Art Nouveau

The Art Nouveau period in interior design brings many new things to the light, making sense due to the meaning of the word coming from "New Art". This was actually named after a shop in Paris noted for its pieces of new and unique art that were sold there. There was a big push for growth in the peaceful European communities. The period was greatly inspired by artisits of the time including: Vincent Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Gaugin.
Most of the inspiration for the Art Nouveau period comes from nature, greatly contradicting the previous (Arts and Crafts) movement. There was also a move to producing the pieces of furniture through machinery and other industrial aspects which is also something that is opposite from the previous period. Looking into the characteristics of this period one of the most prominent was the "whiplash" with is curves and natural like flow. Since they were so into the "new" this period tried to avoid all things historical and tried using all modern materials. Adding iron and glass materials, and rejecting all parts of the Victorian Era the Art Nouveau became a very important period in time with tons of well known architects and designers.

Below are some examples of the style: a curvulinear interior and an iron piece of furniture




Extra Credit Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsSxcHE2zdg


Responses:
Becca: I liked that Becca picked a specific designer from the period and really elaborated on that, plus the images and video were great!
Erin: I think the description of what Art Nouveau is was spot on!

The Arts and Crafts Movement

There are plenty of unique aspect to the Arts and Craft Movement, and a great contrast from the Victorian Era before it. Some of the things that make this movement stand out come right from the founder, William Morris. There are also many characteristics became well known to this movement.
William Morris believed that the industrial revolution were responsible for some major wrongdoings. Some of these things were; making the environment ugly, creating poor working environments, shoddy handiwork, false materials, and shallowness of wealth. He wanted many things to change and he used his Oxford education and architecture apprenticeship to make a change.
There were 8 major characteristics of the Arts and Crafts movement. These were: Completely handmade, wood joints being visible, based on Medieval design, influenced by shaker furniture, predominantly oak wood, a strong wood grain,heavy furniture, and simple designs. These are important because of how lighter it makes the spaces when comparing to the Victorian era.

Below is a contrast between the Victorian and Arts and Crafts Movement interiors to show contrast


(Arts and Crafts Movement)

(Victorian Period)

Extra Credit Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBq73yxha0o


Responses (I accidentally commented on one of them too)

Somang: I really like the quote Somang found, I think that is very outside the box and also a very good description of Victorian Interiors.

Alex: I think the pictures used really help further understanding of what Alex is talking about!