Category: 141

Art Deco

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The Art Deco movement originated in the 1920s and developed into an effective art method in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s. Its name came from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in 1925. Art Deco design depicted modernism turned into fashion. Its products included both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced items. In either case, the intention was to produce a sleek and anti-traditional refinement that symbolized wealth and elegance.

In either case, the intention was to produce a sleek and anti-traditional refinement that symbolized wealth and elegance. The distinctive features of the style are simple, clean shapes, often with a streamlined look, and unusually varied, often costly materials, which often include manufactured substances in complement to natural ones. Though Art Deco objects were infrequently mass-produced, the distinctive features of the style reflected respect for the modernity of the machine and the innate design qualities of machine-made things. Although this style was no longer relevant in most places during World War II, starting in the late 1960s, there was a revitalized interest in Art Deco design. Into the 21st century, Art Deco persisted in being a source of inspiration in such areas as decorative art, fashion, and jewelry design.

SOURCES:

Introduction to Art Deco Design | Cygal Art Deco. https://cygalartdeco.com/2018/10/17/introduction-to-art-deco-design/

Art Deco Definition – Glossary of Common Jewelry Terms …. https://www.josephjewelry.com/guide/glossary/art+deco

Union Station Walking Tour By Los Angeles Conservancy. http://trainweb.org/carl/LAUnionStationWalkingTour/

Plakatstil

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During the 20th century, many designers started to look past the complexity in the Art Nouveau and Arts and Crafts Movement. It was not until the young artist Lucian Bernhard was kicked out by his father that he realized design could be simple. Plakatstil, meaning poster style in German, was thus created. The idea of using the simplicity of shape and color was primarily used in advertising to make their company easy to understand and remember.

Lucian Bernhard, Ludwig Hohlwein, and Hans Rudi Erdt were the three most prominent designers during this movement. All of which had many different ways and methods to create these posters. Even today, we still use the style of Plakastil to create a simple, clean, and almost satisfying design.

Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Plakatstil

1900s: Plakatstil

Historical Artifact

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For my historical artifact, I decided to create a soap brand based on the art nouveau style of the 19th century. I wanted to stay true to the earthy tones of the era and add elements of nature such as vines, flowers, and dragonflies. I also researched art nouveau fonts and picked “Cleopatra”, a font commonly used in the 1890s. I took a used soapbox and traced the outline of the box once I unfolded the box. Afterward, I drew my pattern on the paper, then painted and fine-lined it. Once my design was done, I cut it out and glued it onto the original box, then proceeded to put it back together. On a scale one 1-10, I would probably give myself a 7/10. I’m not very happy with my work, but I was limited in my time because my parents were gone and I had to take care of my sister for the week. But, I did put in the time and effort that I could given the time that was available to me.

The Arts and Crafts Movement

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The Arts and Crafts movement arose during the late Victorian period in England, the most industrialized country at that time. Worries about industrial life drove a positive revaluation of the handcraftsmanship of culture and society. Arts and Crafts designers explored to improve standards of decorative design, thought to have been corrupted by mechanization, and to create environments where beautiful workmanship was managed. The Arts and Crafts movement did not support a particular style, but it did push for reform as part of its belief. It also prompted a critique of industrial labor; as modern machines replaced workers, Arts and Crafts enthusiasts called for an end to the division of labor and furthered the designer as a craftsman.

The American Arts and Crafts movement was undeniably connected to the British movement and closely followed the work of William Morris. Through writing, and societies that sponsored lectures and programs, the work of the Arts and Crafts movement spread. The U.S. movement was multicentered, with these arts and crafts societies forming nationwide. Boston was the first city to highlight a Society of Arts and Crafts, founded in June 1897. Chicago’s Arts and Crafts Society started at Hull House, one of the first American townhouses for social change, in October 1897. Numerous societies followed in cities like Minneapolis, New York, Deerfield, and Massachusetts.

In urban centers, socialist methods were undertaken on a community level, often by educating young women. Ideas of craftwork and simplicity demonstrated themselves in their decorative work, including the pottery and metalwork of the Arts and Crafts movement. Schools and practice programs taught quality design, the base of the Arts and Crafts movement philosophy. Personally, I definitely agree with the arts and crafts movement ideals. Good quality designs and socialist movement? Count me in. I really appreciate nice fabrics and furniture so I understand and appreciate the movements ideas.

