How Art Nouveau Raged Against The Machine | A Style Is Born w/ @KazRowe

did you know that Cottage core Bohemian and shabby chic design Styles all have an ancestor in common it's Art Nouveau aka the first interior design style to say let's bring the outdoors in this is a stylist born a show where we explore the history behind some of the most iconic design Styles in our last episode we explored the glitz and glamor of Art Deco and today we're diving into its more earthy predecessor art nouveau what is Art Nouveau anyway is it really so different from art deco yes and no you'll often see these Styles in the same sentence or on the same movie Set even probably because they're both reactionary modernist art movements and because they're almost homonyms Art Deco Art Nouveau but at their core Art Deco and Art Nouveau are totally different let's get into it Art Nouveau in essence is exactly what its name is new art as it was considered at the turn of the century meaning the 19th to 20th century covering generally the years between 1880 to 1914 it was an aesthetic movement that sought to bring the outdoors inside with a deep dedication to Natural design motifs organic lines and shapes colors sensual ornamentation and a focus on the feminine human form these motifs existed in all facets of life including the fashion of the time similar to what I'm wearing many applications of the Edwardian style include colors as they exist in nature you've probably come across these motifs before do you recall these posters you've probably seen different versions of them in French bistros psychedelic album covers or tarot cards when it was actually happening the Art Nouveau movement was exactly that a movement rather than a style it had very specific motivations from its principal designers basically they wanted people to get rid of the artistic hierarchy that saw things like painting and sculpture as superior to the decorative Arts like Furniture Design metalsmithing glasswork and pottery these designers railed against the industrial future by instead channeling the magic and beauty of a perceived pastoral past where art deco embraced the industrial machinesque future Art Nouveau asked the question how can we move into the future while retaining The Irregular unique beauty of nature it's a poignant question that we can ask ourselves today too let's talk about the specific period of time that gave us our Nouveau to start I think it's safe to say that industrialization was not cute back then City dwellers in many places faced a world of ugliness smoke and grime in many neighborhoods and the Victorian era despite its charms was kinda stuffy as Oscar Wilde wrote in 1892 we are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars Art Nouveau arrived to rebel against all of it it was a culmination of the strides made by the Arts and Crafts movement romantic modernist symbolist and aestheticist styles these movements channeled an idealized Fantastical past into modern design through their influence Art Nouveau showed up and brought with it the most magical vibes in architecture you had places like gotis casabatlo in Barcelona Paul santanoy's old England Building Victor Ortiz Hotel tassel in Brussels Otto Wagner's Maya Liga house and Vienna and many many more mystical looking doorways made you feel like you were entering a fairyland rather than someone's home or a regular office building and the stairway railings gave the implication of living in a sentient tree Palace seriously this was so Prime why don't we make architecture like this anymore it's no wonder why this style was the number one source of inspiration for the designs of the Elven homes like Rivendell and Lord of the Rings but we'll get to that later art nouveau's popularity took shape in public life in the form of architecture and interior design in public spaces restaurants and hotels some of which still survive today for example the gemard metro station entrance in Paris which has a copycat here in Chicago because Paris is our sister city and when it came to home design it was more common to see Art Nouveau in bespoke unique pieces these beautifully designed objects weren't typically being mass produced because the movement was all about craftsmanship and well nature and Nature's forms are unruly Art Nouveau gave Furniture the opportunity to look like something more than Furniture a table could look like three dragonflies holding up a tapestry a bookshelf could look like a flowering tree a bed frame could be a canvas for a work of art function and Beauty were equal but sometimes Beauty took precedence Galilei and magical furniture and decor pieces are excellent examples of the era's craftsmanship and William Morris wallpapers and tapestries too like the one I have behind me last season's Cottage core episode did a whole bit about William Moore's designs but did you know that this designer was one of the founders of this movement it's not hard to imagine these designers walking through places like the Lincoln Park Conservatory and drawing direct inspiration from the beautiful plants they saw so now that we have a good idea of where Art Nouveau came from and why it's actually so different from Art Deco let's get into the design specifics firstly we can't talk about Western Styles without talking about their International influences of which there are many influences from East Asian art were prominent in Art Nouveau designs as well as folklore fairy tales and occultism many are Nouveau artists and designers took inspiration from Japanese and Chinese paintings and Incorporated painted paper screens lanterns fans and Asian rugs as well as potted bamboo Japanese artists and Artisans like katsushika hakusai and kitigawa utamaro were huge sources of inspiration for what came to be known as japonism which we would now refer to as orientalism Furniture was painstakingly crafted from natural materials like dark hardwood Stone glass