OUGD401: Essay

Choosing a particular period from 1800 to present, in what ways has art or design responded to the changing social and cultural forces of that period?

The Arts and Crafts movement of the 19^th century happened due to a vast amount of change within society, these social and cultural changes allowed for a change in attitude within the art and design world.  The 19^th century welcomed industrialisation, which created a large variety of problems socially therefore leading towards a rejection of these views and a revolt back to medievalism.

Industrialisation within Britain was the expansion of trade and industry as a whole especially focusing on the rail networks and the need for a faster way of working. As suggested by the Victoria and Albert Museum (2014);

‘The scale of Britain's industrial expansion during the 19th century was enormous and unprecedented. Fuelled by a rapid increase in international trade and a growing middle-class demand for consumer goods, Britain led the world in the development of rail networks and steamships. Its imports and exports increased concomitantly, supported by the class system and a renewed puritan work ethic.’ (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014)

This meant that the goods created were purely created for the demand and made for their amount rather than their quality and craftsmanship. During this Victorian Era class was a major part of the industrialisation, it benefitted the wealthy middle and upper class citizens of Britain however the poor were used in workhouses. These people worked to meet the demands of the middle class who wanted the goods as part of consumerism. The industrialisation meant that those who lived in the countryside had to leave and seek work in major towns and cities, this improved the produce of goods however it impacted a large amount of the population negatively.

The Victoria and Albert Museum (2014) also states that ‘The Victorian’s saw British society as a pyramid, with royalty, the aristocracy, the Church, the arts and the professions on top, supported by industry, and with the workhouse at the bottom, was very familiar.’ (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014) This further enhances the idea that ordinary people were forgotten about during this time of mass production.

The Arts and Crafts movement was enforced and created based on the affects of what industrialisation had on Britain socially. The Victoria and Albert Museum (2014) suggests;

‘It was a movement born of ideals. It grew out of a concern for the effects of industrialisation: on design, on traditional skills and on the lives of ordinary people. In response, it established a new set of principles for living and working. It advocated the reform of art at every level and across a broad social spectrum, and it turned the home into a work of art.’ (Victoria and Albert Museum, 2014)

This means that the Arts and Crafts movement as a whole wanted to reconnect art and design with ordinary people and not only those that could afford such luxuries. The nineteenth century as a whole in terms of arts and crafts wanted progression socially and for their to be a dramatic change between the attitudes within the higher and middle classes to allow for a better way of living for the working class, a democratisation within art and design to allow ordinary people to enjoy their own lives.

Anscombe, and Gere (1978) suggest that; ‘During the nineteenth century an awareness had developed that national style reflected the moral values of a society: if a society was unable to produce good design then the fault lay in its ethical system’ (Anscombe, and Gere, 1978, p.7)

This then further suggests that the Arts and Crafts movement used the idea of society and moral values of the treatment of people as the core of the entire movement. Anscombe, and Gere (1978) also state that the purpose of the Arts and Crafts movement was that art and design produced was  ‘not to the world of industry, commerce and ‘laiseer-faire’. (Anscombe, and Gere, 1978, p.7) This means that as a whole the Arts and Crafts movement was a form of socialism, its beliefs and attitudes were created and spread by William Morris and others in several lectures.

Anscombe, and Gere (1978) also argue; ‘It has been said that the Arts and Crafts movement was instrumental in changes both aesthetical and social. Its real aims were to educate people to an awareness that craft and the craftsman were worthy of protection and despite the leaps forward in design at the beginning of this century, these ideals were still maintained.’ (Anscombe, and Gere, 1978, p.47) These ideals were held by a number of artists and writers including that of William Morris. Morris’ work thoroughly portrayed these beliefs, not only through writing but through his design and artwork too.

Throughout the Arts and Crafts movement the two most influential writers in terms of socialism and art aesthetics were John Ruskin and William Morris. The Ruskin Research Centre of Lancaster University (2013) states that;

‘Ruskin was the greatest British art critic and social commentator of the Victorian Age. His ideas inspired the Arts and Crafts Movement and the founding of the National Trust, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the Labour Movement. He fiercely attacked the worst aspects of industrialisation and actively promoted art education and museum access for the working classes.’ (The Ruskin Research Centre, 2013).

This quote further enhances the idea that the Arts and Crafts movement was not only an aesthetical change but also a cultural and social change, through art and design. Morris and Ruskin wanted a democratisation of art and design to allow it to be accessed by everyone and not just a selected few of higher society. This was put into practice by the availability of William Morris’s design through his own company.

