Gustav Klimt, Woman in Gold, 1907
Hi class, today, Tuesday, March 21, you received an announcement regarding our class next Tuesday, March 28, which I’ll attend. I will be there to teach the class@ 5pm. I’m sorry for the mixed messages. Everything else stays the same. Here's the homework in place of my absence.
There's plenty to talk about: Gesamtkunstwerk, Symbolism in its three variants (check the post), Vienna Secession, Behrens, Dudovich, Hoffmanss' Stoclet Palace, Wiener Werkstätte, the Deutscher Werkbund, the mark of Analytic Cubism, the mark of collage, how today's "Installation Art" is just an evolution from Gesamtkunstwerk,
1. Instead of the usual 150 words, let's produce 200 words for this specific homework.
2. Research the topic and avoid the echo chamber syndrome.
3. When we get together, I expect to have a lively discussion on your comments.
Go ahead.
18 comments:
Gesamtkunstwerk is a German word that roughly translates to “a total work of art”. This term is used to describe an artwork, design, or creative process whereby different art forms are combined to create a single cohesive whole. It refers to the ideal, a work of art that strives to make use of many art forms, characterized by a three dimensional mark as well as an avant-garde assemblage like interior. Victor Horta’s Hôtel Tassel (1894) is one of the first examples of this type of artwork. Horta evokes the vital force of nature within this architecture, seen through the curves that resemble vines overtaking the house among iron support columns cast in the form of a stem or root that almost bursts alive through the ceiling. Horta designed literally every element of the interior, including the window frames, stained glass, metal radiator covers, floral light fixtures, floor tiles, and stair rails. Charles Rennie Mackintosh, an architect, and his wife Margaret MacDonald together designed several interiors in their entirety, including their own home in 1906. The Ernst-Ludwig-Haus (1901) is another of many examples of Gesamtkunstwerk. Installation art would soon become the new “Gesamtkunstwerk” of the 2000s, emerging in the early nineties before mutating in different forms to become what it is today.
- Rose Bannon
Gesamtkunstwerk, meaning total work of art, describes an artwork or design where different art forms come together to form a cohesive whole. Gesamtkunstwerk is prominent in today's architecture with all parts of the design, interior, exterior, and furnishing all complementing one another. It has also evolved into the installation art we see today. Installation art usually occupies an entire room where the viewer must walk through in order to completely experience the work. Different reasons why installation art is just an evolution from Gesamtkunstwerk include the following: the three dimensional aspect of the art, the assemblage interior, the work happening in the service of the whole, and the spectator inside and surrounded by the artwork. An example of Gesamtkunstwerk is The Red House designed by William Morris and Phillip Webb in 1859, and an example of installation art is The Dinner Party designed by Judy Chicago in the 1970s. While the designs are different, both embody a total work of art depicting the evolution of Gesamtkunstwerk into installation art. The Red House was designed in a simple Tudor Gothic style, with unique built-in furniture, stained-glass windows, and tiles inscribed with Morris’s own motto. The Dinner Party is a ceremonial banquet, arranged on a triangular table with 39 place settings, each one honoring an important woman from history.
-Robert Bolton
The use of collage in art is a practice that brings up unique discussion points. As a medium, collage can be very broad and range in a variety of methods, tools, processes, and more. An arguably good grounding point for the discussion of collage in fine art presents itself in synthetic cubism. Drawing from the consideration of varying perspectives and visual planes involved with original cubism, synthetic cubism presents a significantly more minimalist approach to the commonly understood movement of cubism. In relation to each other as art movements and individual styles, both synthetic cubism and collage art rely on the manipulation of the visual field and three dimensional objects. Furthermore, they both emphasize the visual variety of the representation of three dimensional and tangible objects in space onto a two dimensional plane such as a canvas, paper, or other similar material. Drawing references from Picasso’s “Still Life with Chair-Caning,” it is easy to see how there is a significant connection between cubist artwork and collage art; the mixed and “cut” nature of the cubist painting resembles traditional collage work very closely. This emphasizes the advancement of marks and art movements and the relationship between varying art movements and practices throughout the course of time.
