The Arts & Crafts Movement is a design improvement movement that originated in Britain in the second half of the 19th century. Its name comes from the work of John Ruskin. The movement The period was approximately from 1880 to 1910.
It originated as a design improvement movement targeting decorative arts, furniture, interior products, architecture, etc. due to the decline in design standards caused by the mass production of the Industrial Revolution.
The theoretical guidance of the movement was John Ruskin, and the main members of the movement were William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackiniosh, C.F. A. Voysey (Charles Francis Annesley Voysey) and the Pre-Raphaelite (Pre-Raphaelite), etc. Brought to the United States by Walter Crane and C.R. Ashbee.
The Arts and Crafts Movement was the most important art movement in Britain at the end of the 19th century.
Important Works
"The American Arts and Crafts Movement, 1876-1916" Robert Judson Clark
The Arts and Crafts Movement: Triggering the World *** Ming's British specialty
The concept shaped by the Arts and Crafts movement launched in the British Isles two centuries ago has continued to this day, adhering to the simplest pursuit of beauty. The famous Victoria and Albert Museum of Art (V&T) in the UK is hosting the world's first exhibition that covers the development of the Arts and Crafts movement worldwide, from its initial rise in the UK in 1880 to its spread throughout Europe and the The glory of North America was fully revealed at the beginning of the 20th century, when the Japanese "mingei" artistic innovation movement came to an end. The French magazine "Art Text" specially made a special feature for this purpose, tracing the historical pictures of the Arts and Crafts Movement, and also paying tribute to this art movement that tried to maintain a basic sense of beauty in a mechanized world.
The Arts and Crafts Movement is a design improvement movement that originated in Britain in the second half of the 19th century. It was influenced by art critic John Ruskin, architect A.W. Pugin and others. Influence. It lasted from approximately 1859 to 1910 and was named after the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society established in 1888. In the fields of decorative arts, furniture, interior products, architecture, etc., the design level has declined due to the mass production of the industrial revolution, and attempts are made to change the decline through conscious design improvement movements. At that time, mass production and industrialization were in the ascendant. The Arts and Crafts Movement aimed to resist this trend and rebuild the value of handicrafts, demanding the creation of "craftsmen among artists" or "artists among craftsmen."
Great Britain - the Cradle
Britain was at the forefront of the development of the Industrial Revolution and had a good foundation in graphic printing and design. At the beginning of the Arts and Crafts Movement, there was an important promotion factor in the UK, namely the Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society (The Arts & Crafts Exhibition Society) established in London in 1888. A series of continuous design exhibitions provided an opportunity to understand good design and elegant design products. .
Generally speaking, there are two pioneers of the Arts and Crafts Movement, the art critic John Ruskin and the artist and poet William Morris (William Morris, 1834-1896). Morris believes that "beauty is value and function." His famous saying: "Don't put something in your home that although you think is useful, you don't think is beautiful." Its meaning naturally refers to the unity of function and beauty. Morris' design includes not only graphic design, but also interior design, textile design, etc.
He believed that in order to revive the Gothic style of the Middle Ages, only designs in the above-mentioned styles were "sincere". Designers of the Arts and Crafts Movement headed by Morris created many composition methods that were widely used by designers in the future. Typical examples include the crowded combination of text and curved patterns, the insertion and separation of various geometric figures into the picture, and so on.
Charles Robert Ashbee is another dedicated artist. He had a deep attachment to the original rural life and field creation. He led the employees of the art company and their families to move to the countryside to escape the newly arrived industrial age and practice his concept of "the real territory of the Arts and Crafts Movement is the countryside." The art company founded by Charles greatly contributed to the spread of the Arts and Crafts movement around the world. The masters of arts and crafts in the British Isles include Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School.
Europe - Spread
Starting from London, the Arts and Crafts Movement quickly spread to emerging industrial cities in Europe such as Vienna, Budapest, and Helsinki. Due to the vast differences in the level of industrial development, the inheritance of historical traditions and the characteristics of society in various countries, the arts and crafts movement was rapidly localized. While Norway, Finland and Russia are still tirelessly pursuing innovation in craft technology and exploring traditional aesthetic factors, Germany is already exploring a balance between craftsmanship, art and industry. German artists thought their British counterparts were too anti-industrial and were content as long as they could find a balance. With the support of the nobility and powerful people, German artists established their own community in the city of Darmstadt, where they lived and created together to realize their artistic ideals. The leading figure in Germany was Henry Van De Velde.
The Arts and Crafts Movement arrived in Vienna, and the Secession movement was in full swing. Artists from all over Europe often gathered in Vienna. This time, the Austrians easily shrugged off their German counterparts. In 1903, Josef Hoffmann founded the Wiener Werkstatte Art Gallery, which became a center of the Arts and Crafts movement. The representative figure in France at that time was Armand Point.
United States - Search
The ideals of the Arts and Crafts Movement originated from an Anglo-Saxon ideological origin and style, so it quickly spread to the United States, but even so, those with a New World vision American artists also did not hesitate to add social and natural factors to form their own style. For example, Indian factors have left a deep imprint on the works of some American artists. On the one hand, American arts and crafts artists expressed strong American patriotic enthusiasm in their works and deliberately pursued the self-identity of an emerging power in the New World; on the other hand, they also actively pursued their own independent personal characteristics. Although they are all regarded as leaders of the Arts and Crafts Movement from the United States, their personalities are very rich. Gustav Stickley dominated the East Coast of the United States, while Frank Lloyd Wright and the "Lawn School" firmly controlled the Midwestern region of the United States. On the West Coast of California, architecture The world of brothers Charles and Henry Greene.
Japan - "Folk Arts" Innovation
From 1926 to 1945, the Arts and Crafts Movement came to an end in the four islands of Japan. On the one hand, Japan's industrialization has taken shape, providing a foundation for the movement to take root; on the other hand, the Japanese still do not hesitate to move closer to the West, hoping that their middle class can adapt to a lifestyle that combines the East and the West. Japan was the first to add Eastern inspiration and color to the Arts and Crafts movement.
The Arts and Crafts Movement was the first widely influential design movement after the world entered modern industrial society.
There are some dialectical evaluations of their historical achievements. Some people say that arts and crafts artists are following an old design path that returns to the medieval handicraft era, and cannot fundamentally solve the contradiction between design and modern industry after industrialization. Although the design is very beautiful, it is still complex and cumbersome, which makes printing and binding difficult. People also need a language expression form that is more in line with modern technology and people's thoughts and emotions.
Other people believe that arts and crafts artists are opposed to the mechanical production and styling of daily necessities in the industrial era from an aesthetic perspective, and call on people to combine the design of daily necessities with their functions and practice it. Therefore, it actually guides people to pay special attention to the relationship between the design of products (whether manual or machine products) and their functions, points out the correct design direction, and greatly promotes the development of this new thing, industrial product design.
Reference: Oriental Morning Post