Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, and Art Deco

Arts and Crafts Movement: A Foundation for Modern Design

First Modern Movement: The Arts and Crafts movement is considered the first step toward modern design due to its self-conscious ideology and purpose.
Design Impact: It introduced the idea that design could influence the world through industry. Art Nouveau and Art Deco later built upon this concept.
Defining 'Modern':
- 'Modern' means new, contemporary, or up-to-date; this term can be traced back to the 17th century depending on the context.
- 'Modernism' is a self-conscious design movement that emerged around 1900-1910, growing out of Art Nouveau.

Morris and the Reform of Making

Changing the World Through Design: William Morris and his contemporaries wanted to reform all forms of making through design.
Comprehensive Reform: This involved industrial, social, and political reform, with respect for experience, skill, and local culture.
Legacy of Workshops and Schools: The workshops and schools created by Morris influenced the idea that anyone can become a designer with persistence and skill development, a concept that influenced the Bauhaus school.
Cutting Out the Middleman: Morris advocated for designers to contact their public directly, bypassing factories. This idea is experiencing a revival.
Irony of Arts and Crafts: The products became expensive, leading to sales primarily to the wealthy, which was not the initial intention.
Looking to the Past: They sought inspiration from the past, not only in design and decoration but also in how making should occur, using machines as tools rather than being enslaved by them.
Idealizing Local Craft: They idealized regional, local craft and culture, which became significant in Art Nouveau.

Global Adoption of Morris' Ideals

Worldwide Influence: By 1900, groups worldwide adopted Morris' ideals, demonstrating that copying is a form of flattery.
Rediscovering Local Culture: Designers sought to rediscover and revive local crafts through design in places like Melbourne, Adelaide, Mexico, Japan, Russia, and Poland.
Quest for Cultural Identity: This involved questioning industry and its constraints on making, aiming to rediscover a lost cultural identity compromised by industrialization.
Nature as Inspiration: Nature, associated with the local environment, became an important element.
Examples in Australian Furniture: Antique Australian furniture and architecture incorporated local flora like parrots and gum leaves.

Art Nouveau and Nature

Cultural Identity Quest: The desire for a distinct cultural identity significantly influenced Art Nouveau.
Decoration from Nature: Decoration followed natural forms in the local environment, with stylized patterns of plants, animals, birds, and insects.
Botanical and Zoological Studies: Students in the late 19th century focused on drawing plants to perfect their skills in rendering decorative elements.
Anthony Gaudi's Influence:
- The Catalan architect Anthony Gaudi studied botany, zoology, and photography to expressively reinterpret nature.
- He rediscovered and utilized local craft traditions in glass, ceramic, wood, and iron.
- Gaudi's patron was a tile manufacturer with a large factory, showing the intersection of industrialization and unique artistic expression.

Catalan Modernism

Rapid Industrialization: Rapid industrialization and a wealthy middle class emerged in Catalonia.
Desire for Self-Expression: The new middle class sought unique expressions of their background, language, culture, and music.
Quest for Identity: Modernity brought a quest for identity, with individuals seeking to understand who they are.

Fascination with Nature

Nature and Divinity: The fascination with nature stemmed from the belief that nature revealed the footprints of God.

Owen Jones and the Grammar of Ornament

Alhambra Jones: Owen Jones, known for his work on Moorish culture in Spain, wrote a book about the Alhambra.
Grammar of Ornament: His book, "The Grammar of Ornament", was popular and embodied ideas of learning from the past and other designers' understanding of nature.
Encyclopedia of Patterns: The book aimed to provide modern designers with a range of patterns and images to inspire their own style, addressing the perceived lack of expression in the industrial world.
Critique of Industrial Design: There was a growing belief that industrial design was flawed and aesthetically poor, leading to calls for reform and improvement through better education.

Design Education and Reform

Design Schools: The emergence of design schools reflected the belief that better education could transform design.
Beliefs About Design Education: Each design movement had distinct beliefs about design education.
Jones and Dresser: Owen Jones and his pupil Christopher Dresser taught in new design schools, advocating for industry involvement while emphasizing the need for design reform.
Rejection of Factory Conditions: Like Morris, Jones and Dresser likely opposed the exploitative conditions in factories.
Christopher Dresser's Work: Dresser's designs, influenced by Japan, are considered part of the Morris room in some museums. He is credited as one of the first industrial designers and was skilled in graphic and visual arts.

