Blog Post Title Two

The connection between the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th century and the modernism movement, can certainly said to have been an intertwined relationship. There are many components of these movements which can be similarly compared. These include: the focus on form over function; the ethos of limiting ornamentation ;favouring geometric design and the refusal of industrialisation by using specific materials and the respective movement’s formation due to change in society’s culture, with the Arts and Crafts movement famously developing as a rebellion to the industrial revolution and separately, modernism evolving through design schools such as Bauhaus forming after the First World War which caused Germany to pay reparations thereby influencing the German society’s design to have less ornamentation favouring simplicity. These design choices are warped by the surrounding social context as well as other components influencing the cultural environment such as geographical, and economical factors. These similarities are likely not coincidental but instead correspond with each other with the culture of the former movement influencing the latter through its culture in design, a notion that will be explored throughout this essay. Firstly, one of the strongest similarities of culture between the two design movements can be exhibited when considering the idea of prioritising form over function. During the Arts and Crafts movement, form was prioritised to fight against the mechanisation of the Industrial Revolution. An opinion shared by authors like Ian Granger (et al 2017) stating “The Arts and Crafts movement was born from a concern held by prominent designers and social activists of the time” This view can be evidenced as the industrial revolution brought with it a reduction in the need for high skilled artisans replaced by factory machines using industrial materials creating products designed for the mass production markets. The Arts and Crafts movement repelled against change in society and instead advocated for vibrant, high-quality products designed by experienced craftsmen using vernacular materials such as oak and walnut timber rather than cheaper mass-produced materials showing how culture itself influenced the materials used within design. Similarly, the modernist movement can be seen to have aligned itself with this pursuit, comparably designing products of high-quality, long-lasting material.

Famous artists like William Morris, who pioneered the Arts and Crafts movement, used these materials more for their aesthetic beauty, for whilst some products were less functional due to their unnecessarily high price, using material like deciduous hardwoods rather than some coniferous softwoods would create a sense of craftsmanship that would not otherwise achieved. This statement can be evidenced by a quote from Morris who said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” (William Morris, 1880)

Figure 3: Red House interior, William Morris, 1859

One paradigm example of this would be the Red House at Bexleyheath by Phillip Webb in 1859, with the interior design and furnishings being done William Morris himself in the same year.

Figure 4: Red House exterior, Phillip Webb, 1859

This example strongly embodies the culture of the time. The décor
is hand made of expensive hardwood timber such as oak and presents how creatives wished to retain the homemade culture of design and fight against the growing mass consumerism, deterring from the upcoming American capitalism of the Gilded age guided by ‘Robber barons’ like Ford, Carnegie and Rockefeller. Designers embraced the handmade nature of their work, celebrating the appearance of raw workmanship. This statement is projected further by Edward Hollamby who wrote of Red house: “But seen from the hall the most dramatic effect is provided by the beautiful oak staircase… with its vertical tapered newel posts, revealing the ‘truth’ of its construction, down to the glued blocks between the treads and riser” (Edward Hollamby 1991). Indeed, these are the . hallmarks of handmade craftsmanship.

The ethos of societies culture at the time is presented within Red house, “the ceiling is painted in bold geometrical and curvilinear lines” (Hollamby 1991), a homage to the vernacular style of Figure 4: Red House exterior, Phillip Webb, 1859 Figure 3: Red House interior, William Morris, 1859 the Arts and Crafts movement. Embodying the practice of biomimicry, another example can be seen at the entrance, painted by Tony Holloway to depict the seasons of nature, again opposing the industrial revolution.

Figure 5: house main entrance, Tony Holloway, 1860

It could be argued that the ethos of form over function, influenced the modernism of post WW1. The movement followed on closely chronologically and continued practicing design ideation which focused on the aesthetics of product, praising form over function once again, similarly using premium materials. Conversely, it could be argued that rather than being influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, the reason for form over function could be attributed to other factors, as Guy Julier puts “The emergence of a ‘visual turn’ in Western society is the creation of mass consumer markets during the industrial revolution… proliferations of images became a key characteristic of modern social organization. From a design point of view, commodities and services need to be made more self-consciously visual.” (Guy Julier, 2006) Social organisation could be compared to the German design school, Bauhaus. Their products more “selfconsciously visual” than products before the Great War. An example of this is seen by the Bauhaus B3 Wassily chair, designed in 1925 by Marcel Breuer. The chair is distinct from the surrounding environment and an example of the culture of form over function. However, it also presents a contending viewpoint presenting the movements of the Arts and craft and Modernism as effective antonyms. This is because whilst the Arts and Crafts movement advocated for bespoke, small batch production, designers like Breur opted to design their products so they could be produced at larger scales for mass production. Tubular steel had just became commonly used and was cheap to produce in large quantities, a property lending itself towards factory production. The Wassily chair therefore displays how culture has impacted its own design. After WW1, Germany (where the Bauhaus was based) was in debt having to pay reparations. Resultingly, materials like tubular steel were used to reduce costs. However, this could be contended, as the Wassily chair presents an oxymoron being composed of low cost tubular steel whilst still having lavish leather fabric. This opinion is supported by Cacciola Donatella who said “The Wassily chair was a high-priced single piece of furniture, following the trend of the home object fetish that had established itself in Italian furniture design between 1958 and 1963.” (Cacciola Donatella, 2022)

Figure 6: Model B3 chair (Wasily chair) Marcel Breur, 1925

Other examples of modernist design groups align with the philosophy of the prior Arts and Crafts movement such as the Dutch group, De Stijl, using many primary coloured, rectilinear pieces of design. This group similarly avoiding ornamentation in their own design, different from the flamboyant Art Deco movement forming in America at the time. Instead, groups like De Stijl favoured more simplistic geometric shapes. A sign of the times being just after the First World War. As design style started to become more ‘defensive’ and minimalist to not overindulge, a notion also presented in architecture of the time. This strongly presents how culture determined the style of design at the time.

