At the end of the 19th Century, European
designers, lacking the capacity to
create new forms, coupled with the advent
of the Industrial Revolution, turned
to their past in an attempt to rediscover
their own traditions. The result was the
reproduction of objects from earlier
periods.
English reformists William Morris and John Ruskin, along with other aesthetes of the period were appalled at the dehumanization of the worker by the machine and founded workshops and guilds throughout England aimed at elevating the status of the worker and the work. In the United States, Gustav Stickley introduced these same ideas and became the father of the American Arts and Crafts movement.
In France, the movement was named Art Nouveau and was much more fanciful, finding its inspiration in nature. Emile Galle’s School of Nancy was the first provincial center in France to generate and nurture a movement of artistic creativity independent of Paris since the renaissance.
The Art Nouveau style was popular in England, Scotland and spread throughout Europe. Louis Comfort Tiffany brought the style to America where it met phenomenal acclaim. The branch of Art Nouveau that spread thought Central Europe was known as Jugendstil or New Style and in Austria; the Vienna Sezession was founded by Josef Olbrich, Josef Hoffman and Gustav Klimt.
This led to the founding of the Wiener Werkstatte in 1902 and eventually the creation of the Bauhaus School of Design in Germany. The reoccurring theme behind these movements was NEW, ORIGINAL, MODERN!
World War I marked significant change. Few companies were able to survive the war, and those that did, found it increasingly difficult to compete with the industrialists. The Society of Artists Decorators in France set out to promote the supremacy of the decorators through regular exhibitions. Their work was consecrated with Les Exposition des Art Decoratifs et Industrials in 1925.
The exposition was a uniquely effective showcase for the French Designers and most countries, participating or not, sent delegations which returned with glowing reports. Les Arts Deco became the popular abbreviation for the style.
The economic necessities of the Great Depression resulted in the
Moderne design movement which featured tubular steel and glass,
less exotic materials that seen in earlier periods. Industrial designers
popularized this aesthetic, which accepted the machine as both
creative tool and inspiration.
Advances that were taking place in the field of transportation provided
inspiration for industrial designers as well. Objects such as
clocks, radios and toasters began to resemble automobiles, trains
and airplanes in the movement commonly known as Streamline.
The 1939 New York World’s Fair was a showcase for industrial design
and set the stage for the postwar success of modernism.
The design industry was an early casualty of World War II. In Europe, it died out completely and in this country a few manufacturers persevered in spite of material shortages and manufacturing restrictions. The World War II material and technological revolution challenged all prior notions of craftsmanship. The Museum of Modern Art in New York announced its Organic Design in Home Furnishing competition in 1940. Two young architects associated with Michigan’s Cranbrook Art Academy emerged with top honors. Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen redefined style and their organic designs introduced a whole new aesthetic to the existing scene. Their postwar modernism set the stage for fifties design in Europe and the United States.
The brilliance of European and American designers and architects throughout the first half of the 20th century continues to influence contemporary decorative arts circles.