Anscombe, and Gere (1978) state that; ‘The early designs for furniture for the firm were provided by Philip Webb and Ford Madox Brown; later many of the designs were commissioned from George Jack, who became the firms chief designer in 1890’ (Anscombe, and Gere, 1978, p.70) This means that William Morris’s affect on art and design was incredibly significant as he was becoming incredibly popular and along with the greater involvement of other designers and artists who agreed with his values and beliefs.

Morris’s education of people led to him holding several art and design lectures in which he spoke about the home and ordinary life. Zandt (1995) suggests that ‘Morris was not content only to create; he also worked to educate the public in the importance of good design. ‘Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful This quotation from one of his lectures was Morris’s golden rule, and it encapsulates the aims of the Arts and Crafts Movement, of which he was an early leader’ (Zandt, 1995, p.6, 7).

As being his golden rule and one of his most well known quotes from his lectures he became incredibly successful in teaching others his own views on art and design and that it must be for accessible for all classes and in the home, rather than for few and to not be useful or personal.

Refer to Figure 1

This particular piece is regarded as William Morris’s first wallpaper design, Zandt (1995) states that ‘Although staunch advocate of flat pattern, Morris showed, in his early wallpaper designs, a clear preference for realistically rendered natural forms. This is evident in Trellis, which is said to have been inspired by a rose trellis in the courtyard of Red House’ (Zandt, 1995, p.10, 11).

 Red House was Morris’s home with his wife in Kent and was clearly an inspiration for many pieces. His artwork as a whole often works with nature and this piece also shows this through detailed illustrations and flowing vines. It also holds the social and cultural beliefs of the Arts and Crafts movement as it was handcrafted and aesthetically does portray medievalism. The colours used are quite neutral, muted and natural which is rather different than much of the artwork and design within the Victorian era; the majority of the artwork and design was for the upper and middle classes and held connotations of wealth, sophistication and decoration. This piece rejects those connotations and simply was created to look incredibly natural and real, which would please ordinary people and allow them to bring nature into their own homes. This therefore portrays the changes socially and culturally as the design rejects the norm of the nineteenth century through wallpaper patterns. Morris not only created wallpapers but also books, furniture, stained glass, tiles, tapestries and other textiles.

Morris not only influenced art through the Arts and Crafts movement but also design by his typefaces created and book making. He founded the Kelmscott Press in 1890, as stated by the Arts and Crafts Museum (2013), Morris had said;

‘I began printing books with the hope of producing some which would have a definite claim to beauty, while at the same time they should be easy to read and should not dazzle the eye, or trouble the intellect of the reader by eccentricity of form in the letters.’ (Arts & Crafts Museum- At Cheltenham Art Gallery & Museum, 2013).

Figure 2

This piece in particular holds Morris’s intentions for a beautiful book but also the ability to be read. The borders and larger letterforms represent that of medievalism, which were the intentions of the art movement as a whole. Morris was inspired by the past aesthetically even though his intentions were to clearly change the cultural and social attitude towards art and this seemed to work especially in this piece, as the majority of people would be able to enjoy the beautiful and natural aesthetics of the designs and therefore understand his intentions.  His typefaces created were simple and didn’t include too many flourishes which therefore allow the them to be not only legible but fit their purpose and be read easily by a wider audience and not only a selected few. The border designs are much like his wallpaper design, which I have already discussed, these nature inspired designs further enhance the portrayal of flora and fauna (his passions and inspirations) to share with ordinary people being something they have seen and can relate to.

Walter Crane’s work began to be noticed from an early age was encouraged by his father, Thomas Crane (portrait painter) who taught him methods. He became incredibly popular after being commissioned by Edmund Evans (toy books) and then later George Routledge to create illustrations for children’s books one of which is pictured above (The Frog Prince). His work as a whole was incredibly popular and led him to be one of the most successful children’s book illustrators of the Victorian era.

Gooding (2011) quoted; Crane wrote:

‘The books for babies, current at that time –about 1865 to 1870 – of the cheaper sort called toy books were not very inspiriting. These were generally careless and unimaginative woodcuts, very casually coloured by hand, dabs of pink and emerald green being laid on across faces with a somewhat reckless aim.’ (Gooding, 2011)

This suggests that Crane used his own beliefs in the Arts and Crafts movement to affect the illustration within children’s books, as he wanted to create a change as a forward thinker in art and design.