Figure 7: Paimio 4, Alvar Allto, 1931

Whilst America experienced the Roaring Twenties and a lavish style post Gilded Age and economically prosperous war, European culture was slower to regrow. This can presented by the more simplistic design style of Scandinavian designers such as Alvar Aalto who used, environmentally friendly materials presented with his birch and steam moulded plywood ‘Paimio 41’ armchair.

Figure 8: Villa Mairea, Alvar Aalto, 1938

Aalto’s passion for vernacular design can be seen from the Arts and Crafts movement, historically using local product creating a style often given the term ‘Organic’ this is illustrated by Giuliana Godoy Vera (2014 translated to English), stating “from the facades to the most private part, transform as one enters the volumes and moves away from nature, this can be seen in the shapes and materials that have been used. The pool has an organic shape, as does the cover of the main entrance and the steps that lead us to the entrance.” The society and culture of the Arts and Crafts movement also influenced Aalto’s his contemporaries designs in many ways, Aalto uses bold geometric shapes inspired by surrounding biomimicry, this can be likened to William Morris’ famous artwork ‘The Strawberry Thief’. Aalto used locally sourced timber from his surrounding landscape, as did Morris, drawing his artwork from what he saw of thrushes stealing strawberries in his own garden. Other famous modernist architects can also be seen to have been influenced by the culture of the Arts and Crafts movement, such as Frank Lloyd Wright in Falling Water sharing the similarity of often being referred to as “organic” (Weisberg, Rober W, 2011).

Figure 9: Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1935

Wright can be strongly exhibited as an example of incorporating the culture and tradition of the Arts and Crafts movement into a contemporary setting for his time, including historical homages celebrating the movement within his modernist design. An example of this can be seen through a case study of Falling Water; Wright, embodying organic shapes using biomimicry and using locally sourced materials to blend into the surrounding landscape, rugged stone is used within the plot, blending into the waterfall which the building is on. Wright believed in using ‘honest’ materials which were not manmade composites materials, this culture is shared in the Arts and Crafts movement when William Morris chose to show the honest artisanal craftsmanship within his work rather than hiding the manmade details. These ultimately present examples to how we can incorporate culture and traditions into a contemporary setting, by using homages and the legacy of previous movements culture to influence our own final design within a modern society as the Modernist movement did the Arts and Crafts.

SOURCE LIST

Reference list

Cacciola, D. (2022). Marcel Breuer, the Wassily chair and the ‘frozen’ Bauhaus modernism after 1945. Journal of Design History, 35(3). doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/jdh/epac001.

Crouch, D. P., & June Gwendolyn Johnson. (2001). Traditions in architecture : Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania. Oxford University.

Godoy-Vera, G. (2015). Villa Mairea. El racionalismo nórdico de Alvar Aalto. Limaq, 0(001), p.137. doi:https://doi.org/10.26439/limaq2015.n001.359.

Hollamby, E. (1996). Red House : Philip Webb. Phaidon.

Ḥusain Naṣr. (1989). Knowledge and the sacred. State University Of New York Press.

Jarzombek, M. (2013). Architecture of first societies : a global perspective. Wiley.

Julier, G. (2006). From Visual Culture to Design Culture. Design Issues, 22(1), 64–76. -

Potts, W., Morrison, J., Granger, I., & Sumpner, D. (2018). AQA AS/A-level design and technology. Product design. Hodder Education.

Weisberg, Rober W ( 2011) Creativity research Journal Frank Loyd wright’s Fallingwater: A Case Study Inside-The-Box Creativity

Figures List

Figure 1 William Morris

Figure 2 Composition A, Piet Mondrian, 1923

Figure 3 Red House interior, William Morris, 1859

Figure 4 William Morris Red House exterior, Phillip Webb 1859

Figure 5 Marcel Breur Wassily Model B3 chair 1925 Figure 6 Alvar Aalto, 41 lounge chair, 1931

Figure 8 Alvar Aalto, Villa Mairea, 1929

Figure 9 Falling Water, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1935

3.2 Figures within timeline

Leonardo da Vinci, Linear perspective painting (Circa 1400)

Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Supper at Emma's, 1601

Honoré Fragonard, Les heureux hasards de l’Escarpolette, 1766-1769

Emanuel Leutze, Washington crossing the Delaware, 1851

Alphonse Mucha, F Champenois, 1898

William Morris, Tulip and Willow, 1873

Phillip Webb, Red House, 1860

Pablo Picasso, les demoiselles d'Avignon, 1907

Natalia Goncharova, Cyclist, 1913

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Red Plane, Yellow, Black, Grey, and Blue, 1921

Van allen, The Chrysler building 1928

George Dietel and John Wade, Buffalo city hall,1930

Joost Shmidt, Bauhaus exhibition poster,1923

Herbert Bayer. Bauhaus exhibition poster, 1923

Andy Warhol, Blue Shot Marilyn Monroe, 1962

Oskaar Schlemmer. Bauhaus logo, 1992