5 Design styles and movements Flashcards
Historical influences
What is Art Nouveau (1890-1910)?
An international style of decorative art, applied art and architecture inspired by organic shapes and structure, popular in Europe and the United States
Influences (Art Nouveau)
- reaction to the academic art of the 19th century
- had similar ideals to the Arts and Crafts movement (mourned the loss of hand-crafted skills)
- designs were more stylised/suitable for mass production
- Liberty of London: popularised the movement through printed fabric designs, featuring organic flower shapes
Features (Art Nouveau)
- stylised nature: flowers/buds/seedpods/leaves/roots
- flowing dresses
- curves
- ornate nature-inspired designs: vines/insect wings/feathers
Designers/artists (Art Nouveau)
- Liberty: fabric prints
- Charles Rennie Mackintosh: textiles
- Margaret MacDonald: embroidery/textiles
- Alphonse Mucha: posters
- Aubrey Beardsley: drawings
- Louis Comfort Tiffany: lighting
- René Lalique: glassware
- Gustav Klimt: paintings
- Antoni Gaudi: architecture
- Hector Guimard: Paris Metro entrances
What is Art Deco (1920s and 1930s)?
An art movement with designs inspired by contemporary modern art, relying on bold designs such as clear, sleek lines, modern geometric shapes/patterns and vibrant colours, reflecting the ‘machine age’ that took hold after WW1 in Europe (Paris)
Influences (Art Deco)
- International Exhibition of modern and Decorative Industrial Arts (Paris, 1925)
- jazz music
- modern geometric designs: cars/trains/skyscrapers/automobiles/ocean liners
- bright colours (Fauvism movement: emphasised the use of colour over representation/values)
- costumes for Diaghilevs Ballet Russes
- exotic styles from: China/Japan/Persia/ancient Egypt/India
Features (Art Deco)
- practical styles
- shorter hem lines
- the garçonne look: women wearing trousers, less curvy silhouettes, flattening of the chest
- cloche hats
- flapper dress: tubular with pleats/gathers/slits at the knees (to allow greater movement)
- high end fashion featured materials such as: silk/beaded velvet fabrics
- shorter hairstyles: the bob
Designers/artists (Art Deco)
- Sonia Delauney: textile and costume design
- Henri Matisse: paintings
- Romain de Tirtoff (Erté): costume design
- Frank Lloyd Wright: architecture
- Clarisse Cliff: ceramics
What is Pop Art (1950s and 1960s)?
An art movement inspired by popular culture, including imagery taken from everyday items that emerged in Britain and America in the mid to late 1950s
Influences (Pop Art)
- democratisation of fashion
- mass-produced fashion: affordable, appealing to the youth market
- art for a young audience
- contradicting fine art ideas after WW2
Features (Pop Art)
- bold and bright colours
- recreating patterns/imagery
- fabrics: shiny synthetics - wet-look PVC and easy care acrylics/polyester
- the most referenced art movement in fashion
Designers/artists (Pop Art)
Artists:
- Andy Warhol
- Roy Lichtenstein
- Keith Haring
- Yayoi Kusama
- Takashi Murakami
What is Minimalism (1950s-1970s)?
An art movement based on stripping everything down to simplicity and essential quality, focusing on gender neutral and functional styles using simple geometric shapes and forms as well as muted colours
Influences (Minimalism)
- antidote to the excess and complexity of ornamentation, colour and pattern
- reactions against feminism (1950s and 1980s) saw a return of the hyper-feminine look (e.g. Dior’s New Look), which was overturned by experimental designers guided by minimalism
Features (Minimalism)
- monochrome/muted palette
- subtle and inconspicuous fastenings
- little ornamentation
- geometrical/structural shapes and lines
- focus on: form and fabric
- strips the design down to its necessary elements
- use of: new technology and modern materials
