The Arts and Crafts Movement by judeqqq

Seeds of Modernism: The making of the Bauhaus concept, developments in design history 1830 to 1950 Bauhaus Archive Berlin Museum of Design

James Volks & Susan Harrison

Bauhaus Archive Berlin Museum of Design

The Arts and Crafts Movement

Arts & Crafts SEEDS OF MODERNISM

Bauhaus Archive Berlin Museum of Design

Contents 03

Introduction

Vision

21 Works

Failure

Conclusion

introduction

Intro The Arts and Crafts movement and the role the will of the age played in its development, will be discussed in this essay. To aid this view I will discuss the work of William Morris, a textile designer who heavily influenced the British Arts and Crafts movement, Greene and Greene, an architectural firm established by brothers Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene who were prominent figures in the American Arts and Crafts Movement and finally Sarah Agnes Estelle Irvine. prominent decorator of Newcomb pottery based in the American South. Ficidelitio exero blaborp oraturibus apel estet

CHAPTER

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introduction

The Beginning The movement began in Britain in 1860, soon after the Industrial Revolution concluded around 1840. The impact of the Industrial Revolution is what ignited the Arts and Crafts movement, the founders were embittered by this new society. Children were working 12-14 hour days in textile factories (Beckert 33) and rivers ran green with raw sewage (Engels 12). The division of labour, modern factories, machines, and capitalism were the antithesis of traditional craftsmanship that the Arts and Crafts movement valued so much. Practitioners of the movement believed in a deep connection between the artist and their work through handcraft. This was the key to producing both human fulfilment and beautiful items that would be useful on an everyday basis. This meant that Arts & Crafts artists are largely associated with the decorative arts and architecture as opposed to the “high” arts of painting and sculpture (Clericuzio). The movement was based on the understanding that there was an imperative change needed in the manner that objects were manufactured. The artists felt that made objects should have more integrity and be created in a less dehumanising manner.

05 Sideboard, Charles F. A. Voysey, 1897. Oak and brass. Honest and simplistic design with exposed grain. Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Lamp, 1912-15, Dirk Van Erp. Mica and copper. One of the most important metalworkers in California during the Arts and Crafts period. The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 743.

introduction

The Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill, London. It was designed by Sir Joseph Paxton for the Great Exhibition of 1851 Image: BBC Hulton Picture Library

The Industrial Revolution The use of iron became increasingly common in architecture. Train stations, bridges, factories, featured iron and glass structures. The Crystal Palace, built in Hyde Park for the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, is probably one of the best-known examples of Industrial Revolution architecture. The Crystal Palace’s scope was mainly symbolic, built halfway through the century of the Industrial Revolution. The Great Exhibition drew millions of visitors from all over the world who could admire the endless possibilities of glass and iron architecture and artistic movements. Yet, not all advances of the Industrial Revolution were favorable to society. Countries, once mainly rural and agriculture-driven, evolved into urban nations. Rural communities seemed then outdated. While cities developed, the growing number of charcoal fueled factories hissed heavy smoke in the air, deteriorating the atmosphere. Several people, including artists and architects, chose to escape busy cities to move to the countryside. The Cotswolds School gathered artists wanting to live a simpler life. They relocated to a rural location in the Cotswolds and used traditional furniture-making hand techniques in their workshops. Rural communities seemed then outdated, while cities developed, towns suffered. Charcoal fueled factories continued spewing into the atmosphere. Cotswolds gathered artists wanting a simpler life.

introduction

The

e Pioneer William Morris is widely viewed as the father of the Arts and Crafts movement, he had an enormous impact on not just art but culture and politics in his era. He was born in 1834 in Walthamstow, Essex. “Apart from the desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion of my life has and is hatred of modern civilisation”.

CHAPTER

Vision The vision of the movement grew out of several related strands of thought during the mid-19th century. It was first and foremost a response to social changes initiated by the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain and whose ill effects were first evident there. Industrialization moved large

regularly with pollution from a bevy of new factories. Critics such as the writer John Ruskin and architect Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin railed against these problems of industrialization. They contrasted its vices with the Gothic era before the Renaissance, which they viewed as an idyllic time period of piety

numbers of working-class laborers into cities that were ill-prepared to deal with an influx of newcomers, crowding them into miserable ramshackle housing and subjecting them to dangerous, harsh jobs with long hours and low pay. Cities likewise became doused

and high moral standards as well as a healthful, green environment. For both Ruskin and Pugin, there was a strong association between the morality of a nation and the form of its architecture, and the Gothic for them symbolized the peak of human development.