Divya Srinivasan
Picasso and Braque made a revolutionary step in abstract art by introducing the concept of collage. Expanding upon the painting styles associated with cubism, Picasso and Braque explored using pieces of different subject matter and material to produce an image. They were able to challenge and defy existing notions about what paintings and art forms were expected/anticipated to be and added both literal and figurative dimensions to their work. The use of collage provided the opportunity to create an image with an overall meaning composed of various little pieces to help build up the work and contribute their own significance. Cubism focused on depicting the reality of how the human mind works and perceives, and I feel collage truly embodies the beauty and chaos that can describe human thought. My earliest interactions with art involved creating a collage on notebooks and paper to represent who I was, and I loved being able to create something beautiful that also had the opportunity to visibly show the different parts of who I am. I think collage is a wonderful way of allowing the mind and individual to create something wholesome and meaningful that does not have to be reduced down to simplicity, dimension, and other standards that define other types of art.
Kailyn Hayes
“The German term Gesamtkunstwerk roughly translates as a “total work of art” and describes an artwork, design, or creative process where different art forms are combined to create a single cohesive whole.” Something that is always described to us is that you cannot understand an epoch without being in that epoch in that specific time. Therefore, if we want to evaluate that period in history, we need to pretend that we were living in that time, without judgment. Try to understand what the artist was trying to give off, with also the intention and mindset behind it. Many artists in history have laid a foundation for artists today. One of my favorite artists Marcello Dudovich, came up with a specific style that many enjoyed and learned from. Taking type over an illustration, combining and manipulating to get a specific end result. Simplicity, yet complex. Wiener Werkstätte work that should be looked at with attention to detail. Type also being used to express a style and feeling. Many patterns and creativity to illustrate a sensation between the artists and the viewer. Not one piece is the same. But taking these two styles with the understanding, and looking at architecture is not all that different. The Deutscher Werkbund and Hoffmans' Stoclet Palace both illustrate such elaborate outsides and insides. Creating a space for the viewer with industrial and craft. These artists have created a standard for art today. Not just the look of it but how they make you feel. The evolution of Installation Art is broadening each day. A “total work of art” has a beginning a middle and the end just keeps going as it is everchanging. The conception and perception is open.
Gianna Guirgis
The installation art from pieces of work in today's day can be seen as an evolution from Gesamtkunstwerk, which was a term made by the German composer Richard Wagner to describe his vision of a "total work of art." It was a term that referred to the synthesis of all art forms which includes: music, theater, painting, drawing, and architecture. Today's installation art is similar to Gesamtkunstwerk as they share immersive quality. Installation art is intended to be an inclusive experience that engages the viewer on multiple levels, similar to Wagner's music operas. Installation art also often incorporates a variety of different arts and contains media, sculptures, video, sound, and human performances. The goal of both transition art and Gesamtkunstwerk is to transport the viewer out of their everyday world and place them in a new one. However, there are also some differences between installation art and Gesamtkunstwerk such as installation art being temporary and site-specific and Gesamtkunstwerk not having to be presented like this. Installation art is designed for a specific place and time which allows the artist to tie the piece of art to its natural surroundings. In addition, installation art tends to be more political than Gesamtkunstwerk. Artists use installation art to get messages across that to agree with their political views and allow them to have pretty big platforms while doing so. On the other hand, Gesamtkunstwerk was more focused on universal themes rather than politics.
-Damien DiTaranto
Deutscher Werkbund is a English-German Association that consists of Craftsmen. The Deutscher Werkbund is an important organization of artists. This organization was influential and inspired design and craftsmanship within architecture and mass-produced goods. The Werkbund was founded in Munich in 1907. The group was formed with artists, artisans, architects who designed industrial, commercial and household products as well as practicing architecture. The leaders of the group were architects Henry Van de Velde and Hermann Muthesius. They were both influenced by William Morris who led the 19th century in the English Arts and Crafts movement. He proposed that industrial crafts can be collaborative between designers and craftsmen. They also established that form should be determined by function and not ornamentation-they believed ornamentation should be eliminated. They believed that German designers needed to shift their focus towards designing objects to be mass produced and that it should not be derived from the functional aspect of the object. Each object should be honest about the materials. They wanted the quality of German products to be known by their designs. The Werkbund was an important part of the development of modern architecture and industrial design and essential to the later founding of the Bauhaus.