Cultural Shift in the 1880s

Influence of Japan: The influence of Japan grew stronger, particularly among younger artists who rejected Morris's moral utopianism and medievalism in favor of exoticism.
Aesthetes and Symbolism: Aesthetes, devotees of beauty, were interested in symbolism.
Art as Exploration: Art was expected to display forbidden, concealed, erotic, and even evil aspects of life, paralleling psychologists' and philosophers' efforts to uncover hidden motives.
Aubrey Beardsley and Oscar Wilde:
- Aubrey Beardsley's stark, cynical, and erotic prints used flat Japanese perspective techniques.
- Oscar Wilde and Beardsley believed art was independent from life, rejecting the social and moral purpose advocated by Morris.

Carlo Bugatti and Interior Design

Changing Ideas: The ideas of Morris were transformed, with the subconscious, symbolism, and emotion becoming increasingly important in art.
The Dandy Figure: The emergence of the dandy, a tortured, self-obsessed individual, reflected the belief that art should explore one's inner depths.
Split Between Art and Life: This furthered the division between art and life, separating art from science, reason, progress, utility, and money, and emphasizing pleasure.
Eastern Philosophy Influence: Explorations into Eastern philosophy, such as theosophy, became more prevalent.

Art Nouveau Emergence

Turbulent End of Century: Art Nouveau emerged during the turbulent Fantasiecle period, named after Samuel Bing's shop in Paris, "Maisons De La Nouveau".
Commercial Element: In Italy, it was known as Steel Liberty or Liberty Style, named after a shop in London, indicating a commercial aspect.
Nature as Dynamic: Nature was viewed as dynamic and evolutionary, influenced by studies in biology, botany, and photography, including the study of movement using stop-motion photography.
Technology and Craft: Art Nouveau combined a love of craft and local tradition with a fascination for new technology and materials like concrete.
Japanese Influence: It showed a fascination with all things Japanese, including visual arts and textiles.

Aesthetes Influence

Self-Expression: The aesthetes' ideas of art as self-expression were influential, while the Arts and Crafts commitment to making remained, even if their social purpose was rejected.
Arthur Mackmurdo: Arthur Mackmurdo, a follower of Morris and Arts and Crafts, founded the Century Guild and is credited with one of the earliest examples of the Art Nouveau style.

Art Nouveau Characteristics

Drawing Room by Samuel Bing: A drawing room furnished by Samuel Bing, featured in Studio Magazine, exemplifies the complicated character of Art Nouveau with its dynamic and busy aesthetic.
Rejection of Victorianism: It rejected Victorian historicism, eclecticism, and revivalism, aiming for originality and dynamism.
Embracing Local Craft: It embraced local and regional craft, utilizing modern techniques and machines when appropriate.
Use of New Materials: Buildings incorporated steel, concrete, and large glass plate windows.
Connection to Fine Art: It related closely to fine art, Japonisme, aestheticism, and symbolism.
Decoration Based on Nature: Decoration was based on natural forms observed through botanical and biological studies.
Asymmetrical Lines: It favored asymmetrical, curvilinear lines in both structure and decorative detail.

Art Nouveau Paradoxes

Forward and Backward Looking: Art Nouveau was forward-looking, exploiting new materials and modern science, while also backward-looking, using regional crafts and traditional images.
Exotic Influences: It was fascinated by the exotic, particularly Japanese and, to some extent, Chinese forms.
Regional and International: It was both regional and international, spreading rapidly throughout the world.
Self-Consciously Modern: Art Nouveau was the first movement to be tagged as "modern design."

Catalan Expression: Modernista

Combining Craft and Industry: Catalan expression of Art Nouveau featured a combination of skillful craft and industrially produced materials.
Wealthy Industrialists: Wealthy industrialists developed an area of Barcelona with expressive and unique houses designed by figures like Gaudi.
Catalan Revival: The movement accompanied a revival of Catalan culture and language.
Romantic and Commercial: Like many modern movements, it was both romantic and commercial.

Gaudi's Legacy

Gaudi's Sagrada Familia: Gaudi's unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, is being completed by an international team.
Reevaluation of Gaudi: Modernist architects in the 1960s initially dismissed Gaudi, but younger architects later recognized his significance.
Pattern and Tiling: Another Catalan architect showcased the use of pattern and tiling, particularly in glass, with materials produced industrially but assembled by skilled artisans.

