Ramon Casas, Decadent Youth, 1899
Dear class, we talked about Gesamtkunstwerk, Art for Art's Sake, Rennie and Margaret Macintosh, Koloman Moser, Art Nouveau, Loos rejection of ornament in architecture, Women in Photography, Harper's, Jules Cheret, Lucien and Esther Pissarro's wonderful Ishtar descending into the Netherworld, the Simplicimus magazine, The Beggarstaffs & Henry van De Velde's designs.
Make a thoughtful comment. No echo chamber.
Go ahead.
15 comments:
Adolf Loos’ essay “Ornament and Crime” piqued my interest because as an architecture student I have always adored the phrase “less is more.” Originally coined by architect Mies van der Rohe (my favorite), Loos’ design philosophy shares a similar ideology, that of stripping architecture down to its bare bones. He believed that architectural simplicity reflected a modern and progressive society, which was a direct response to the world’s industrial age focusing on practicality and production. Loos’ beliefs of anti-ornamentation can greatly be seen in today’s building methods, where cost and efficiency are the key factors of modern-day construction. It’s interesting to see this transition from such heavily-ornamented design to a much sleeker, minimalistic approach, however, I think this transition was necessary to handle a growing population and societal needs. As populations grow, buildings must be built faster, with decorative elements (seen in Art Nouveau styles) being cut first.
Learning that women in photography in the 1800s were among the most famous of their time was a fact I was both surprised and pleased to hear. Women such as Anna Atkins, who was the first female photographer, is credited with being the first woman to create a photograph. She skillfully used the cyanotype process, also known as blueprints, to document botanical specimens. Her most famous piece is Photographs of British Algae, which is a cyanotype impression from 1843. It is also the first book that was ever illustrated with photographic images. This piece was both scientifically valuable and an artistically beautiful creation, inspiring future generations of photographers and scientists alike. Through storytelling, she emphasized emotion over sharp technical perfection in her work. This is my personal favorite type of photography, and so this immediately caught my attention. I did further research on women in photography and gathered interesting insight. Expectedly, women faced societal and professional barriers in the 19th century and would often work in the shadow of male photographers. This meant that instead of having their own personal studios, many early women photographers worked in studios with male family members or under pseudonyms. Despite being hidden and occasionally having their work disguised as men’s, their contributions laid the foundation for future generations of female photographers in the 20th and 21st centuries. Their work continues to live on as a mark of the greatest photography in history, proving that art and innovation transcend societal limitations. Their impact is still studied, celebrated, and admired by historians, artists, and photographers worldwide.
Koloman Moser’s work reminds me of the vibrant energy of 60s psychedelic art, where bold colors and imaginative patterns were essential. His art is incredibly eye-catching due to its distinctive flat and clean quality, which gives it both simplicity and impact. His designs embody a modernist spirit, balancing order with striking visual appeal. Much like traditional Japanese art, Moser masterfully uses minimalism and negative space to create compositions that feel both serene and dynamic. His style is defined by clean lines and geometric precision, which establishes a strong sense of rhythm and structure. At first glance, his compositions may seem simple and flat, but a closer look reveals a thoughtful complexity in the way he plays with color and form, much like the experimental nature of psychedelic art. His work invites viewers to look beyond the surface, appreciating the elegance of minimalism and the dynamic interplay between art and space, ensuring a timeless and inspiring visual experience.
^Alejandra Cuevas
Art for art’s sake is an interesting topic because it calls into question how truly objective and independent a person, or their work of art can be from other societal influences. There is an obvious distinction between art like political cartoons or magazines that we discussed and aestheticism, but if art for art’s sake is made with the primary goals of emphasizing beauty and pleasure, you must also acknowledge the standards of beauty at the time influenced by society. Another consideration is the subconscious motivations for the artist to choose certain colors, styles, patterns, etc. which arise solely from existing in society. While art for art’s sake is an interesting and meaningful idea, I don’t believe that art can be truly objective, and most examples of such art are reflective of the period during which they were created. It’s also worth noting that even if an artist creates something for art’s sake with no other motivations, it can just as easily be used by someone else to promote a certain view as much of art tends to be up to interpretation. You could even argue that art made without alternate meaning is the most suggestive and political art there is, requiring viewers to grasp for meaning from their own experience of the world even if their intention is to admire the art for it’s beauty.
The illustration Ishtar Descending into the Netherworld is a striking depiction of despair. At first glance, the title would be nearly impossible to guess based on the imagery alone. The black-and-white color scheme heightens the sense of dread, portraying three praying figures, each with distinct expressions that convey different emotions; none of them comforting. A sun shines directly onto the scene, yet because it shares the same stark palette as the rest of the illustration, it feels more like a false or hollow hope rather than a source of salvation. The artwork masterfully conveys a bleak story of faith set against an equally bleak existence, as if the figures are praying for something that may never come to pass. Even without deep knowledge of the Ishtar mythos, the illustration immediately draws the viewer into a greater, haunting narrative.