- Emily Collins
The mark of Analytic Cubism was a form of art created by artists Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and Juan Gris at around 1907-1908 in the second period of Cubism art. It lasted until about 1912 when the collage introduced versions that were simplified that referred to the different analytic forms. Analytic Cubism was a new approach to help represent reality and helped describe the early phase of cubism. Also, analytic cubism was heavily structured and had more of a monochromatic approach than Synthetic Cubism. It was given the name Analytical Cubism because of the structure of the separation of a subject, the different viewpoints, and overlapping planes. This technique involved a close examination of objects to make them into geometric shapes, angles, and lines. Also, an important feature that makes analytical cubism unique is the simplified usage of color. The colors used were shades of grey, brown, black, and dark green. The simplified usage of color helps the viewer not get distracted by the structure’s form and the image density which was located at the center of the image. Overall, the mark of Analytic Cubism was important during the time and helped bring engagement to art from a different perspective.
-Joshua Escobedo
Marking the explicit departure from traditional and academic creative sensibilities, the Viennese Secessionists (1890’s) welcomed global, holistic, and modern tastes/approaches to creating art. Prominent members including, but not limited to, Klimt, Hoffman, and Olbrich pushed for a co-mingling of many styles in their work. Under the Secessionist philosophy, art was not meant to necessarily look a particular way, rather, was meant to incorporate various techniques and motifs so as to expand the contemporary cannon and innovate in a space that was vehemently holding on to conscripted ways of creating. In an attempt to confront this, the Secessionists created a space, coined the “Secession Building”, to display art from many places and of various media to promote a global artistic message. The “Secession Building” itself contains, within its design, architectural motifs from throughout time and across various cultures. In turn, it became not only a practical space for diverse exhibitions of art, but was, and still is, thought of as the physical manifestation of the Succession movement’s primary philosophy. The Secessionists are prime exhibitors of Gesamtkunstwerk, or the “total work of art”. Their intent was to not only redefine what was popularly acceptable, but to inspire the spirit of innovation in the artistic endeavor as it grew and developed on an increasingly global scale.
- Ricky Durga
Dudovich was a highly influential artist whose work helped to shape the visual culture of early 20th-century Italy. His unique style and artistic vision continue to inspire and captivate audiences today. He was known for his elegant, refined style and attention to detail, which was often characterized by pastel colors and curvilinear forms. He did work in a variety of mediums, including oil painting, watercolor, and charcoal, his artistic output was largely two-dimensional and intended for reproduction in print media, such as magazines and posters.
Dudovich's posters were created to attract the attention of passers-by and promote various commercial products, such as fashion, food, and drink. One of his most famous works was a poster he created for Campari in 1904, which helped to establish the brand as a leading product in Italy. He was also an illustrator for several Italian magazines. His illustrations often depicted scenes of everyday life, such as fashionable women strolling in parks. These works helped to capture the spirit of the era and remain admired by art historians and graphic designers today. The women on his hand was charming and vivid.
I am also interested in installation art. It involves creating immersive, three-dimensional environments or experiences that engage the viewer's senses and challenge their perceptions of space and time. It challenge traditional notions of art and explore new forms of expression.
--Rui Zhu
The Vienna Secession was an artistic movement. The Vienna Secession was formally founded in Vienna in April 1897 as part of the Association of Austrian Visual Artists. The purpose of the Vienna Secession was to renew the applied arts and create a complete art. It is a true artistic expression. The art of the Vienna Secession was completely different from the art of the classical academics. The Secession advocates innovation, pursues the practicability and rationality of performance functions, not only emphasizes the development of individuality in style, but also tries its best to explore the combination with modern life to create a new style. The graphic style of the Secession was quite outstanding, and had a great influence on Austria at that time. Such as the stained glass windows of the Steinhof Church. The flat style of Secession advocates the repetition of elements and the orderly arrangement of elements. This style was quite trendy at the time. In fact, I think the graphic style of the Vienna Secession is still mainstream now. In addition to graphic design, the Vienna Secession also made great contributions to posters, furniture, and art exhibitions. In addition to the contribution in art, I think this innovative spirit is equally important. Regardless of whether the innovation is successful or not, the innovation itself will provide inspiration for future generations to encourage them to innovate and progress.
