The Arts And Crafts Movement

During the 1870s a new category of art formed known as the Aesthetic Movement, which was based upon not what world was around the art, but the art itself (Pohl 284). This movement originated in England and spread throughout the Americas opposing the current views about art during the time the it arose, which was the ideology that art must always serve some sort of clandestine purpose. Artists who supported the Aesthetic Movement also denied any moral values that people gave to art. The painting that I chose that best fits the ideals of aestheticism is In the Studio, 1880 by William Merritt Chase. During the 19th century industrialization rapidly began to change American culture bringing on consumerism and capitalism, which focused on the

The Arts and Crafts Movement started in England during the 19th century evironmental effects from the simple and repetitious designs that were derived from the machine-made products during the industrial revolution. Philosophers of the Arts and Crafts movement determined that designs being created lacked aesthetic value. During that time the dull designs associates to the extensive use of machinery and the loss of the personal human touch.

Though the start of the modernisation may trace back to the beginning of Industrial Revolution. “Modernism in the design world did not exist in a fully developed form, until well after First World War.” (Wilk, 2006) Causing the great loss of lives and other countless damage to the world, it reshaped many people’s way of thinking the world. With the inspiration of early avant-garde movement, the modernism began to emerge advocating an utopian future and shared certain core principles by various styles of modernists: rejecting the past and applied ornament; forms follow function, a preference for

The Arts and Craft movement was a social and artistic movement, which began in Britain in the second half of the nineteenth century and continued into the twentieth spreading to continental Europe and the USA. Its adherents-artists, architects, designers and Craftsmen sought to reassert the importance of and craftsmanship in all arts in the face of increasing industrialization, which they felt was sacrificing quality in the pursuit of quantity. Its supporters and practioners were united not so much by a style rather than the common goal- a desire to break down the hierarchy of the arts and to revive traditional handicrafts and make art that could be affordable to all.

William’s art was majorly affected by the expressionist movement. This movement was popular among artists in the mid-twentieth century. The kept this art style until moving to a more figurative form. Perhaps the biggest transition for him was when Walker Evans convinced him to move to photography. While doing photography, he kept to his original style and improved upon

* Wright, F. (1943). “Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum” New York City. In F. S. Kleiner (Ed.), Gardner’s art through the ages: The Western perspective (14 ed., Vol. II, p. 562). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

William Morris led the Arts and Crafts movement in the 1800’s. Some of his work, like this one pictured to the left, demonstrates the beauty of the simplicity in his work. William Morris was an artist, designer, printer, typographer, bookbinder, craftsman, poet, writer and champion of socialist ideals. He believed that a designer should have a working knowledge of any media that he used and as a result he spent a lot of time teaching himself a wide variety of techniques. He also founded the Kelmscott Press which published high quality hand bound books and was very influential in the revival of the private press.

Between 1877 where William Morris wrote “The Lesser Art”, till 1919 when Walter Gropius came up with his program for artists in training, the world has witnessed not only waves of art movements. But also, one of the most devastating events in the modern history, WWI. However, for one to look at what Arts and Crafts movement have brought to the world of art, and compare it to Bauhaus, would not believe how similar the ideas of both men were. As a result of the industrial revolution, Morris wrote about unifying artists and producers, in hope to fight what he described as “vulgarity” (Gorman, 37). On the other hand, Gropius talked about the need for unifying artists with industry, in order to bring back art which became isolated in the “salons”

heavily influenced by arts and crafts movements which then moved more towards the art deco

I enjoy for my art work to be a representation of who I am as an individual. My art is mainly focused on things that are interesting to me or what I perceive to be beautiful. My subjects for my art pieces are usually people, and I like to focus on their proportions. Art to me is a form of placing my thoughts and feelings onto a piece of paper for everyone to relate as they gaze through my drawings. The materials I use for my pieces consist of mixed media and that is because I really enjoy the way these supplies can enhance the meaning of my artwork.

Cubism, like the artwork of Picasso, was the collection of scrap pieces of material, that on their own were inconsequential, but together formed a narrative of the modern world. The geometry, and symmetry found in Arts & Crafts was completely discarded in cubism, but still apparent in works like Villa Savoye, and The Schroder House. Using the collage technique, nature was no where to be found. Overtime Art Deco was exploded into the art scene, but once again utilized the aspects of craftmanship that was prevalent in the Arts & Crafts movement. Materials like plastic and steel steered art further away from the natural world that Arts & Crafts had ascertained it should be grounded in. The concrete and metal of the Chrysler building is a far cry from the plants that were believed to enhance thoughts and elevate an individuals’ level of consciousness. While the remnants of Arts & Crafts were littered among the upcoming design movements, its overall purpose and appeal had become greatly muted. But evidence of the movement is still showcased today, like the Bow Valley Ranche; its humble outside is still a marvel of the Arts & Crafts

The Bauhaus school was founded in 1919 in Weimar by German architect Walter Gropius (1883 - 1969). In 1923, Walter Gropius introduced the agreement between “creative artists and the industrial world”. The Bauhaus is most famous for the idea of combining forms and functions. They combined both fine arts and design elements to create a curriculum that trained artists and designers to be capable of producing both functional and aesthetic work. One of the main goals was to bring design and technology together. During the Bauhaus period, Fine art and craft were combined together and aimed toward problem solving for an innovative, modern and industrial society. Nowadays, the Bauhaus legacy continues in modern designs, such as minimalism, or design brands like IKEA. In this essay, I will analyze Bauhaus’s influence on modern design, including architecture and furniture design by exploring different examples from different periods of time.

By the end of the Victorian age and the 19th century, a new critical movement headed by Oscar Wilde. The Aesthetical movement came as a reaction to prevailing utilitarian Victorian social philosophies. It argues that art and criticism as only cultivating the ennobling sensibility of beauty, therefore, art is superior to life and criticism is superior to art. However, this criticism is so much attacked and criticized.

“Art Nouveau” style was not limited to paintings but, nowadays we can see this style as a form of architecture of buildings, sculpture and jewellery, glass work, ceramics and statues .

Aim of this essay is to differentiate and distinguish between the architectural academic realm and architectural real applications, what roles do avant-garde ideas play in creating this realm . In order to discuss this matter it is inevitable not to discuss 60’s architecture as some of the most avant-garde designs of contemporary times stems from that area and in specific by the people behind magazines which later on went to be just more than a magazine and became and ideology hence it is not a surprise to come across terms such as Archigramism .The pivotal role that Graphic design played in