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vision

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Vase, Ruth Erikson, 1899–1910. Earthenware. Design features s.tylized flat leaf and thin elegant scroll. Unusual yellow glaze. The Met Museum.

vision

“ Have not your hou you do n to be use or believ beautiful

thing in use that not know eful, ve to be l”

William Morris

vision

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Works

CHAPTER

The vision of the movement grew out of several related strands of thought during the mid-19th century. It was first and foremost a response to social changes initiated by the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain and whose ill effects were first evident there. Industrialization moved large

3 19

vision

William Mor Tulip and Rose The will of the age was industrialism and urbanisation but Morris championed the cottage industry and artisanship. We can clearly see this in his 1876 pattern, “Tulip and Rose”. The textile incorporates five different colours in an intricate pattern of curving leaves, vines and flowers. Yellow tulips and red roses catch your eye against the dark blue of the background. Three sets of warps and wefts are combined in the triple cloth technique with dyed wool yarn to create the complex multicoloured pattern. It is apparent that this work goes against the will of the age with traditional craft techniques that are in defiance of the industrial revolution whose effects dominated the nineteenth century. However, Morris wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea of mechanisation. He wanted craftsmen to be able to contribute while machines did the monotonous work. Despite his best efforts the will of the age still had a grasp on his work. The laborious techniques and time-consuming nature of handcrafting meant that these pieces were very expensive. While Morris was an ardent socialist it was wealthy usually capitalists that were able to afford his work.

Tulip and Rose, William Morris, 1876. Wool curtain, triple-cloth weave Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York City

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vision

Greene & Gr The American Arts and Crafts movement is closely related to the British movement. Journals, newspaper writings and society sponsored lectures circulated these British ideals. Greene and Greene were California based architects of the period. They were interested in domestic architecture and believed the interior of a house should be a work of art in its own right. The brothers had their own distinctive style that was heavily influenced by Japanese design (Obniski). This can be seen in The Gamble House. Obniski describes the bungalow as “the quintessential Arts and Crafts architectural form”. The Gamble House, despite being three stories, emulates the form of a bungalow with a low, horizontal profile that is made even more apparent by the second

The Gamble House, Greene and Greene, 1908-1909 .Git veratum accum eosam isimint dolut vid ute ides reperis et volupti buscil expla inci dolor mosaece ptatiorumqui te vellupis.

story covered balcony that wraps around the side of the building. Earth tones in the shingles that adorn the walls and bold wooden beams seem to make the house blend in with its flourishing surroundings, promoting a harmony with nature. This is complemented by more vibrant stained wood that frames the windows. The Japanese influence is very apparent with distinctive wood joinery throughout the building that reflects the Kumiko style and especially on the front door where a Japanese black pine is inlaid with stained glass. The interior is equally as elegant, the wooden motif is continued inside. Exposed beams run along the ceilings and terminate into exquisite wooden structures, intricate inlays can be found on various surfaces and the staircase is a testament to the skill of the carpenters that worked on the house.

reene

vision

Sarah Agne Vase While the socialist undertones of the Arts and Crafts movement weren’t as strong in America, some socialist experiments were conducted in urban centers. This usually came in the form of educating young women. Using local flora and fauna as inspiration for its designs, Newcomb pottery began production in 1895 in New Orleans. This pottery was decorated by women, however it was the men who worked the clay, fired the pots and handled the glazing (Obniski). Sorkin gives us a brief biography in her essay, “Sarah Agnes Irvine… was the principal driving force at Newcomb… beginning her career as an undergraduate at Newcomb College… eventually becoming head of the ceramics department”. Her piece “Vase” is dominated by a magnolia tree, moss hangs from its branches which are silhouetted

against a night sky and softly illuminated by a full moon slightly concealed by the canopy. Irvine used very muted colours which offset the unstylised nature of the work. These magnolia trees root the piece to the location it was created as these trees can be found all over the Mississippi basin. Sadly this piece is no exception and also succumbed to the will of the age, in this case, the patriarchal nature of society. “It was Joseph Meyer’s job to create the unfinished vessels and plates for the women to decorate; he in turn received the credit for Newcomb Pottery when it won awards at major international expositions’’ (Clericuzio). We can tell from this quote that the women’s artistic integrity was being undermined solely based on their gender, sadly this was the will of the age.

es Irvine

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vision

29 In order of appearance: Left to Right. All of these works are from the American Arts and Crafts Movement and are on display at The Met Fifth Avenue.

Tall Clock, Charles Rohlfs, ca. 1900. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue. He made furniture concerned with style, form, hand carving, and ornament. This oak and copper clock was designed for Rohlf’s own home. This clock has affinities to contemporary Central European design, particularly a tall clock by German designer Richard Riemerschmid.

