ART DECO: HISTORICAL DESIGN ESSAY PLAN

WHY HAVE I CHOSEN THIS TOPIC?

        As a lover of art that can be appreciated at face value, Art Deco is a movement that, although abstract in its design, appeals to me through its elegant and aesthetically pleasing visuals. It's the type of art style that I would personally adopt if I was an architect or artist. And through research even though I have a personal preference for Realism, I have begun to realise the actual extent such a movement has influenced countries around the world. This is a conclusion that has not manifested from research alone, but with added personal experience. It’s a topic I have most enjoyed studying whilst also finding its aesthetic qualities and origins deeply fascinating. Thus, the topic I have chosen for the upcoming historical design essay is the Art Deco design movement.

    This is entirely down to a lecture rich with information covering its incredible influence and journey from the late 20’s. Whether discussing key designer and founders such as Hector Guimard or Raoul Lachenal or researching its cultural impact and bias toward to elite, its rise, fall and eventual resurgence defines a generation and in doing so, has developed an indistinguishable character that cannot be understated. It is this incredible journey, culture and identifiable aesthetics are what appeal to me and prompt me to delve deeper into its history and influences.

KEY RESEARCH AREAS AND MATERIALS

  In preparation for this assignment, I have gathered a variety of valuable and legitimate research sources to broaden my understanding of the Art Deco design movement. These sources cover areas such as;

• The History of Art Deco
• The Key Designers of Art Deco
• The Cultural Identity of Art Deco
• The Inspiration of Art Deco
• Art Deco in Today’s Society

   With these topic areas in mind, I believe I can cover the entirety of the Art Deco movement, from where it came from, who influenced its cultural progression, to where it was and where it is now. With this comprehensive list of areas, I have managed to gather resources from various source types such as book, documentaries, online article and images. Key resources that deserve mentioning are;

1.    Eva Weber, E. W. (2003) Art Deco.  JG Press. Link.

2.    BBC (2009) Glamour’s Golden Age. Link.

3.    BBC (2007) Art Deco (c. 1908 to 1935). Link.

NEXT POST: HISTORICAL ESSAY SKELETON PLAN

ART MOVEMENT: ART DECO

     Art Deco is a heavily influenced movement that, unlike most movements, wasn't a political response to the great war of the 30's. In fact, Art Deco existed long before the war under a different identity - the 'Modern Style'. As a result of the harsh cultural conditions during World War II, it lost it's popularity due to it's bias towards the rich. It was only until the late 60's (Post World War II) that Art Deco experienced a resurgence and flourished in the 60's, where it's name "Art Deco" was coined in 1966 after an exhibition in Paris and it's first book by Bevis Hillier in 1968 was released. Since then it has gone on to globally influence all areas of design, such as Architecture, Interior Design and Film - its most famous example in the UK is the Midlands Hotel in Morecombe (seen below).

  Famous for it's mathematical and elegant geometric shapes, Art Deco became heavily influenced over the early 20th century by various different ancient cultures, such as the art of Babylon, Ancient Egypt, Aztec Mexico and Africa. From this culmination of cultural influences manifested the common household image of Art Deco and without realising it, we as a modern society are exposed to it's massive influence to this day. In the UK you have the Midlands Hotel in Morecombe inspired by the geometrical focus Art Deco adopts and in the US you have the Chrylser Building (Shown below) that was inspired by the trademark Sunburst Motif (seen below) and the Golden Gate Bridge that focuses on mathematical shapes to facilitate function (also seen below).

    As a lover of art that can be appreciated at face value, Art Deco is a movement that, although abstract in it's design, appeals to me through it's elegant and aesthetically pleasing visuals. It's the type of art style that I would personally adopt if I was an architect or artist and through research, I have begun to realise the actual extent such a movement has influenced countries around the world. This is a realisation not spawning just from research,  but from personal experience. After being told that Cinemas are probably the best example of Art Deco's influence on interior design I was dumbfound as to exactly how this was the case, until I went to the cinema and took the picture below;

   Instantly you can see the Sunburst Motif created by the use of light and shadow - in this case it is actually used to present light rather than to represent an ideology or symbol like the Chrysler Building succeeded in doing with it's sunburn motif peak as if to say "Look at this, look at what our country has accomplished". This Cineworld in Didsbury, like many others around the country, simply used it for effect - understandable considering its magnificent effect. 

    All in all, Art Deco's influence has been felt globally, and through the images above it's clear its legacy has been solidified. However, although used in many forms of art, 'art' itself is the best example of what Art Deco represents.

NEXT POST: ART DECO: HISTORICAL DESIGN ESSAY PLAN

MOOD BOARD: REALISM

       Realism was a movement that I related well to, therefore developing a mood board with this movement in question was the obvious avenue to take. However I soon realised that Realism lacks the same depth and cultural inspiration other movements such as Art Nouveau pride themselves upon - its a movement that can be taken at face value, and thus, although I like the resulting body's of work that that have emerged from such a well known movement, I find myself craving more character or depth due to previous research on other movements. 

   Taking this into account, the mood board I have developed encompasses exactly what Realism is about - "What you see is exactly what you get". It's about the images themselves and therefore, the mood board below focuses on that in the hopes of translating the concept, the art and its style across - it's not about the fancy techniques, its about the image as a whole, I kept this in mind when developing the mood board.

   All in all, considering this mood board is no where near as rich in its visuals, it is still a successful piece, as it reflects and succeeds in the same goals as Realism sets out to accomplish  - its realistic, its serious and its straight forward. Couple the imagery with the direct quotation that encompasses what Realism aims to achieve and you have a mood board that is instantly identifiable with the movement Realism and thus, a successful mood board. One thing I must note though, is that after developing both mood boards, my interest in art has taken a U-turn as I find myself more attracted to work with depth and cultural influences - I now appreciate the values of a piece of art rather than art at face value.

