Gothic Art & Architecture

Gothic Art & Architecture

The Gothic style, which began in France in the 12th century, consisted of architecture, sculpture, textile art, panel painting, stained glass as well as illuminated manuscripts. Religion was a common subject in the Gothic period, characterized by monumental sculpture on Cathedral exteriors, which gave the church a more monumental appearance.

Aesthetic qualities of Gothic architecture include pointed arched, elongations, elaborate designs and the emphasis on vertacality, especially  with regards to architectural buildings.

Gothic cathedrals were designed to be imposing, enormous structures which made human beings feel minute on entering the house of God. The interiors of Churches built in this era are characterized by bare walls,however interrupted by magnificently decorated large stained glass windows. Since a large percentage of population during the Gothic period were illiterate, paintings and illustrations were used to depict the story of Christ through stories from both the Old and New Testament. Rose windows are particular artistic features found in all major Gothic Cathedrals. These can be seen in various forms throughout the medieval period.

Rose windows are circular windows involving complexity in design, usually segmented by'spokes' radiating from the centre creating a pattern similar to that of a "multi-petalled rose". They are also sometimes referred to as "Catherine Windows".

Two examples of Gothic Architecture are The Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris,France and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Strausborg

Cathedral of Notre Dame

Rose Window

References : 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_art
Paul Frankl, P.L, 2000, Gothic Architecture (Pelican History of Art), 2nd edition, Yale University Press

Art Nouveau Movement

    Art Nouveau 

        Alphonse Mucha

                                                                                   

Art Nouveau was inspired by the art and crafts movement. This movement flourished in Belgium towards the end of the 19th century. This style of art was decorative and the artists played around with imagination and fantasy to create their art. There were many other subjects that influenced these artists such as Japanese prints, nature, Celtic designs, Egyptian art, Gothic revival and Rococco. Straight lines or right angles were not visible in Art Nouveau. 

Imagery that was inspired by nature was altered completely and stylized with curves and shapes. As a result the underlying geometric form was easier understood. These artists of Art Nouveau discovered he capability to push aside their previous influence which was mainly historical and capture what they saw in nature to create a new and modern piece of art. " Art Nouveau was stylisation taken to the extreme". There was no classical link. It was new and completely different to any previous art. 

One of the best artists from Art Nouveau was Alphonse Mucha. Mucha produces a series of works and posters which are very original and unique. I had attended his exhibition some time ago and his work immediately caught my eye and influenced me to study graphic design. Another main artist in this movement is Hector Gulmard.

References:

 History of Art Notes taken in class
 Alastair Duncan, A.D,1978, Art Nouveau and Art Deco Lighting , Thames & Hudson Ltd

Bauhaus

Bauhaus

Bauhaus was a very important state school, one of the most important design institution which existed in the 20th century. Students at Bauhaus were introduced to all sort of education and during the first year they worked closely with different material. Although the school stopped operating in 1933 it left an impact that lasted even after the school closed.

It was a modern school where students were taught innovative ways. Designs that nowadays are considered back then were seen as 'plain and stark'. The foundation of the course played an important part with these designs. Simple geometric forms were emphasized and primary colours were prominent at the Bauhaus theatre workshop. Since it was a time when people where short of money, students re coursed to working with materials which they found in junkyards. Bauhaus attracted students who were mainly politically radical. It gave them the freedom to design freely unlike how they were taught before.

Besides buildings, their research helped them design furniture such as kitchens as well as chairs. ex. The Wassily Chair that is still in mass production nowadays. Also simple boxes were designed and are today used as packaging for toys. Architecture and sculpture were no longer separated. A new constructive thought was developed. Both male and female students were allowed to apply to study at Bauhaus. However when there were too many female applicants they were put into weaving and book binding instead of metal and furniture. Although Marianne Brant was the best woman in the metal workshop.

Bauhaus School of Design

Wasilly Chair - Marcel Breuer 1925-1926

References: Frank Whitford, F.W, 1984, Bauhaus ( World of Art),  Thames & Hudson

Dada Movement

Dada

'Dada is what you can make out of yourself' -  Hausman 1968. The Dada movement was created during a protest in Zurich. It was a political protest as well a protest in the world of art. Immigrants were protesting against the war but they also wanted to change the mentality of that time. Art was included in this light. The killings of Wold War One caused the protesters to rebel and devote themselves to the fine arts and Zurich. They expressed their emotions and devotion by singing,painting and writing poems. They even glued themselves together. Dada became an anti art form and dadaists were the protesters against those people who were powerful in art. The Dadaists wanted to destroy the meaning of art and what it stands for. 

Hugo Ball/ Sound Poem - Karawane, 1916

Dada avoided the theories and methods of art and gave importance to the people that viewed it. It was the viewer who decided what there artists were trying to interpret. Sound poems and masks were created which they used in theatre to express their madness. Their works were made up of surrealism, modernism and social realism. The result of all this brought a debate that the Dada movement was the start of postmodern art.

Reference: Hans Richter, H.R, 1997, Dada:Art and Anti Art ( World of Art),Thames & Hudson

Pop Art Movement

Pop Art

Pop Art emerged as a movement in New York in the late 1950’s. However in the early 1950’s it had already originated in Britain under a group of artists who showed great interest in daily imagery shown in advertising, cartoons and news. Special attention was given to machinery that reproduced art such as photographs and prints.

The movement of Pop Art aimed to “blur boundaries between high art and low or popular culture”. The whole idea behind Pop Art was that it had no limit of production. To these artists it is a matter of how and where they get their inspiration. According to some experts this attitude was brought about because of the way they reacted to abstract expressionism.

In the 1960’s pop art gained progress in the United States. It is now mainly linked to the work of New York artists like Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and Claes Oldenburg. Nevertheless these artists were part of a more extraordinary happening in different parts of the world such as the beginning of Nouveau Realisme which is the equivalent of pop art in French.

New Generations of artists are till this day influenced by the pop art movement. Symbols and objects became useful subject matter in art and the approval and use of everyday culture broadened possibilities.

Andy Warhol - Marilyn Monroe

Reference: Steven Henry Madoff, S.H.M, 1997, Pop Art:  A critical History, 2nd edition, University of California Press

Arts & Crafts Movement

William Morris Wallpaper

Arts and Crafts Movement

Society influences art. After the industrial revolution many homes started to become a place of protection. This reaction showed poor quality design and hence the arts and crafts movement reacted to this revolution. Over decoration and over embellishment began to take place in a lot of interiors. The movement evolved during the 1860's and 1910's and its outcome lasted till the 1930’s.

It started out in England and later spread to Europe and North America. During the 1860’s a writer and artist named William Morris encouraged the movement. The arts and crafts movement was made up of artists, architects, designers, writers and craftsmen. They joined forces to create a design inspired by nature and used a handcrafted style. The industrial revolution was craft robbing the designer, artist from it pride and skill because of the use of machinery.

These artists believed that objects that were handmade were of more superior quality than those produced by machines. Thus the art and craft movement supported these hand built art crafted goods. This movement became famous for its natural patterns, simplicity, boundless detail and lasting techniques. Medieval techniques used to build many arts and crafts objects. Their achievement was to awaken a medieval guild system through craftsmanship and to gradually produce a pride in craft.

Reference: The Arts and Crafts Movement. 2013. The Arts and Crafts Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/artcraft/artcraft.htm. [Accessed 08 May 2013].