Figure 3

This piece in particular holds that of the aesthetics of its time due to the mute colour palette resembling natural tones and ease of the reader within its type and overall design. It is aesthetically beautiful to the viewer but allows for its purpose- to be read, therefore enhancing and continuing the beliefs of William Morris and that of the Arts and Crafts Movement. As stated above the designs Crane had crafted were completely different, innovative and rejected the previous ideas within art and design in books.

Gooding (2011) also suggested that Crane ‘gradually transformed the toy book into a sophisticated art form using a variety of technical, intellectual and aesthetic means.’ (Gooding, 2011) This quote means that Crane was a forward thinker in terms of art and also social and cultural impacts, he wanted to make books to inspire to children.

Although Crane continued and enhanced the ideologies within the socialist thoughts and cultural changes within art due to the Arts and Crafts movement. Both Morris and Crane shared a passion for these views and believed that should be assessable to all classes. Hornblakelibrary (2013) suggest that;

‘According to Henry Hyndman, leader of the SDF, the impact of Crane’s art was undeniable: Nobody, not even William Morris, did more to make Art a direct helpmate to the Socialist propaganda. Nobody has had a greater influence on the minds of doubters who feared that Socialism must be remote from and even destructive of the sense of beauty.’ (Hornblakelibrary, 2013)

This therefore enhances the idea that both William Morris and Walter Crane’s work and ideas based on social and cultural changes also impacted art and design through further progression in ideas and inspiration from the past (aesthetically). Walter Crane was heavily influenced by Pre-Raphaelite paintings, whereas William Morris was influenced by medievalism however they both shared a common purpose for their art and design, they wanted it to be assessable for all classes and allow for a democratisation within art and design.

To conclude; one of the most powerful statements said by Morris (1877) was; ‘I do not want art for a few, any more than education for a few, or freedom for a few’ (Morris, 1877) As a whole this quote simply concludes the social and cultural aims of movement as a whole. The Arts and Crafts movement changed Britain both culturally and socially as it created a better working standard for the lower classes in terms of work and quality of life as well as changing the attitudes of the higher classes. Which in turn benefitted Britain as a whole community, more thorough and beautifully crafted products were made through businesses such as Morris & Co. Not only did this allow for people to have works of art within their home but it also benefitted those who crafted the pieces, the movement allowed for progression within Britain socially and culturally due to the change within attitudes towards the idea of class. It allowed all classes of people to enjoy art much like Morris compared to education and freedom, the movement allowed the working class who crafted the products to enjoy their quality of life as well as the artwork created. Morris (1877) also argued; ‘Nothing should be made by a man’s labour which is not worth making; or which must be made by labour degrading to the makers’ (Morris, 1877) This further enhances the idea that the Arts and Crafts movement was successful in its aims to change British society, It was enforced by Morris that the craftsman should be appreciated along with the crafted product and that the product is not separate from its creators. Before the Arts and Crafts movement art was seen as decoration and a way of showing wealth, the movement clearly indicated as vast social and cultural change towards artwork and that it wasn’t something, which expressed wealth but expressed craftsmanship. Morris (1883) argues;

 “So long as the system of competition in the production and exchange of the means of life goes on, the degradation of the arts will go on; and if that system is to last for ever, then art is doomed, and will surely die; that is to say, civilization will die” (Morris, 1883)

This further states the idea that without a significant change within British society there will be no movement forwards. The impact on British society both culturally and socially due to the Arts and Crafts Movement is enhanced by Morris (1883) as he states;

‘My reason for this hope for art is founded on what I feel quite sure is a truth, and an important one, namely that all art, even the highest, is influenced by the conditions of labour of the mass of mankind, and that any pretensions which may be made for even the highest intellectual art to be independent of these general conditions are futile and vain; that is to say, that any art which professes to be founded on the special education or refinement of a limited body or class must of necessity be unreal and short- lived. ART IS MAN'S EXPRESSION OF HIS JOY IN LABOUR.’ (Morris, 1883)

This therefore means that without those social and cultural changes between wealthy middle and upper classes and those within working class there would be a considerable decline overall. The changes, which took, place in people’s beliefs towards society and more specifically art and design changed Britain as a whole due to the Arts and Crafts movement. The last section of the quote above is incredibly important as it identifies the considerable change needed and what did happen for designers and artists, they were appreciated for their craftsmanship rather than the products judged on their material worth.