Well first of all it's all about the style and then the time period.
Art Nouveau can be said to have originated in the 1880's and lasted until the start of the First World War in 1914 (although there was an overlap with items in the art nouveau style continuing to be produced into the 1920s)
. It derived its name from Maison de l'Art Nouveau, an interior design gallery opened in Paris in 1896. The style had many different names throughout Europe being known as Jugendstil in Germany, Sezessionstilin Austria, Modernista in Spain, Stile Liberty and Floreale in Italy. It was a reaction against the historicism which had plagued the 19th century.
Art Nouveau has an almost organic feel to it appearing more to have grown than to have been created by man.
The style was most likely to have been influenced by William Morris, the arts and crafts movement as well as the pre Raphelites
Art Deco (or Art Moderne) was itself then a reaction against the Art Nouveau style and was very popular in the 20's and 30's but wasn't actually termed Art Deco until the 1960's deriving its name from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes. It was an elegant style of cool sophistication in architecture and the applied arts, which ranged from luxurious objects made from exotic material to mass produced, streamlined items available to a growing middle class. The style was crisper and more geometric then Art Nouveau. The discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen November 1922was a major influence on the Art Deco style) and Mayan influences and contemporary art deco styling.
This style spanned the boom of the roaring 1920s and the bust of the Depression-ridden 1930s. Art Deco represented many things for many people. It was the style of the flapper girl and the factory, the luxury ocean liner and the skyscraper, the fantasy world of Hollywood and the real world of the Harlem Renaissance. Art Deco affected all forms of design, from the fine and decorative arts to fashion, film, photography, transport and product design. It was modern and it was everywhere
When we refer to articles made for the home the most obvious (and well known) examples of the Art Nouveau style are the glass of Emile Galléand Tiffany, the furniture of Majorelle and Liberty, the metal wares from the German manufacturer W.M.F. and once again Liberty. The sculptures in bronze and ivory by Chiparus, Preiss and Lorenzl, theexquisite glass of René Lalique, the English Odeon cinema's of the 1930's, and the pottery of Clarice Cliff, typify the various styles and movements that come under the umbrella term of Art Deco.
So to sum up my very brief explanation of these two styles, think fluidity, organic and whiplash motifs for Art Nouveau and streamlined, geometric, shiny and "modern" for Art
Deco. Of course not everything made during these periods can be called Art Nouveau and Art Deco. A vase from the year 1900 isn’t automatically described as being Art Nouveau. A table isn't an example of Art Deco just because it was made in 1930. Why not? Well, as I said at the start, it's all about the style...
Technically speaking, or should I say artistically speaking, we should only identify something 'Art Deco Style' or ‘Art Nouveau Style’ if it was produced during the correct dates since that is when the design stylesoriginated.
Many art historians and purists scoff at the 'new' Art Deco/Nouveau. The common sentiment is that the revival items produced today aresomewhat lacking in character and cheapens the meaning and symbolism of the original movemens. I agree to an extent.
I think that the revival pieces when they are created as an homage to Art Deco/Nouveau, as opposed to trying to completely 'knock-off' an original piece, can be just as beautiful and exude just as much character as the work previously produced
More reading
ART NOUVEAU
http://www.scva.ac.uk/education/resources/pdfs/13.pdf
ART DECO
http://www.art-deco-style.com/k/page/a/art-deco/" http://www.vam.ac.u
http://www.art-deco-style.com/k/page/a/art-deco/
No comments:
Post a Comment