Week 8, Early Modernism: Arts/Craft,
Nouveau, Futurist, Constructivist, Dada,
Bauhaus
Art nouveau
An international decorative style, begun in France, that dominated Europe from 1890
to 1910. It encompassed all the design arts-architecture, furniture and product
design, fashion, and graphics-and consequently embraced posters, packages, and
advertisements. Art nouveau's identifying visual quality is an organic, plantlike line.
Plants, birds, and the human female form were frequent visual themes.
Jugendstil
Term used for the German version of art nouveau, named after the magazine Jugend
(Youth).
Sezessionstil
An art movement in Austria of the late 1800s, named after the Vienna Secession.
Socialism
A reaction against the negative effects of the Industrial revolution that saw the drive
for production and return on capital outweigh other considerations.
Arts and Crafts Movement
An aesthetic reaction against the social, moral, and artistic confusion of the Industrial
Revolution. Design and a return to handicraft were advocated, and the "cheap and
nasty" mass-produced goods of the Victorian era were condemned. The English
leader was William Morris, who called for utility, truth to the nature of materials and
methods of production, and individual expression by both designer and worker.
Modernism
A late 1800s early 1900s rejection of Enlightenment thinking, and of the primacy of a
single intellectual moral and intellectual tradition. A result of widespread literacy,
non-European cultural influences, revolution in the 1800s and a fast changing
technological environment. Reflected in art and graphic design. Accelerated by the
First World War.
, Futurism
A revolutionary art movement founded by Filippo Marinetti, in which all the arts were
to test their ideas and forms against the new realities of scientific and industrial
society. Its manifesto voiced enthusiasm for war, the machine age, and speed.
Dada
A reaction against the carnage of World War I, the Dada movement claimed to be
anti-art and had a strong negative and destructive element. Dada writers and artists
were concerned with shock, protest, and nonsense. Chance placement and absurd
titles characterized their graphic work.
Constructivism
Originated in Russia in 1919, influenced by Futurism, but focused on building a new
society. Influenced the Bauhaus and De Stijl. Long term influence on graphic and
industrial design.
Photomontage
The technique of manipulating found photographic images to create jarring
juxtapositions and chance associations.
Vienna Secession
A group of painters, sculptors, and architects who rejected classicism, and were
strongly influenced by Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement.
Photomontage
Using photographs as part of composition. Also called "typo-photo", term coined by
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy mean ing "the synthesis between typography and photography"
and used in the "Neue Typography" of the 1920s.
Wiener Werkstätte
Established 1903, and founded by Vienna Secessionists, the Wiener Werkstätte was
a community of visual artists, bringing together architects, artists and designers
committed to design art which would be accessible to everyone.
Deutscher Werkbund
Nouveau, Futurist, Constructivist, Dada,
Bauhaus
Art nouveau
An international decorative style, begun in France, that dominated Europe from 1890
to 1910. It encompassed all the design arts-architecture, furniture and product
design, fashion, and graphics-and consequently embraced posters, packages, and
advertisements. Art nouveau's identifying visual quality is an organic, plantlike line.
Plants, birds, and the human female form were frequent visual themes.
Jugendstil
Term used for the German version of art nouveau, named after the magazine Jugend
(Youth).
Sezessionstil
An art movement in Austria of the late 1800s, named after the Vienna Secession.
Socialism
A reaction against the negative effects of the Industrial revolution that saw the drive
for production and return on capital outweigh other considerations.
Arts and Crafts Movement
An aesthetic reaction against the social, moral, and artistic confusion of the Industrial
Revolution. Design and a return to handicraft were advocated, and the "cheap and
nasty" mass-produced goods of the Victorian era were condemned. The English
leader was William Morris, who called for utility, truth to the nature of materials and
methods of production, and individual expression by both designer and worker.
Modernism
A late 1800s early 1900s rejection of Enlightenment thinking, and of the primacy of a
single intellectual moral and intellectual tradition. A result of widespread literacy,
non-European cultural influences, revolution in the 1800s and a fast changing
technological environment. Reflected in art and graphic design. Accelerated by the
First World War.
, Futurism
A revolutionary art movement founded by Filippo Marinetti, in which all the arts were
to test their ideas and forms against the new realities of scientific and industrial
society. Its manifesto voiced enthusiasm for war, the machine age, and speed.
Dada
A reaction against the carnage of World War I, the Dada movement claimed to be
anti-art and had a strong negative and destructive element. Dada writers and artists
were concerned with shock, protest, and nonsense. Chance placement and absurd
titles characterized their graphic work.
Constructivism
Originated in Russia in 1919, influenced by Futurism, but focused on building a new
society. Influenced the Bauhaus and De Stijl. Long term influence on graphic and
industrial design.
Photomontage
The technique of manipulating found photographic images to create jarring
juxtapositions and chance associations.
Vienna Secession
A group of painters, sculptors, and architects who rejected classicism, and were
strongly influenced by Art Nouveau and the Arts and Crafts movement.
Photomontage
Using photographs as part of composition. Also called "typo-photo", term coined by
Lazlo Moholy-Nagy mean ing "the synthesis between typography and photography"
and used in the "Neue Typography" of the 1920s.
Wiener Werkstätte
Established 1903, and founded by Vienna Secessionists, the Wiener Werkstätte was
a community of visual artists, bringing together architects, artists and designers
committed to design art which would be accessible to everyone.
Deutscher Werkbund
