Arts and CraftsChapter 10

Arts & Crafts Movement

http://anc.gray-cells.com/Intro.html

The Victorian style of heavily ornamental interiors, ornate, embellished typefaces prevailed in England and America during the latter half of the 19th century. In both countries, techniques of mass production promoted the use of reproductions in many different styles.

To the proponents of Arts & Crafts, the Industrial Revolution and Victorian era separated humans from their own creativity and individualism; the worker was a cog in the wheel of progress, living in an environment of shoddy machine-made goods, based more on ostentation than function.

John Ruskin 1819 - 1900

Ruskin was an English writer, art critic and reformer.

Ruskin was born in London and educated at the University of Oxford. His father, a wealthy merchant, encouraged his youthful passions for art, literature, and travel. He set forth his theory about the relationship between art and morality in the first volume of Modern Painters. Rebelling against the aesthetically numbing and socially debasing effects of the Industrial Revolution, he put forth the theory that art, which is essentially spiritual, reached its zenith in the Gothic art of the late Middle Ages, which was inspired by religious and moral zeal.

Ruskin believed that individual craftsmen produced the most beautiful and unique work. Craftsman, if given the freedom to design, were capable of producing beautiful works of art.

William Morris1834 - 1896

William Morris was one of the principal founders of the British Arts and Crafts Movement and is best known as a designer of wallpaper and patterned fabrics, a writer of poetry and fiction, and an early founder of the socialist movement in Britain.

Was appalled by the “tawdry” influence of the Victorian era and the preoccupation with mass production and less with the creative human spirit.

William Morris1834 - 1896

Typefaces design by William Morris

Work designed for the Kelmscott Press

The Century Guild - Hobby Horse

The most important influence of the late-19th century arts and crafts organizations, was started in 1882. The founder and guiding spirit was the designer and architect A. H. Mackmurdo, together with his friend Selwyn Image, and a former pupil, H. P. Horne. Mackmurdo and Horne became the principal designers for the Guild.

Selwyn Image was responsible for the cover design for the magazine of the Guild, the Hobby Horse.

The production of the Century Guild workshops included furniture and metalwork, wallpaper, enamelling, and textiles. Artists associated with the Century Guild included the artist Heywood Sumner, the potter William de Morgan, the enameller Clement Heaton, and Benjamin Creswick, a sculptor.

The mouthpiece of the Guild, the Hobby Horse, started in 1884, and by emphasising printing as a craft in its own right, became an inspiration both to William Morris in setting up his Kelmscott Press, and to others in what became the private press movement.

The Hobby Horse Magazine was published quarterly.

Arts and CraftsThe Legacy

The legacy of the Arts and Crafts movement extends beyond visual appearances.

Arts and Crafts established attitudes about materials, function, quality, and social value which became a standard and inspiration for 20th century designers.

Still having a positive impact on modern graphic design.

Many typefaces are seeing a revival

Goudy, Century Schoolbook, Cloister, Franklin Gothic, Caledonia

Frederic W. Goudy1865 - 1947

Goudy became interested in art, literature, and typography on “a higher plane than mere commercialism.”

Goudy had a long association with Lanston Monotype Company which commissioned some of his finest typefaces.

He designed 122 typefaces including this one. Copperplate Bold

Frederic W. Goudy1865 - 1947

Frank Lloyd Wright1867-1959

American architect, was a pioneer in the modern style. He is considered one of the greatest figures in 20th-century architecture.

Wright believed that architectural form must ultimately be determined by the function of the building, its environment, and the type of materials used in the structure.

His exteriors incorporated low horizontal proportions and strongly projecting eaves. This concept was particularly evident in his early Prairie style, single-family houses,

http://www.geocities.com/AllWrightSite/

Morris F. Benton

Head of typeface design - American Typefounders

Designed revivals of Bodoni and Garamond

Benton design 255 typefaces

Designed Century Schoolbook after studying human perception and comprehension.

Your Assignment

• http://anc.gray-cells.com/Intro.html• Go to the above identified website • Choose ONE individual with the same beginning last initial as yours. (If there is

not a person with the same initial as yours, go to the person with a beginning initial as close to yours as possible. i.e. Adcock, Margie to Bauer or Burne-Jones.

• Research the individual by answering the following questions.• Birth/death dates• Date(s) of designing• Type of design your choice is MOST known for• One significant accomplishment• Discover an additional historical fact for the designer (check the timeline)• Critical thinking: What about their design style has influenced modern society?• Go to the discussion board and enter ALL your answers.• Respond to 2 of your classmates