William Morris

William Morris was best known for his pattern designs, particularly on fabrics and wallpapers. Morris was a leading member of the Arts and Crafts movement. His vision was to link art to the industry. This was a key stage in the evolution of design as we know it today. As a designer he believed that a designer should know how to work with every medium. Like many designers of his era, Morris was skilled in a wide range of arts and crafts. Although he was famous for his wallpaper designs, Morris still found a need to publish high quality hand-bound books. Morris was an artist, designer, printer, typographer, book-binder, craftsman, poet, writer and champion of socialist ideals.

References:

William Morris - The Arts and Crafts Movement. 2013. William Morris - The Arts and Crafts Movement. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/graphic_designers/william_morris.html. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Cubism

Pablo Picasso and Georges Barques developed a truly revolutionary style of modern art called cubism. In 20^th Century, there was the beginning of the style of “Abstract”. Since the Renaissance, perspective had been the rule. During the period 1870-1910, inventions such as photography, cinematography, sound-recording, the telephone, the motor-car and the airplane led to the beginning of a new age. Modernity had replaced traditional art (like photography replaced painting as the tool for documenting the age and artists illustrating cars, planes and images of the new technologies). Artists wanted a new way of seeing, so cubism became the new way of seeing, and this was the first abstract style of modern art. In 1907 Picasso and Barque had ideas about cubism: in Paris, they shared a common interest in the later paintings of Paul Cezanne.

 

Reference:

Cubism - the first abstract style of modern art. 2013. Cubism - the first abstract style of modern art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/cubism.htm. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

 

The Victorian era

The Victorian period began in the year that Victoria became queen in 1837 and it ended when Queen Victoria died in 1901. A writer and artist of the period described the Victorians as “prudish, hypocritical, stuffy and narrow-minded”, but this perception isn’t universally accurate and it is a large error to jump to this conclusion because the writer and the artist wrote this during the mid to late 19^th century. However this description can apply to the major part of Victorian English Society, particularly amongst middle-class. By 1830, the British empire had, of course, existed for centuries, and had already experienced many obstacles. The most significant blow occurred in the late 18^th century with a successful revolt of its 13 American colonies. This event eventually resulted in the formation of the United States. The British empire expanded its colonial presence in many parts of Africa, in India, in the middle-east and in other parts of Asia. This happened during the 19^th century. This process had a long-term effect – for example, it spread the English language outside of Europe and increased trade between Europe and distant regions.

 

Reference:

The Victorian Period. 2013. The Victorian Period. [ONLINE] Available at: http://faculty.unlv.edu/kirschen/handouts/victorian.html. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

 

Pop Art

In the mid 1950’s in Britain, Pop Art was born. The first application of the term “Pop Art” occurred during discussions among artists who called themselves the Independent Group. This group was part of the Institute of Contemporary Art in London and was formed around 1952-53. Pop art referred to the interest of a number of artists in the images of mass media, advertising, comics and consumer products. It coincided with the globalization of pop music and youth culture personified by Elvis and the Beatles. Pop art was modern and fun to the artistic establishment. This type of movement included different styles of painting and sculpture from various countries.

References:

Pop Art - the art of popular culture. 2013. Pop Art - the art of popular culture. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/pop_art.htm. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Pop Art - Art History Basics on Pop Art - mid-1950s to Early 1970s. 2013. Pop Art - Art History Basics on Pop Art - mid-1950s to Early 1970s. [ONLINE] Available at: http://arthistory.about.com/od/modernarthistory/a/Pop-Art-Art-History-101-Basics.htm. [Accessed 04 April 2013].

Forth visit

On 2nd of April I went to visit an art exhibition. This exhibition was held by a french artist could Colette Marchant. There was a number of work that was abstract. I recorded some of it by taking some photos:

Third visit

On the 8th of March I went to visit an exhibition. This exhibition was about ceramics work. This exhibition was named Forces and there was some abstract work. This exhibition was held by the artist George Muscat. From this exhibition I recorded some work:

Second visit

On the 8th of March I went to visit an exhibition. The artists was Alfred Chircop. The name of this exhibition was "PAINTINGS 2013". In this exhibition there was a number of paintings of the abstract style. I recorded some of the works:

Daguerrotype

In France a man called Louis-Jacques-Mande Daguarre invented the daguerreotype process. This invention began on August 19, 1839. American photographers quickly began to use it because it was capable of a “truthful likeness”. Daguerreotypists invited famous people and celebrities into the studios, in order to become famous. Photographers always encourage people to go and see their museums, galleries etc. In 1850s, the daguerreotype became less popular because of a faster and less expensive process by the ambrotype. The process of the daguerreotype was direct-positive process. In this process you don’t have to use the negative  - you need to use a sheet of copper , plated with a thin coat of silver to create a highly detailed image.

 

References:

Daguerreotype Photographs: The Daguerreotype. 2013. Daguerreotype Photographs: The Daguerreotype. [ONLINE] Available at: http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/daghtml/dagdag.html.

 

Contemporary Designer: Alexander McQueen

Lee Alexander McQueen is a fashion designer. At the age of 20, McQueen was employed with the designer Koji Tatsuno. A year later he went to Milan and there he was employed as an assistant designer with Romeo Gigli. The shows of Alexander McQueen are known for their emotional power and energy, as well as the romantic but contemporary nature of the collections. McQueen put together contrasting elements: fragility and strength, tradition and modernity, fluidity and severity. He had an openly passionate viewpoint, respecting the arts and crafts tradition. McQueen’s collections combine a thorough knowledge of bespoke British tailoring, the fine workmanship of French Haute Couture and the excellent finish of Italian manufacturing. In less than 10 years, he became the most respected fashion designer in the world. McQueen became a chief designer in October 1996 at the French Haute Couture House Givenchy. His collections included women’s ready-to-wear, men’s ready-to-wear and fragrance.

In summer of 1999 he put together a fashion show. In this fashion show, he was inspired from the arts and crafts movement. The fabrics that he used for this fashion show are: brown leather for the corset, cream silk lace for the skirt and for the prosthetic legs he used carved elm wood. In this fashion show he used the contrast element of the colours of the fabrics, brown that is a dark colour and the white that is a light colour. In the second dress he used white cotton for the dress and white synthetic tulle for the under skirt. In this dress, the muslin was spray- painted. Alexander McQueen did a lot of fashion shows but one that he did in 2005 was called “It’s not only a game”. A fabulous idea in this fashion show was to make the runway not like usual but a giant chess board. In this fashion show the models had to wear puffball miniskirts and Empire waist dresses based on 18^th century styles that inspired McQueen. In this fashion show we see some styles like Japanese kimonos, moulded corsets and sci-fi suits that all were connected with the theme of the chess piece. Again in this show we can see the contrast between the power and vulnerability. The clothes were from Edwardian children’s wear to embroidered fairground horses. The designer, from this show explored different types of woman - Americans face Japanese on the board, redheads are placed opposite Latin Americans and so forth. 

 

 

 

References:

 

No. 13 | Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 2013. No. 13 | Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen/tag/no-13/.

 

Alexander McQueen | Biography. 2013. Alexander McQueen | Biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.alexandermcqueen.eu/http://www.alexandermcqueen.eu/alexandermcqueen/experience/biography/AAD,en_GB,sf.html/AAD,en_GB,sf.html.