From the three aspects:truth, virtue and beauty, I critically examined Dan Kiley’s architecture art philosophy and conclude that "truth" is seen in his adherence to natural order and his commitment to the continuation of tradition; "virtue" seen in his people-oriented style and respect for the nature; "beauty seen in his seeking for the harmony between human inhabitation and the nature. The "Truth" is from the awareness of substance, which, opposite from illusion, is the judgment that people make to identify substances. "Virtue" is human’s value system determined by his or her self-awareness of the world. And only by having "truth" and "virtue", can one’s cognitive perception eventually enter the phase of perceiving and understanding the "beauty" of the substances.In conclusion, Dan Kiley’s view of garden art takes many forms and is inspired by his understanding of the nature, the universe, and the space. As a designer that connected the old and the new era of landscape architecture and a founder of the modernist style, Dan Kiley’s architecture philosophy serves as a precious study subject that will not only provide a reference for us designers to develop their own view of garden art, but also help us explore a way of garden design that is unique to China.