--Kai Gao
As if a cubist painting came to life, Hoffman’s Stoclet Palace is an architectural feat. The suburban palace was designed for Suzanne and Aldolphe Stoclet with the intent of being used to entertain European elite. The overall plan is predominantly asymmetrical, with elongating forms emphasizing the rectangularity of the structure. The flat stone facades are accented with darker linear moldings that add a cartoonish element, and tie into the cubist influences. The combination of simple, flattened facades with exaggerated corners and edges mixes formal and informal aspects of the building into an aesthetically pleasing palace. Bow windows and a stepped stair tower extrude from the planar facades creating a dynamic relationship between voids and solids. The interior mirrors the cubism of the exterior, but on a more opulent scale. The dining room features juxtaposing patterns of tiled floors, marble walls, and Gustav Klimt’s murals. The plan of the dining room is symmetrical and ordained with a grand dining table of yet another material. The linearity of the palace is seen in the floors of hallways and expansive rooms through stylized tile lines running the lengths of spaces. Majority of the furniture has clean lines with organic shapes that dramatize the cubist spaces by not conforming to the palace’s geometry.
-Mary Gorski
The Vienna Secession was a revolutionary movement in art and architecture that emerged in Vienna in the late 19th century. It was a response to the traditional academic style that dominated the art scene in Austria and Europe at the time. Those a part of the movement were united by a belief in the importance of individual expression and the need to create a new, modern art that reflected the changing times. The Vienna Secession was led by a group of artists and architects, including Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann, and Otto Wagner. They organized exhibitions and published a magazine, "Ver Sacrum," to showcase their work and promote their ideas. The movement was characterized by its use of simple, geometric shapes, stylized floral motifs, and a focus on the decorative arts (works of graphic art). These artists also incorporated new materials (like steel and glass) into their designs. The importance of the Vienna Secession lies in its role in shaping the development of modern art and architecture. The movement had a significant influence on the Art Nouveau style, which spread throughout Europe in the early 20th century.Their legacy can still be seen today in the works of modernist designers and architects, and their influence can be felt in the development of modern art and design across the world.
- Milla Nader
The term Gesamtkunstwerk translates to "total work of art". In essence, it describes a design, an artwork, or a creative process where different forms of art are combined to create robust and cohesive pieces. The concept was introduced in the nineteenth century by a famous artist, Richard Wagner, who composed the idea and argued that the Gesamtkunstwerk of the future would utilize every rich faculty of separate arts (The Art Story). In popularizing the Gesamtkunstwerk idea, Richard seamlessly fused visual art, music, and theatre in his overall work. The concept of Gesamtkunstwerk later influenced other artistic movements such as Vienna Secession, Wiener Werkstatte, Behrens, Dundovich, and symbolism, among others.
Today’s “installation” artwork borrows much of its ideas from the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk in many ways; Like Gesamtkunstwerk, today’s installation art aims to combine different themes and messages for its audience and transform their physical space into a single artwork. For example, the Vienna secession artwork was greatly influenced by the Gesamtkunstwerk idea as it sought to unify all art forms into a cohesive work. The architecture of the building, the Beethoven frieze, and the façade detail in Vienna Secession art borrowed the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk.
Moreover, today’s “installation art” is an evolution of the Gesamtkunstwerk as their main focus is to engage the viewer into participating. The use of symbolism in today’s art to engage the audience in finding the true meaning of an artwork is a concept of Gesamtkunstwerk. The viewer of the artwork may participate physically by interacting with the piece of art or contributing to creating the "installation art." This interaction began with the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk.