and iron wood beams fixtures and ornamentation as well as metal gates and arches were heat trained into sinuous flowing tendrils that make them appear almost alive like creeping roots and compositions prominently featured the Whiplash line the Whiplash line was a decorative Line work method of intertwining lines that evoked the shape and flow of nature itself and as you might expect Art nouveau's color palette embraced deep greens and warm Browns gold and cream tones rust and Rose metallics and peacock colors all dominated the color palette and imagery used nude or lightly closed feminine characters goddess figures with flowing hair animals and birds flowers and pastoral Forest scenes a perfect example of this is in the iconic stained glass work of the Tiffany lamp you can see a lot of Art Nouveau elements present in my own alma mater the Art Institute of Chicago itself an institution born at the very beginning of the Art Nouveau era Art Nouveau spaces felt Moody and maximalist where indoor plants and drapery abound they were elegant with a hint of Whimsy and fantasy but as usual not everyone was a fan one particularly energetic critic complained in the 1899 issue of La decorative what do we see on every side wallpapers which wound the eye against them ornate Furniture which wounds the eye at intervals a gaudy draped Bay which wounds the eye and every spare nook and cranny is hung with plates of spinach with decorative borders which wound the eye I don't know I think it sounds like his eyes were wounded but I'm not sure the Art Nouveau movement was a flashbang fervor it faded as quickly as it sprang up after World War One Art Deco arrived on the scene with all its glimmering glamor and excitement and Art Nouveau waited its turn to be rediscovered and loved once again and fortunately for us it absolutely was thank you I often call the 60s and 70s the era of a thousand revivals because it seriously was through the futurism and plastic excitement of the Space Age another Revival broke through that that was the polar opposite of those things Art Nouveau got necromanced back to life popular movie musicals of the mid-century like Hello Dolly Meet Me In St Louis and my fair lady sparked a reawakened interest in the Edwardian era only to be strengthened with the rise of TV programming that popularized ye olden days at a time when people were still alive who could actually remember it the fervor grew even stronger after the Victorian Albert Museum in London put on a wildly popular exposition of Aubry Beardsley's work in 1966 and interest in art nouveau exploded much to the confusion of Beardsley himself 70s fashion began to bring back a Gibson Girl Style's Lacy shirtwaists thick belts and long skirts as well as flowy Prairie dresses and clothes manufacturers put out various Edwardian Art Nouveau jewelry reproductions Art Nouveau made its way into typography cover and poster design and of course back into the home slightly psychedelic patterns on kitchenware and upholstery meshed with the focus on nature and organic shape from Art Nouveau while also incorporating elements of folk art graphic floral textiles were everywhere from clothes to towels sheets curtains pillows and rugs all in color combos that probably would have made the OG Art Nouveau designers roll over in their graves but hey that Shameless gaudiness is what I love about this era personally a 60s and 70s interest in art nouveau coincided with a sudden massive rise in fans of Lord of the Rings Lord of the Rings Mania took over and suddenly inspired renewed interest in fairy tales mythology and the Middle Ages all of which were big players in the Art Nouveau movement this connection would carry over into the 2000s Lord of the Rings films World design art nouveau's Roots weave their way into other much newer movements too as Ariel talked about in last season Cottage core has been a greatly popular style in the last several years as well as shabby chic both draw inspiration from Art Nouveau from rebelling against mechanical design to the emphasis on craftsmanship to the appreciation of the beauty and Artistry of nature itself as mod LeClaire writes for ZZ Driggs looking at Art Nouveau Furniture renews our appreciation for furniture more generally and reminds us that furniture can be a profoundly expressive art form when freed from aesthetic and classical expectations today you can incorporate art nouveau's maximalist fairy tale Whimsy into your own home with its elegant colors dark wood furniture with intricate lines and soft velvet upholstery stained glass elements from lamps to window hangings are classic and easy additions and definitely don't be afraid to fill your walls and shelves with art and tchotchkes for me I got this Art Nouveau clock from my beloved clock obsessed Grandpa and I found neat pieces on Wayfair like this Art Nouveau rug after all half the fun is the thrill of the hunt Art Nouveau teaches us to love the beauty of Nature and to do that sometimes you need to work Nature's Pace too patience and this style will find you thank you for learning with me about the history of Art Nouveau this style is so Evergreen both literally and figuratively and holds a very special place in my heart which do you prefer Art Nouveau or Art Deco let me know in the comments and I'll catch you next time on a stylus born foreign [Music]

Channel: Wayfair

Views: 173,029

Keywords: zillion infinite furniture, wayfair, wayfair.com, swapping carts, finishing touches, home, decor, furniture, how to, diy, tutorials, projects, shopping, home makeover, room makeover, interior design, home decor, home improvement, roomspiration, art nouveau, art nouveau interior design, art nouveau documentary, art nouveau history, art nouveau architecture, art nouveau furniture, art nouveau movement, art nouveau vs art deco, a style is born, streamy nominated

Id: Zb3vsWK5o7c

Length: 12min 10sec (730 seconds)

Published: Sat Jul 22 2023