NEXT POST: ART MOVEMENT: ART DECO

MOOD BOARD: ART NOUVEAU

        Art Nouveau is something I'd heard of prior to this course, but never really understood. Since developing this mood board however, I have a new found interest in it. The colours combined with the circular shapes and patterns make art that is both pleasing to the eye whilst also being culturally influenced. It's a rich style that really has its own identity and thus, its a field I shall research further into in the coming months. All in all I am really pleased with the mood board below.

   With a movement like Art Nouveau, there are many defining characteristics; whether colours or shape, Art Nouveau has distinctive trademarks such as the use of circles, thick controlled lines and warm colours. In this mood board I tried to reflect all of the aforementioned in the hopes of translating the Art Nouveau theme - I personally think I succeeded. By using common shapes (Circles etc), thick black lines and curved patterns, I have managed to develop a full body of work that encompasses the art movement as a whole and therefore I believe it is an informative piece to those that view it. It's a movement that 'requires' such depth in order to be appreciated and thus, by included common patterns, colours, techniques and renowned artworks within the Art Nouveau movement, this mood board perfectly reflects the style.


NEXT POST: MOOD BOARD: REALISM

ART MOVEMENT: ART NOUVEAU

        Art Nouveau is a movement that developed in the late nineteenth century as a decorative style founded by a generation of "energetic" and "brilliant" artists, who sought to solidify a fashion appropriate for the modern age. Like many other movements, such as German Modernism, it was a response to the Industrial Revolution, but rather than rebel against that revolution and become a movement that was too right handed or left handed, it sat in between - accepting both sides of ideals.In some cases technological progress was embraced, where as other artists promoted the idea of craftsmanship and aesthetics.  As a result you have a harmonising movement where equanimity is present, and the result Art Nouveau is a successful movement that's influences are still felt in today's society internationally.

The piece "The Kiss" (below) was crafted by Gustav Klimt and is his most renowned accomplishment. Gustav was a German artist who focused on decorative pieces and often developed erotic art. The important aspect here is how this piece of work embodied what I mentioned previously. With paint, silver and gold leaf, "The Kiss" is the perfect example of Art Nouveau.

   I dislike abstract art that requires context to be appreciated, however, a piece like this treads down such a path but still retains the ability be appreciated at face value. Couple this with the realistic fine art used on the faces and you have a harmony that I feel is quite astonishing considering that I, on the most part, tend to shy away from non-traditional pieces.

ART MOVEMENT: REALISM

   Realism is a mid 1800's art movement that really speaks to me as a creative person. The idea that something should be shown in a realistic manner or "as close to realtiy as possible" is an idea that translates throughout my own work. Its an art movement that irigionated in France that intended to irradicate the idealization of subjects thorugh art. Gustav Corbet was a famous realism artist who's most famous peice was "The Oak of Flagey" painted in 1819. This to me, is astounding peice or art - almost indistinguishable from the real thing, which shows you how effective realism really is. It's something that can be appreciated at face value, which personally I believe art should be - the way it looks rather than what it means.

 

 All in all, realism is an art movment that adopts ideologys I practice through my own work, and through realstic use of colour, lighting, proportion and perspective I believe true "Art" can be achieved, however art is subjective, just like music or film . I do understand that art is a personal expression of something that exists and may exist, thus realism isnt always an approriate art form as it is a very literally take on a subject and thus, I can understand why some people may choose to follow a more expressionist art such as as cubism.

NEXT POST: ART MOVEMENT: ART NOUVEAU

ART MOVEMENT: CUBISM

      Cubism is and was one of the most incredibly influential art forms, especially in the early 20^th century. It was founded by Pablo Picasso – the pioneer of Cubism. More often than not, you will find his name is mentioned when cubism is in question and rightfully so, he created it, he made its benchmark pieces. Cubism defied the norm; it rejected the idea that art should copy nature with traditional and realistic techniques such as perspective and flipped it on its head for affect. Personally I dislike the movement, as I have a personal preference for realism; I simply believe the movement is different simply because it can be. Below is a prime example as to why I dislike Cubism. The “Weeping Woman” by Picasso was painted in 1937 in response to the bombing of a Basque town of Guernica and although I appreciate it, I do not understand it. Why skew an idea to present a realistic one? To me nothing is more effective than reality.
 

 

   However I can see why others would follow such a movement, although abstract in its presentation. Cubism is also a form of symbolism, presenting an idea and an emotion directly rather than subtly. It's an art form that can only be appreciate when put into context; considering the Weeping Woman, you can see how the sad story of a mother holding her dead child is effective when you take a second look at the above piece.

NEXT POST: ART MOVEMENT: REALISM

INTRODUCTION TO BLOG

        Historical Contextual Studies was not something I would have thought to be of any importance to Game Design. However after some initial scepticism, I have been enlightened to exactly how important research on other art forms are, whether symbolism, music or architecture. It just goes to show how much research and effort really is invested when building a game and its world. Because of this, I’m craving the opportunity to soak up knowledge so that when the opportunity presents itself, I can confidently build a world with substance along with imagination or realism.

   With this module, you get as much as you put into it, thus throughout the year you will mostly see self initiated research on various topics from symbolism to architecture. You will see my research and read my views, and hopefully when read in correspondence with the other module blogs, see how my research affects my work and eventually matures it.

   To abide by such a promise, my first posts will cover three separate art movements, what they are and my personal views on them.

NEXT POST: ART MOVEMENT: CUBISM