Desma 10 Fall 2010 Design Culture - an Introduction Notebook No. 4 Meeting 5, October 22, 2010 Modernism and Design for Public Spaces ***** The Challenge of the Modern Around 1900 the world was changing. The new topics of culture included speed, new technology, urbanization, new communication media, changing social formations and gender roles. The big question was: how can design reflect these changes and contribute to them? Art Nouveau was the first design movement that purported to be truly modern and international. It wanted to introduce a total aesthetic encompassing all forms of creativity, and - most importantly - bridging art and design. Art Nouveau claimed to be free from the stylistic trends of the past, but in fact was still very eclectic. However, its influenced were often different from those that influenced design in the Victorian era. Art Nouveau showed much interest in simulating natural phenomena and ornaments. For some observers this seemed to be in contradiction with the scientific, mathematical and industrial principles of the dawning machine age. ***** Modernism and the afterlife of romanticism - The paradox of modernism: it purported to be a total break with the past, but it was in many ways associated with the Romantic era. - Modernism inherited the idea of the visionary larger-than-life artist-hero (Le Corbusier, Tatlin...) - Modernism looked for a new unity of the arts, recalling Richard Wagner’s quest for “Total Work of Art” (Gesamtkunstwerk) that would be more than a sum of its parts. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) created operas for the Bayreuth festival, purporting to unify all the arts. ******** Searching for the New Unity- The unity of the arts was often also seen as a spiritual unity. Search for the synthesis of all the arts manifested itself in Synaesthesia (interchangeability of the senses). Cosmic, mystical tendencies encountered the modern ‘scientific’ spirit in complex and even paradoxical forms. Aleksandr Skriabin’s Prometheus, Poem of Fire, (symphony no. 5, 1908-10) combined music with color lights produced with a “Chromola” or light piano. Prometheus anticipated synaesthetic works in “visual music” , “lumia” or color light compositions. ******** Art Nouveau As a design movement its heyday was from the 1890s to c. 1910. The name came from the design shop ”L’Art Nouveau” in Paris (S. Bing, 1895-); a ”Pavillion de l’Art Nouveau” was exhibited at the Exposition Universelle (World’s Fair), Paris, 1900. Many names in different places: Art Nouveau (France), Jugendstil (Germany), ”Stile Liberty” (Italy), ”Modernisme” (Spain)... Art Nouveau was an attempt to create an universal style, covering all forms of expression (”an umbrella style”). It claimed to have abandoned the ”historicism” of the past; the goal was to create a truly modern form of expression. Influences: John Ruskin (who said: ”turn to nature for inspiration”), Arts and Crafts, folk art, Rococo and Baroque, non-Western sources: Japanese design, Islamic ornaments. ***** Art Nouveau had many backgrounds: - Political (it often florished in states that were struggling to gain independence and international recognition, helping them to create their own identity – small countries like Finland created significant Ars Nouveau traditions) - Social (it was present everywhere in the modern environment from print publications, illustration and underground stations to department stores) - Cultural (proposed a new unity of visual arts, embracing both art and design) - Technological (used industrial materials such as wrought iron and glass; utilized industrial production methods)***** Art Nouveau's stance was "Against Historicism" - "We want it to be modern so that any reminiscence of the past is ruthlessly excluded.” (critic Roger Marx about a planned exhibition, 1907) - In spite of modern tendencies Art Nouveau was often accused to be a decadent ”fin de siècle” phenomenon; rejected by a younger generation of ‘modernists’ who were looking for purity and more radical break with the past. - Art Nouveau became a powerful influence on Art Deco (1920-30s), and later on Psychedelic art and design (1960s). ***** Art Nouveau: important designers - Aubrey Beardsley (1872-98), drawings, graphic designs - Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848-1933), glassware - Louis Majorelle (1859-1926), furniture - Hector Guimard (1867-1942), ironwork (Paris metro stations) - Emile Gallé (1846-1904), glassware - Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939), posters - Victor Horta (1861-1947), architecture - Antonio Gaudí y Cornet (1852-1926), architecture - Henry van de Velde 1863-1957), tableware, interiors - Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928), architecture, furniture, interiors; pioneer of the Scottish rectilinear style ***** Audrey Beardsley (1872-1898) was a talented English graphic artist. Although he died young, he was a huge influence on Art Nouveau, defining its irregular organic lines as a graphic style. ***** Henri Van de Velde's words about reconciling art, design, industry:”Artist, producer and salesman don’t coincide anymore with the collapse of the crafts system. A new unity must be found by collaboration. Machine must be spiritualized.” - Henri Van de Velde became the leader of the new Deutsche Werkbund in 1907, an attempt to achieve this goal. This development ultimately led to the founding of the German Bauhaus, possibly the most influential art & design school of the 20th century. ***** Modernism in Design, some Principles - The need to harmonize design with the modern world: the world of technology, urbanism, speed - The machine considered as the central element of modern life and design - ”Form follows function” (Louis Sullivan) as a guideline - Ornamentation should be controlled, or even totally eliminated - Barriers between art, engineering, design, science should be removed ***** Constructivism and Modernist Design Constructivism was an art and design movement born in the Soviet Union after the October revolution (1917), but it was influenced by Russian Futurism and Suprematism that were already introduced before the revolution in the 1910s. Constructivism was an effort to harmonize art with industrial production; to bring intellectuals and workers together; remove the barriers between art and design. Art and design was considered as