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1919, Art and Design from around the world
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The beginning of the 20th century was a period that saw unprecedented change. With dynamic change occurring all over the world through rapid industrialisation, and rivalry between states there came a growing tension in western countries, culminating with WW1. Artists began looking for an art for the century, one that reflected these changes. In addition, the psychoanalytic investigations of Sigmund Freud expanded our understanding of the mysteries of the human mind and prompted artists, writers and poets to gaze more inwardly. This decade was about breaking down all accepted conventions that were characteristic of the centuries past. Art Nouveau from the previous century was a major influence on the way designers created. It inspired the invention of new forms rather than replicating the forms of the past. However, with the birth of the Vienna Secession in 1897, lead by Gustav Klimt, a new appreciation for clean and geometric design became popular. Deutsche Werkbund The Werkbund was a union of artists, architects, and designers in 1907 Germany who took into consideration the current processes of industrial production. The group’s leaders included Hermann Muthesis, Peter Behrens, and Henry Van de Velde. They were influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement of the preceding century. The Werkbund was concerned with marrying technology and design. They believed that they could make everything in the new world more beautiful through design. Two groups emerged from this movement. One felt that form should follow function; the other believed that objects could be functional and aesthetically pleasing. Behrens attempted to bridge this gap by the complete designing of the company Allgemeine Elektrizitats Gesellschaft (A.E.G.). He was the first designer to apply similar designs to all of a company’s products. He designed everything for A.E.G. from household products such as teapots to electric motors. Cubism With Sigmund Freud’s publishing of the “Interpretation of Dreams,” contemporary attitudes and values were changed. Freud emphasised the importance of understanding the instinctual side of human nature. These ideas were reinforced when Pablo Picasso applied elements of ancient Iberian and Africa tribal art to the human figure in the mid to early 1900’s. It became a method of painting and sculpture in which the subject matter is portrayed by geometric forms without realistic detail. The Cubist style rejected traditional techniques of the Renaissance. French painter Paul Cezanne was widely known as a cubist and a master of this technique.
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