Comb, Florence Koehler, ca. 1905. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue. Embodying the ideals of the Aesthetic and Arts and Crafts movements, Florence Koehler worked in a variety of decorative media, including domestic interiors, china decorating, jewelry, and painting. In jewelry, as in pottery and painting, Koehler exhibited a scholar’s sense of the past and a modernist’s eye for the contemporary. Library Table, Rose Valley Shops, 1904. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue. Rose Valley, a utopian Arts and Crafts colony, was founded in 1901 near Moylan, Pennsylvania, by William Lightfoot Price, a Philadelphia architect, with a coterie of his politically liberal colleagues, clients, and friends. Inspired by the advocates of the British Arts and Crafts movement, John Ruskin and William Morris. Linen Press, Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony, ca. 1904. On view at the Met Fifth Avenue. The Byrdcliffe Arts and Crafts Colony was founded in 1902 outside of Woodstock, New York, by Englishman Ralph Whitehead. Inspired by John Ruskin, Whitehead invited independent craftsmen and designers to work in traditional crafts, which included furniture, pottery, and textiles. Library Table, Gustav Stickley, ca. 1906. On view at the Met Fifth Avenue. Gustav Stickley, a leading designer and proselytizer of the American Arts and Crafts movement, founded the Craftsman Workshops (called United Crafts before 1904) to manufacture his line of furniture. Simply designed for ease of manufacture, Craftsman furniture was modestly priced to appeal to the average American. Pin, Florence Koehler, ca. 1905. On view at the Met Fifth Avenue. This suite of a brooch (or pendant), necklace, and comb was made around 1905 for Emily Crane Chadbourne, daughter of the Chicago industrialist Richard T. Crane. The four-strand necklace has a gold clasp formed of green enameled leaves and a cluster of pearls.

Failure

CHAPTER

Based on my research of these three artists and their work, it is clear to see that the will of the age has an enormous impact on design. The Arts and Crafts movement can be described as a counterculture campaign when it came to design. Visionaries from the movement wanted everyone to have access to beautiful handcrafted objects while soulless objects spewed out of factories of the time. The socialist

at the time, the will of the age dragged it down to society’s immoral standards. Morris’ textiles ended up in the hands of the rich, the Greene brothers’ buildings were commissioned by wealthy executives and Irvine’s pottery was accredited to the man that moulded it. I found it hard to learn about such a promising, well intentioned movement forced to capitulate to the antithesis of its ideals which sparked

nature of the movement advocated for more equality in a grossly patriarchal society where women were second class citizens. While the work produced from this movement was in itself, unique and handcrafted

its conception. I can conclude, sadly, design is the will of the age.

4 31

conclusion

Failure of th Movement Based on my research of these three artists and their work, it is clear to see that the will of the age has an enormous impact on design. The Arts and Crafts movement can be described as a counterculture campaign when it came to design. Visionaries from the movement wanted everyone to have access to beautiful handcrafted objects while soulless objects spewed out of factories of the time. Volo conecat emquam facietus magnihilique dolecus ex eat moluptae optatur ibusam quis nobitiam, sum si dolorem fuga. Ut aribeaq uatiis nestio quaernatem qui to odit landa consequas autem il ipid ullitas pedigeni dolor animet amus elest, qui aspeles tiunt. Ictium ni audae noneseq uaepudit, audae noneseq uaepudit cus alique volorro maiores doluptaspel inulpar cipsaeped eium, sitius aut aut rem hicil inctota quasperro essi cus molupit et que nos quis quibeaq uatur? Ebit latur sinvel erum hilluptam estem ut pa nis dolo te prenihilitis quid quame sam alitiost veri sim earit odis velitio. The socialist nature of the movement advocated for more equality in a grossly patriarchal society where women were second class citizens. While the work produced from this movement was in itself, unique and handcrafted at the time, the will of the age dragged it down to society’s immoral standards. Morris’ textiles ended up in the hands of the rich, the Greene brothers’ buildings were commissioned by wealthy executives and Irvine’s pottery was accredited to the man that moulded it. I found it hard to learn about such a promising, well intentioned movement forced to capitulate to the antithesis of its ideals which sparked its conception. I can conclude, sadly, design is the will of the age.

he Red House, Philip Webb, 1860. After his marriage to Jane, Morris longed for a country home for the family, a place where he could live out his visions of

Books Beckert, Sven. Empire of cotton. USA: Penguin Books. 2014 Engels, Friedrich. The Condition of the Working Class in England. Germany: Otto Wigand, Leipzig. 1845

Websites Clericuzio, Peter. The Art Story. The Art Story Contributors. 25 February 2017. Web. 5 December 2020 Hayes, Nyasha. Cooper Hewitt. 9 February 2015. Web. 8 December 2020 Kent, Jacqueline. The Art Story. The Art Story Contributors. 04 Oct 2018. Web. 2020. 08 December 2020 Obniski, Monica. Met Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. June 2008. Web. 8 December 2020 Sorkin, Jenni. Issuu. Newcomb Art Museum. 16 August 2019. Web. 9 December 2020 V&A academy. Victoria and Albert Museum. March 27 2018. Web. 5 December 2020

Photographs Sanchez, Rico. The Red House, 25 February 2017. Hayes, Nyasha. Vase. 9 February 2015. Kent, Jacqueline. The Gamble House. 04 Oct 2018. Obniski, Monica. Met Museum. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. June 2008. Web. 8 December 2020 Sorkin, Jenni. Issuu. Newcomb Art Museum. 16 August 2019. Web. 9 December 2020 V&A academy. Victoria and Albert Museum. March 27 2018. Web. 5 December 2020 Sanchez, Rico. The Red House, 25 February 2017. Hayes, Nyasha. Vase. 9 February 2015.

Bibliography

“ What business have we with art unless all can share it?” William Morris

Bauhaus Archive Berlin Museum of Design