My favorite part of this class is the overall discussion of design, not just what one would classify as graphic design. In the last lecture the design of socarrat was a topic of discussion. Learning about the design of a food dish was not something I was expecting to learn, but I am happy I am. Like the design of Gaudí’s Casa Batlló, the food dish of Socarrat is carefully designed with different ingredients and precise steps to achieve an exquisite end result. Casa Batlló uses ingredients like ceramics, forging, stained glass, carpentry, and wrought ironwork to achieve its beautiful form, while socarrat uses sofrito, pinot grigio, beef broth, rice, and the process of caramelization to achieve its delicious form. Specific ingredients and steps of a crucial part of design. It’s also not just for the fine arts, but can be applied to all different types of mediums.
The work of the Beggarstaffs (a pseudonym used by British artists James Pryde and William Nicholson) and their nod to simplicity is compelling. The pair began in 1894, adopting an art style of cutting and pasting and accentuating negative space instead of rejecting it. They produced illustrations out of flat shapes and minimal color, reflecting some inspiration derived from Japanese woodblock printing, and similar to stylized Art Nouveau. It’s amazing how their illustrations are still just as marvelous as a drawing with much more dimension and detail. It’s as if the thoughtful selection of color to define figures and flat shading techniques that mimic dimensionality, though visually rudimentary, is a more impressive feat. The Beggarstaffs’ art has layers, and it calls upon the viewer to complete the image in order to understand its true complexity.
I think that from a philosophical lens, the Beggarstaffs can be understood as a lesson in restraint. In a way, the Beggarstaffs helped break the mold—the common belief that blatant complexity and detail must warrant sophistication and importance. Just because the surface of their work looks simple doesn’t mean that it is void of effort and meaning. It’s important, whether in architecture, or even just in life, to realize that powerful messages can be conveyed with very little. By stripping away the unnecessary, the Beggarstaffs mastered clarity and artful intelligence in their illustrations in an irreplicable way.
The Beggarstaffs’ artwork really stands out to me with its bold, simple design and use of flat colors. It’s fascinating how something created in the 1890s feels so modern, resembling the graphic styles used today. As a graphic design major, I find their work inspiring, especially for branding and advertising. I personally prefer art that is minimal yet thoughtfully executed over highly detailed designs. Unlike many artists of their era, who used traditional painting and printing techniques, the Beggarstaffs worked with scissors and colored paper to construct their designs. After researching, I learned their minimalist approach was not widely embraced, like it is today, so their commercial success was limited.
caroline clarke
Ever since the first day in class that we looked at Pissarro's Ishtar Descending into the Netherworld, I was fascinated by it. The combination of art and myth that i saw when i first looked at it intrigued me. When I looked into it further, I learned that it is based on a mesopotamian myth and that some say the post uses the myth as a narrative as well as a starting point for the aesthetic of it. This piece acts as a mark of the turn of the century while highlighting the ongoing interest in spiritualism and the subconscious that was happening at the time. Overall i really liked this post and was very interested in this piece as we talked about it more.
I particularly enjoyed learning about the work of Jan Toorop. His art nouveau posters set themselves apart with their flat feel and lined drawing. I found it incredible how skilled Toorop was in so many different types of brushstrokes. He has beautiful paintings using pointillism, more realism, and even watercolor. In some paintings like the Three Brides and The Vagabonds, he begins to blend all of his styles together, making his figures look more like the ones in his posters and using a more painterly stroke for the surrounding environment. Overall, I have not seen an artist with so much range as Toorop.
I enjoyed looking more into Simplicissimus magazine as the covers for them captivated me and the style in which they were made were impressive. My favorite cover art work was the one of Leon Trotsky under attack from October 1928. The style choices that were made helps focus on Trotsky rather than those attacking him. They style of drawing is beautiful and one of my favorites. the somewhat messy look while still being professional ties it all together showing that its a serious magazine but they still understand what they need to do to create that link to their customers. I would personally buy this magaine just for the cover art.
Gaudi’s creations are undoubtedly some of my favorite art pieces in the world. As someone who’s been privileged to visit sites like Casa Milá, La Sagrada Familia, and Park Güell in Barcelona, the sense of whimsy yet grandeur that all of his architectural builds evoke is impressive. You feel truly immersed in his storytelling, particularly in the odes to nature that are characteristic of him. The Sagrada Familia is on an entirely different level (and it isn’t even finished!). From its outside facade (on each side is displayed biblical scenes and motifs in different distinct styles), to the large interior columns that feel like trees which hold up the sky, to the absolutely stunning stained glass windows that fill the massive inside space with color. I’ve been to a lot of churches in a variety of different architectural styles, but I swear I have never felt closer to a god than in the Sagrada Familia. If I were a peasant in medieval times, and I walked into a cathedral like that, best believe I would be convinced 100% that god was real and with me (and I think that’s beautiful).
The Beggarstaffs were a group of two artists, James Pryde and William Nicholson. They worked together in the 1890s. They were known for their bold, simple poster designs that stood out from the more detailed and colorful ads of the time. Instead of using lots of details, they used strong shapes, flat colors, and minimal text, which made their work very eye-catching and modern for the time. The poster I was most drawn to was an advertisement for Harper's Magazine. It shows someone that looks like a guard holding a long staff, dressed in red and black. He is standing against a bright red background, which is the same as the primary color of what he’s wearing. The text advocates Harper’s as the most popular magazine, saying that although it has high production costs, it still only costs “one shilling”. The poster uses simple, bold shapes and colors to grab attention and get the message across quickly. This is an example of how the Beggarstaffs changed poster art by keeping things clean and bold.
Steven Constantopes
Post a Comment