SOURCES:

https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/acam/hd_acam.htm

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2FDavidJonTerry%2Farts-and-crafts-movement%2F&psig=AOvVaw2mQX_n9GK4mElBCBTC9ya2&ust=1635541708820000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCODY_OaB7vMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABA4

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fsassynancy%2Farts-and-crafts-movement%2F&psig=AOvVaw2mQX_n9GK4mElBCBTC9ya2&ust=1635541708820000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCODY_OaB7vMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBD

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alamy.com%2Fenglish-a-wild-danish-forest-draw-in-sknvirke-style-danish-arts-crafts-movement-similar-to-art-nouveau-1898-anonymus-131-dansk-skov-image188966165.html&psig=AOvVaw2mQX_n9GK4mElBCBTC9ya2&ust=1635541708820000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCODY_OaB7vMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBO

https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmymodernmet.com%2Farts-and-crafts-movement-william-morris%2F&psig=AOvVaw2mQX_n9GK4mElBCBTC9ya2&ust=1635541708820000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAsQjRxqFwoTCODY_OaB7vMCFQAAAAAdAAAAABBU

Woodcut Printing

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1450’s– Ars Moriendi: The Art of Dying, woodcut block book

Woodcut is one of the oldest forms of printmaking and was invented back in the 8th century by Japan for textile printing. However, woodcuts were not used to transfer onto paper until the 14th century by France and Germany. The earliest dated print of German origin is the St. Christopher print of 1423 from the Buxheim Monastery. While in the 15th centuries, countries like Austria, Bohemia, and Bavaria used woodcuts to display religious figures onto playing cards.

Samson Rending the Lion: Albrecht Durer

The earliest coloured woodcuts were made to imitate the appearance of chiaroscuro, which was very sought after by collectors. Within these types of drawings, the “coloured paper served as the middle tone, and the artist worked toward the light (chiaro) by adding highlights with white gouache, and toward the dark (scuro) by adding cross hatching in pen or a dark wash with a brush.” (Thompson 4) The chiaroscuro type of woodcut was invented by Hans Burgkmair around 1509.

St. Jerome in the Wilderness: Titian

As soon as the moveable type and printing press were invented in the 15th century, woodcuts gave us the ideal means for creating early printed books. The woodblocks could be placed alongside the type in the press and then printed the woodcuts onto paper. The same image could be used to illustrate more than one texture could even be used again for the same text. The history of woodcuts is very interesting to me because I have always looked at woodcuts and other relief printing forms as something I wanted to try. Though I haven’t realized it yet I hope I could one day due to the fact of how beautiful they seem to turn out.

Source

Mood Board

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I decided to focus on different artists in the 18th and 19th centuries who died in poverty, but later became some of the biggest names in history. For my artists I decided on El Greco, Emily Dickinson, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Though we all know these iconic artists, many if them were not known in their life time. El Greco died commisionless, Dickinson was held back by the writing industry, and Bach’s composer work was left unknown. I thought it was interesting on how these people were incredibly talented, yet just happened to be born in the wrong time. Though they never got experience fame, we still get to see the effects that they had on history. If I were to give myself a score out of ten, I would give myself an 7/10 because I spent a lot of time researching and getting images, yet I wish I was able to go more in depth. However, I was limited by the Invision website due to my lack of knowledge on how to work it.

Emily Dickinson

Blog Post 1- The Code of Hammurabi

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The code of Hammurabi is one of the oldest and well known written forms of law to exist. Though it was not the first code of law discovered, it is the first to state the idea of innocent until proven guilty. Today, innocence until proven guilty is one of the most popular ideologies in modern law and order. Though it doesn’t look like much at surface level, Hammurabi’s Code is over 8 feet tall and has over 30 laws engraved in it. In total, King Hammurabi had created over 280. Most of the laws follow the idea of an eye for an eye. The concept explains that if someone, for example, stole something, they would get their hand cut off as punishment. This general idea applies to a plethora of societies today. Though the seeming harshness, Hammurabi’s code also established the first minimum wage for workers. Minimum wage was a rare concept while looking at the treatment of middle-class workers in other societies. I chose Hammurabi’s code as it has always interested me and that I have had the pleasure to learn the concept in many history classes. As I have read and researched Hammurabi’s code on many separate occasions, I’ve also had the privilege of seeing the actual code in the Louvre when I was 12. While my memories of that trip are limited, I remember seeing the code and being starstruck. To finally see something that I’ve only heard about or seen in textbooks made it almost surreal. I was standing in front of a very influential piece of history. To this day, I still remember that feeling of realizing that I am a part of history. Though I may not be as influential as the code of Hammurabi, it inspired me to try and make the change I knew the world needed. While that does sound pretty dramatic for a 12-year-old, that moment changed my life.

Hammurabi’s Code

Citations:

  • Andrews, Evan. “8 Things You May Not Know about Hammurabi’s Code.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 17 Dec. 2013, https://www.history.com/news/8-things-you-may-not-know-about-hammurabis-code?li_source=LI&li_medium=m2m-rcw-history. 
  • King, L. W. “The Code of Hammurabi.” The Avalon Project : Code of Hammurabi, 2008, https://avalon.law.yale.edu/ancient/hamframe.asp. 
  • Stanford University. “Hammurabi’s Code.” Stanford History Education Group, 20 Apr. 2020, https://sheg.stanford.edu/history-lessons/hammurabis-code. 
  • Gill, N.S. “What Was the Ancient Babylonian Law Code of Hammurabi?” ThoughtCo, ThoughtCo, 11 Sept. 2018, https://www.thoughtco.com/babylonia-117264. 
  • “Stele with the Code of Hammurabi.” Wikidata, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q12397781. 

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