Week 8 Rise of the Decorator

Dorothy Draper really caught my attention with her use of bold color and design. Her interior spaces display a great contrast between elements through patterns and hues. She was the first person to professionalize the field of interior design and created her own design firm in 1923. Not only were design firms unheard of but starting and owning a business as a women was rare and daring. Dorthy Draper and Company design studio is still a working company and continues to use the similar style techniques that Dorthy her self used. It is noted that she was a very confident women, which helped her success in both the business and design feild.

Her spaces displayed vibrant colors and daring combinations of colors and patterns. One of her favorite combinations was using a dull white against a shiny black. She also used white and black checkered floors in a lot of her spaces. Her design goals were to make people feel the quality of life when they entered the space, she was labeled as an anti-minimilst.

Dorthy lived a glamorous life style, be born into an aristocratic lifestyle in Tuxedo, New York. This was actually the first ever gated community in the United States. The finer life style continued when she was married in 1912 to Dr. George Draper, personal doctor to president Franklin D. Roosevelt. She then worked on interiors of her high society friends.

Current Applications:
The Colony Hotel, done by Dorthy Draper and Company design studio.

Extra Credit: Here is a short video displaying more of Dorothy Draper's work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16wqY1wrma4

Responses: 

Alexandra- I thought your descriptions next to the images you chose was very helpful and full of information. 

Erin- The information you found on Tessa Kennedy was very interesting and it looks that her work was very unique. 

Week 7 Art Deco

While researching the Art Deco period I came across French artist Rene Lalique. He work consisted of glass design and art, perfume bottles, vases, chandeliers, clocks, jewelry, and automobile hood ornaments. When he was just twelve years old he started College Turgot (1872) where he learned drawing and sketching skills. In 1874 he would then begin taking classes in London to improve his graphic design skills. Lalique is best known for his glass art creations that were displayed on wall or columns of grand dinning halls.

Left Picture: SS Normandie dining hall

Right Picture: Spirit of the Wind Automobile ornament

In 1921 Lalique founded the Verrierie d'Alsace glassworks, today the world's on Lalique factory. By 1925 he has participated in many architectural projects and was highlighted at the International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts in Paris, this was the climax of his career. Pictured right: Interior of Cote d'Azur Pullman Express carriage.             

Current Applications:

Extra Credit: Video highlighting works of Lalique https://vimeo.com/114224292

Responses: Kate- I really like the 3rd current day application you included. For being modern it still highlights the art deco style very clearly. 

Kendra- The video you included was very interesting and informational. I also thought the caption you included with your pictures are very helpful. 

Week 5 Post Modernism

Le Corbusier had his hand in many art forms but was most famous for his architectural work. The French designer was also a painter, urban planner, and writer. Corbusier had no formal training in architecture but did work with the notable Peter Behrens and Josef Hoffmann. His worked mainly focused on providing better living conditions for people of crowded cities. He also worked to industrialize urban cities like Paris, France and the city of Chandigarh, India. Le Corbusier taught himself about architecture by visiting different museums, going to different libraries, reading about the subject, and sketching then constructing building models.

The Anatole Schrod House in La-Chaux-de-Fonds

Maison Dom-Ino

Corbusier began his own architectural practice when he moved to Paris in 1917. The next year he would meet Cubist painter Amedee Ozenfant who encouraged him to collaborated with him in some of his artwork. Their work would alter the cubist techniques and begin the Purism movement. Between 1918-1922 Corbusier focused primarily on his painting work and did not design anything to be built. 

Guitare verticale 

Nature morte verticale

Later famous architectural work included the National Museum of Western Art in Tokyo ( 1954-1959). Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts (1960-1963). The Centre Le Corbusier in Zurich (1962-1967).

Current day works inspired by the Post Modernism movement:

 

Extra Credit: Here is a video tour of the Centre Le Corbusier

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8NFZGj6Qps

Respones:

Courtney- I like how you included the quote by Ludwig Mues van der Rohe, it really expresses his feel for the importance of fundamentals before designing. 

Demi- I too enjoy the styles of Walter Gropius, the materials he used were very innovative. 

Week 3 Prontomodernism

Week 2 Art Nouveau

The very ornamental Art Nouveau style was carried out in the United States and Europe through about 1890 to 1910. The style was used by many creators in different fields, architecture, interior design, jewelry making, illustration and more. The style was first created in England and then later carried through out Europe before making its way to the US. In Germany Art Nouveau was known as "Jungendstil", "Sezessionstiwl" in Austria, "Modernismo", in Spain, and "Stile Floreale" in Italy.

Dragonfly corsage ornament

One notable designer was Aubrey Beardsley a young illustrator that was influenced by Japanese woodcut design and Japanese fashion. Beardsley only lived to be 25 due to reoccurring illnesses but in just a short time created many notable pieces during the Art Nouveau period. He was probably the most controversial artist of the era due to his dark and sometimes erotic designs. Topics of work included mythology, concerning issues of history, and political cartoons. His work was featured in various books and magazine as well Oscar Wilde's play Salome. 

                                   The Climax                                   Venus between Terminal Gods

Whiplash Curve: The whiplash curve is one of the most frequently used techniques when it came to designing during the Art Nouveau period. The organic curvilinear line was repeated through different mediums and design applications. Although the movement was short-lived, the use of the superfluous ornamentation has left its mark on both old and new design. 

Whiplash Curve

Current Applications

Extra Credit: Here is a short video that showcases more of Aubrey Beardsley work. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiAx6j3sWZ4

Responses:

Bailey: I enjoyed how you included the literal meaning of the word "Art Nouveau"I didn't know that its simply meant "new art".

Becca: I loved how you focused on Gaudi, I love his colorful work. It is one of a kind. The line drawings of the building were also helpful. 

Week 1 Arts & Crafts

William Morris the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement focused heavily on creating spaces that were not nearly as busy as spaces from the Victorian era. The previous attitude shifted from wanting to show of everything one owned to only using or having what one needed. Furniture was much simpler and not as ornate but made very carefully by hand. As a whole design was much simpler but one thing that remained busy and decorative were the wallpapers that Morris designed. 

Victorian Style

Arts and Crafts

"Morris created stunningly beautiful wallpapers with complex rhythms and movement which seemed to capture the randomness and symmetry of nature." -Morris & Co.

During the 1860s in London, Morris designed wallpapers which were then printed using wood blocks and mineral based pigments. His most notable partner was John Henry Dearle. Using a different more modern technique the designs one made by these two artist can still be created in Loughborough, England at the Morris & Co. studio. A few of the classical favorites are sometimes given a more contemporary look and to achieve the a watercolor effect a Gravure machine is used.

Morris's first wallpaper design was the Trellis pattern which he displayed in his home in Bexlevheath, Kent. 

Trellis Wood Block Print

Extra Credit: The process of making wood block print wallpapers. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgUvwluZIy4

Reviews:

Alexandra- I enjoyed how Alexandra touched on the political, economic, and social aspects of the arts and crafts movement, and not just design techniques.

Anna- I like how Anna added the point of how white paint against the dark hard wood was used both during the arts and crafts movements and heavily now. Good observation!