Art Nouveau in Visual Communication

Commercial Success: Art Nouveau was commercially successful in visual communication, especially in print media.
Posters: Ideal for advertisements, aided by color printing technology.
Alphonse Mucha: A leading Art Nouveau poster designer, Mucha was involved in reviving Czech culture and art.
Commercial Art Elements: This new commercial art combined technology, stylized natural elements, hand-drawn lettering, and often featured stylized figures with dynamic lines.
Jules Chere: A French artist, Jules Chere, created numerous ads for theatre shows and products.
Australian Art Nouveau: The quick global spread is exemplified by Australian artist Sidney Long, who transformed the Australian landscape into an Art Nouveau style.
Political and Cultural Nationalism: Regionalism was often tied to political and cultural nationalism, using nature and history as frames for identity.

The Persistence of Historicism

Middle Class Preferences: Historicism persisted among the middle class, even as Art Nouveau and modern styles emerged.
Neo-Egyptian Style: A designer criticized the American tendency to fill homes with antique and reproduction furniture.
Importing Antiques: Americans spent 2,000,000,000 importing antiques from Europe between 1910 and 1940.
Rejection of Art Nouveau: The wealthy may have found Art Nouveau too disruptive and busy, instead looking to the past for stability and status.

Modern Confusion Among the Middle Class

Paradoxes of Style: The middle class experienced confusion with the dynamics of modernity.
Romantic Village World: Period styles evoked a romantic world reminiscent of arts and crafts.
Antiquing in Design Directories: Design directories in New York featured mostly reproduction designs because they sold well.
The Tapestry Business: Tapestries were popular, highlighting the conflict between old and modern tastes.
Arthur Lee & Sons: Arthur Lee & Sons, an influential firm that spread Art Nouveau, later reverted to reproducing old styles because they couldn't sell modern designs.

Art Nouveau's Journey to Modernism

Confusing Terminology: Terminology for Art Nouveau varied by region: Art Nouveau in France and England, Liberty in Italy, Jugendstil in Germany, and Succession in Austria.
Common Goals: All expressions followed Morris, seeking to change the world, combat bad design, and react against historicism.
Influence of Science and Technology: They were influenced by science and technology, aiming to create a modern style inspired by Arts and Crafts ideals and Japanese design.
Decline Due to Parody: Expressive styles became parodies of themselves, leading to abstraction and the beginnings of modernism.

The Vienna Succession

Move Towards Abstraction: The Vienna Succession took ideas into abstraction, opposing the decorative features of Art Nouveau.
Gustav Klimt: Artists like Gustav Klimt felt excluded from the academy and led this movement.
Influence of Foreign Artists: The association attracted many foreign artists and designers to its exhibitions, influenced by impressionism.
Scottish Designers: Designers Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald's geometric decorations were particularly influential.
Ver Sacrum: Ver sacrum was a magazine that displayed these artistic talents, revealing a path towards a simpler and clearer modern style.

Art Deco Emergence

Move to Simplicity: Transition to simplicity and flatness also occurred in Art Deco, which started appearing in the 1920s.
Art Deco Exhibition: The Expo of the Art Decorative Industrial Modern in Paris in 1925 was pivotal. Corbusier coined the term Art Deco.
Future Focus: Art Deco looked to the future, technology, and electricity.
Fashionable Style: It was fashionable in ship interiors, commercial spaces, and posters.
Tamara de Lempicka: Artist Tamara de Lempicka's work epitomized the Roaring Twenties and the style.
Dissemination Channels: Disseminated by movies, ship and hotel interiors, offices, textiles, and furniture.
Commercialization: A commercialized form of the Succession, popularized by department stores after 1926, making this a widely available modern style.
Modern Style Misinterpretation: Art Deco was often confused with the "modern style" which created an ideological misinterpretation influenced by the Bauhaus and the modernists.
Poster Emphasis: Emphasized speed, power, movement, social change and more in posters.
Visual Communication: Well suited for visual communication because of it's simplicity, clarity and color.

Modernism vs. Historicism

ideological War: Modernists waged war against the past to encourage the wealthy to embrace their designs.
Tasteful Historicism: What the wealthy were doing at the time was tasteful.
Future Focus: Modernism's machine focus promoted people to desire the thought of machines which made them turn back to nature.
Pockets of Resistance: Antiqies remained popular, and there are many versions of modernism.
Neo-Georgian Style: Styles were popular because they tend to make people make a romantic return to nature after the destruction war brings.
Modern Art Combined with Antiques: People who collected Tudor and Start oak furniture collected French and Australian art.

Conclusion

Shift of Boundaries: Change happens with a slow, progressive shifting of boundaries influenced by economics and war.
Different Contexts: Different contexts, such as the depression, made people think about the future, but take refuge in the past.