Arts and craft movement and Art Nouveau movement

Introduction

In the 19th century, the arts and crafts movement emerged in Great Britain. The aim was to offer better choices for arts in the 19th century. This movement was part of the Industrial Revolution movement inspired by different architects, writers, artists, and philosophers. The most well-known champion of this movement was called William Morris. He was a designer, painter, and craftsman (Fayos-Perez, 2013). The movement wanted to instil cultural values by reviving craftwork and design to express individual national identity. The Art Nouveau Movement?was formed in rebellion against the academic approaches to design and arts. It originated in Brussels before spreading to Paris. Pioneers such as Antoni Gaudi and Mackintosh campaigned for a clean break from the past designs to find formal language to modernity design (Fayos-Perez, 2013). Architects and designers in this movement turned to nature as a source of new design inspiration. According to this movement, the search for newness became a way for architects. It championed the liberation of architecture from historical precedent (Ingersoll & Kostof, 2013). This essay argues distinctive features of art and craft movements and nouveau movements because diverse ideologies regarding arts and design inspire both.

Features of the Arts and Crafts Movement

The movement emphasized the use of the past as inspiration to create something new for the future—this involved the use of historical designs as well as a revival of neglected buildings and craft techniques. Creative manual work was a practical approach and was viewed as an income source for the artists and designers. It combined both radical and conservation elements to bring together designers, architects, manufacturers, and artists to develop new methods of design and arts. Decorated tiles, metalwork, wallpapers, woven textiles, embroideries, and stained glass were some materials that could significantly decorate buildings. Mechanization in the 19th century encouraged adding ornament to undecorated objects rather than producing new objects (Greensted, 2010). The movement encouraged the use of natural sources and materials as the source of different design patterns (Ingersoll & Kostof, 2013). Decorative arts and hands-on approach were tremendous influencers of the movement because they encouraged applied arts and vernacular works.

Inspirations for Arts and craft movement

The movement was inspired by the adherent's (writers, designers, artists, and artisans) common unity for aesthetics that recognized the importance of craftsmanship in the wake of industrialization. The movement was inspired by the need to break down the hierarchy of arts and design, which focused more on fine arts rather than applied arts. It also aimed to revive and restore the dignity of traditional artworks and handicrafts by making them affordable. The significant innovations were ideology, not style, and design (Visual-arts-cork.com., 2021). It was further influenced by Arts and Crafts Organizations, Arts and Crafts in America and Europe. The movement was also inspired by architecture which included the belief that design is dictated by function and that the new buildings should integrate well with the natural surroundings.

Features of the Art Nouveau Movement

It embraces the adoption of natural forms and structures, such as curved lines of flowers and trees. It embraced different types of decorative arts, including painting, graphics, architecture, jewelry, interior design, textiles furniture, metalwork, ceramic, and glass art. It embraced the principle of actual work of art through utility and beauty. Architects used modern materials such as steel to create modern and new vocabularies that combine arched and cantilevered forms (Dewidar, 2018). Art Nouveau architecture was influenced by nature because it combines decorative elements such as flowers, birds, leaves, veins, and insects in arts and design.

Inspiration for Art Nouveau

It was inspired by the effort to break from the past conventional designs and the need for modern styles that fit modern lives. It was further inspired by English arts and crafts Aesthetic movements in England because England was industrialized more than other nations. Ruskin and another inspiration are that Morris, a pioneer of the art and craft movement, believed that past objects could be decorated and made valuable and beautiful if the decoration was derived from nature (Greenhalgh, 2000). The art and Craft movement inspired Art Nouveau because it believed in the unity of all arts and rejected the distinction between applied and fine art. The movement was also inspired by the art and craft approach to handwork, materials, and honesty in construction. It was further inspired by the Art of Japan and Islam, historical styles, symbolism, national styles, and nature.

Differences

The art nouveau movement was a global style of art that emerged in the early 20th century, while the art and craft movement was a British and American design style that emerged in 1880 – 1910. Still, the art nouveau movement encouraged the creation of new designs full of dynamic natural forms but open to modern techniques but with references to past designs (Ingersoll, & Kostof, 2013). The art and craft movement rejected impersonal aesthetics brought on by the Industrial Revolution. Its objects were smaller and affordable, for instance, textiles, furniture, and pottery. On the other hand, the art nouveau movement was characterized by highly stylized curvilinear designs incorporating plants and floral inspiration. The art and craft movement focused on style and design about the simplicity of nature, while the art nouveau movement focused on complex graphic design aided by the Industrial Revolution. The art and craft movement did not believe in the use of machines, which is different from the art nouveau movement, which largely depended on machines to enhance design complexity. The art and craft movement embraced traditional methods of arts and design, while the art nouveau movement depended on machines to produce quality premium pieces of artwork. The art nouveau movement was inspired by approaches to fine arts such as stained glass, painting, finely crafted wood, metal for architecture, and interior designs. In contrast, art and craft celebrated the return to artisan-made goods and handcrafted goods tapestries, furniture, pottery, wood furniture, and stained glass (Ingersoll, & Kostof, 2013). There are, however, few similarities between the two movements, such that the art nouveau movement was inspired by the art and craft movement approach to handwork and craftsmanship and is something that they both commonly share. Hence art and craft movement, directly and indirectly, influenced the formation of the art nouveau movement.

Summary and Recommendations

In summary, this paper discussed the distinctive features of art and craft movements and art nouveau movements. It has been further argued that diverse ideologies regarding arts and design inspire these movements. The arts and crafts movement emphasized using the past as inspiration for creating something new by combining conservative and radical elements. The arts and craft movement pioneers believed that old buildings could be brought back to utilization when they were decorated using decorated tiles, metalwork, wallpapers, woven textiles, embroideries, and stained glass. This movement encouraged decorative art and hands-on approaches that inspired the development of applied arts and vernacular works. The Art Nouveau movement was inspired by decorative arts such as graphics, architecture, jewelry, interior design, textiles furniture, metalwork, ceramic, and glass art. These arts were possible by employing modern machines and materials such as steel. The movement wanted to break from conventional designs and have up-to-date styles that fit modern life. However, the Art Nouveau movement borrowed a lot from the art and craft movement, such as handwork, materials, and honesty in construction. The Art Nouveau movement is the most significant because it aimed at modernizing designs. It further aimed to escape eclectic history styles that were previously popular. The artists drew inspiration from geometric and organic forms that led to elegant designs with a natural flow, and resemblances of plants. The movement accurately captures modernity in design because it advocated for curved glass, plant-like embellishments, stained glass, Japanese motives, mosaics, and curved forms. It was, however, greatly inspired by art and craft movements.

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References

Dewidar, K. (2018).?Art Nouveau Style. The British University in Egypt. Retrieved from??????????? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325147127_Art_Nouveau_Style

Fayos-Perez, P. (2013).?The production of books in the Arts & Crafts movement (BA thesis)????????? (extract). University of Strasbourg. Retrieved from??????????? https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261509772_The_production_of_books_in_th??????????? Arts_Crafts_movement_BA_thesis_extract

Greenhalgh, P. (Ed.). (2000).?Art Nouveau: 1890-1914. London: V & A Publications.

Greensted, M. (2010).?The Arts and Crafts movement: exchanges between Greece and Britain????? (1876-1930)?(Doctoral dissertation, University of Birmingham).

Ingersoll, R., & Kostof, S. (2013).?World architecture: a cross-cultural history. Oxford: Oxford? University Press.

Visual-arts-cork.com. (2021). Arts and Crafts Movement: Origins, History, Aesthetics. Retrieved 18 December 2021, from https://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/arts-and??????? crafts.htm