-Gigi Moynihan
What I will discuss here is the first subject touched upon during last class: Joseph Hoffmann and the Stoclet Palace located in Brussels, Belgium. Joseph Hoffmann was a German architect, and this palace specifically was made for engineer-businessman Adolphe Stoclet and his wife Suzanne Stevens, an elite couple at that time. It was finished in 1911, is within an 8600 square meters space, and has an asymmetric structure. It also contains frieze pieces in the dining room created by Gustav Klimt, well-known painter. The Wiener Werkstätte was also part of this project. It was an art company in which Hoffmann was a patron of together with Moser. It had a mission to introduce design into all niches, therefore implementing the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). The Stoclet palace is to this day an UNESCO World Heritage. The plarform “Culture Trip” calls the place a locked beauty, as it isn’t open to the public and owned by the descendents of the Stoclers. However, the detailed layered outside face of the building is worth being seen. In the area, there is a garden with bronze sculptures, a marble panel, and windows showcasing its three stories, one of them having a balcony area decorated with golden elements. It is clearly a building that calls attention and has several elements that make it unique. Daniela Christmann’s photos really showcase well the details and intricacies within the outside of the structure.
- Roberta Macedo
The term Gesamtkunstwerk, popularized by renowned composer Richard Wagner, signifies a “total and complete work of art”. Rather than a unilateral “masterpiece” the Gesamtkunstwerk transcends and synthesizes mediums to create a fully immersive work of art. My first time learning about this phenomenon was reading about, and then experiencing the Gesamtkunstwerk conceived by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider, the founders of the Kraftwerk collective. The two young German architects joined together in t 1970 to create what is now referred to as the sonic extension of the Bauhaus movement. The members of Kraftwerk were trailblazers in the use of synthesizers in modern music. However, the implementation of artificial sound was less focused on the musicality of their oeuvre but rather a key component in the larger Gesamtkunstwerk Hütter and Schneider were carving out of the postwar Industrialist scape of Germany. Kraftwerk’s music was the band’s vehicle for their contribution to the reconstruction of Germany’s cultural identity following its nazi occupation during world war II. They adopted an artificial identity and used it as the through line in their sound, graphic design, visual touchpoint, and performance curation. Their computer generated presence is the antithesis of the classical prewar and Nazi Germany culture. Kraftwerk’s identity is equal parts band as it is experience. Their Gesamtkuntswerk is not only regarded as a work of art but a symbol of change, and Germany’s reemergence into the global community as an advocate for innovation.
Sarah Stehling
Analytic cubism was a really interesting art movement that started in the early 1900s and was led by famous artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Basically, they came up with a new way of creating art by breaking down objects into geometric shapes and looking at them from different angles all at once. The idea was to capture the essence of the object and make it look like it had depth even though it was just a flat surface. One of the main goals of analytic cubism was to challenge traditional ways of creating art and come up with a new visual language that reflected the rapidly changing world around them. They did this by using mainly gray, brown, and black colors, and focusing on the use of lines, shapes, and textures to create a complex visual language that made people see things in a different way. Although it can be tough to understand at first, if you look closely at analytic cubist art, you can see all the different angles and perspectives that the artist used to create the image. This was a huge change from traditional art and paved the way for future art movements like synthetic cubism and abstract art. Overall, analytic cubism was a super cool movement that totally changed the way people thought about art. It inspired new and innovative forms of artistic expression that continue to influence modern and contemporary art today.
Sydney Essex
Vienna Secession, as suggested by the name was a movement started in Austria by not just painters, but also graphic designers, sculptors, and architects. This movement consists of many art forms and is closely related to the movement Art Nouveau. The beginning of Vienna Secession is dated to 1897. Many authors agree that this movement became the beginning of the modern art movement in Austria. Gustav Klimt became the leader of the movement in its early days. While the movement was growing, the venue was built dedicated to it and an official journal was started, Ver Sacrum. This brought Austria onto the world stage of modern art and art history. The venue for this movement is considered to be the first permanent structure dedicated to the modern art and established it in a very physical way in art world. The Vienna Secession was created as an art movement that always evolves, which is why it is not particularly consistent, it changes with the trends in art world and still exists in modern day while still evolving.
Eva Klovatskiy
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