Introduction to Modernity and the Visual: The Evergreen

After reviewing the course information and the magazines on the Yellow Nineties 2.0 website, I was the most interested in The Evergreen. My main interest stemmed from the topics of the magazine: urban renewal, greenspace, and social regeneration and how Celtic renewal and international, interdisciplinary, and experiential education can ameliorate these issues. Compared to the other magazines, The Evergreen is the only one predominantly focused on the environment and how it influences the social and political circumstances of its time. In addition, the magazines are all divided into four volumes based on season with the textual and visual elements collectively working to express each magazine’s designated season as a focal point for discussion. The focalization of season interested me the most, and the first page of volume one of The Evergreen immediately constructs the magazine’s focus on seasons: “Four seasons fill the measure of the year; / There are four seasons in the mind of man”. The quote parallels the cycling of the seasons to the psychological cycle of the human mind. The four volumes’ seasonal focalizations are implied then as insights into the psyche of the mind during those times of the year and explore how climate, seasonality, and human interaction with the environment creates an identity for each season.