FIBRE AND DECORATIVE CRAFT
DEFINITION
DECORATIVE ARTS
The term "decorative arts" is a traditional term for a rather unwieldy range of artistic disciplines concerned with the design and ornamentation of items, usually functional, that do not necessarily have any intrinsic aesthetic qualities. Broadly-speaking, many decorative arts (eg. basket-weaving, cabinet-making, ceramics, tapestry and others)
FIBRE ARTS
Fiber art refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labour on the part of the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.
The term "decorative arts" is a traditional term for a rather unwieldy range of artistic disciplines concerned with the design and ornamentation of items, usually functional, that do not necessarily have any intrinsic aesthetic qualities. Broadly-speaking, many decorative arts (eg. basket-weaving, cabinet-making, ceramics, tapestry and others)
FIBRE ARTS
Fiber art refers to fine art whose material consists of natural or synthetic fiber and other components, such as fabric or yarn. It focuses on the materials and on the manual labour on the part of the artist as part of the works' significance, and prioritizes aesthetic value over utility.
HISTORY OF FIBRE AND DECORATIVE ARTS
The earliest type of decorative art was ancient pottery, notably the Jomon style Japanese ceramics pioneered from about 14,500 BCE. It was also widely produced from about 5,000 BCE by a number of ancient Mediterranean civilizations, before reaching its apogee in the Geometric Style, Oriental Style, Black-Figure and Red-Figure style of Ancient Greek pottery.
Another early producer of decorative art were the Celts, whose metalwork (c.500-50 BCE) created such personal weaponry and items of jewellery, as the gold and bronze "Oak Tree of Manching" (c.350-50 BCE), the bronze "Battersea Shield" (c.350-50 BCE), the bronze "Witham Shield" (4th century BCE), the silver "Gundestrup Cauldron" (c.100 BCE), the bronze "Petrie Crown" (100 BCE - 200 CE), the gold "Broighter Gold Collar" (1st century BCE) and the gold "Broighter Boat" (1st century BCE). Later, Celtic artisans in Ireland produced a number of exquisite ecclesiastical objects, and other works, such as the Tara Brooch (c.700 CE), the Ardagh Chalice (8th/9th century CE), the Derrynaflan Chalice (8th/9th century CE), the Moylough Belt Shrine (8th century CE), the Tully Lough Cross (8th/9th century) and the Cross of Cong (12th century).
These ornamental traditions were kept alive at the European royal courts of King Charlemagne I and later Ottonian rulers, with new art forms being developed in the area of tapestry and other textiles. The great Christian Gothic style building program then financed the development of European stained glass art, which it employed throughout its cathedrals in France, England, Germany and elsewhere.
During the Italian and Northern Renaissance eras, painting and sculpture took tended to be more serious than decorative - but see the Fontainebleau School in France - and it wasn't really until the Counter-Reformation Baroque era that decorative art again blossomed, in a variety of disciplines. An important event during this time was the founding of the famous Gobelins Tapestry Factory, in Paris (1667), headed by Charles Le Brun (1619-90), and the Beauvais Tapestry Factory (1664), also in Paris.
After this, came the Rococo school which gave a huge impetus to decorative crafts such as furniture-making, domestic furnishings, glass, and textiles. If Baroque was rooted in architecture, the Rococo style was rooted in interior design. Emerging at the court of Louis XV at the Palace of Versailles, the style proved exceptionally popular in parts of Germany and central Europe. For more, see French Decorative Arts (c.1640-1792); French Designers (c.1640-1792); and French Furniture (c.1640-1792). The Rococo era is also noted for the popularity of Chinese decorative motifs, as in chinoiserie, the pseudo-Chinese style of decoration which spread throughout Europe.
Neither the socialism of the French Revolution or the mass-production techniques of the Industrial Revolution, were conducive to the aesthetics of ornamental crafts. As a result, it wasn't until the late 19th century, in a reaction against machine-based products, that decorative art again came to the fore. It did so due to William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, a social and aesthetic movement which arose out of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society founded in 1888, although its roots date from the 1850s and the aesthetics of the art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900). The movement championed good design and craftsmanship, in contrast to the standardized designs of machine-made factory products.
Around the turn of the century another design movement appeared, known as the Celtic Art Revival Movement. Pioneered by members of the Irish intelligentsia, like WB Yeats and Lady Gregory, as well as activists like "AE" Russell, Percy French, Oliver St John Gogarty, Padraic Colum, and Edward Plunkett, it led to a mini-renaissance of Celtic designs and Celtic art generally. Celtic-style jewellers and metalworkers began copying ancient pieces including: the Tara Brooch, the Knights of Templar Brooch, the Dublin University Brooch and the Clarendon Brooch.
Meanwhile, advances in chromolithography in Paris by the French lithographer Jules Cheret (1836-1932) led to a huge poster art craze across Europe. This merged during the 1890s with the first modern international design style, namely Art Nouveau (popularized by groups like the Vienna Secession) which peaked at the 1900 International Exhibition in Paris. Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) epitomized Art Nouveau posters. Then, as Art Nouveau began to lose its edge, it was superceded in poster lithography by functionalism, as exemplified by Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942). (For more information about this medium, see: History of Poster Art.) After World War I came the highly influential Bauhaus Design School, and afterwards the last major decorative movement emerged, known as Art Deco. This style took its name from the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative and Applied Arts, in Paris. Since then there have been very few significant new styles of decorative art, although Pop art and Minimalism had some influence, as did Neo-Pop.
Another early producer of decorative art were the Celts, whose metalwork (c.500-50 BCE) created such personal weaponry and items of jewellery, as the gold and bronze "Oak Tree of Manching" (c.350-50 BCE), the bronze "Battersea Shield" (c.350-50 BCE), the bronze "Witham Shield" (4th century BCE), the silver "Gundestrup Cauldron" (c.100 BCE), the bronze "Petrie Crown" (100 BCE - 200 CE), the gold "Broighter Gold Collar" (1st century BCE) and the gold "Broighter Boat" (1st century BCE). Later, Celtic artisans in Ireland produced a number of exquisite ecclesiastical objects, and other works, such as the Tara Brooch (c.700 CE), the Ardagh Chalice (8th/9th century CE), the Derrynaflan Chalice (8th/9th century CE), the Moylough Belt Shrine (8th century CE), the Tully Lough Cross (8th/9th century) and the Cross of Cong (12th century).
These ornamental traditions were kept alive at the European royal courts of King Charlemagne I and later Ottonian rulers, with new art forms being developed in the area of tapestry and other textiles. The great Christian Gothic style building program then financed the development of European stained glass art, which it employed throughout its cathedrals in France, England, Germany and elsewhere.
During the Italian and Northern Renaissance eras, painting and sculpture took tended to be more serious than decorative - but see the Fontainebleau School in France - and it wasn't really until the Counter-Reformation Baroque era that decorative art again blossomed, in a variety of disciplines. An important event during this time was the founding of the famous Gobelins Tapestry Factory, in Paris (1667), headed by Charles Le Brun (1619-90), and the Beauvais Tapestry Factory (1664), also in Paris.
After this, came the Rococo school which gave a huge impetus to decorative crafts such as furniture-making, domestic furnishings, glass, and textiles. If Baroque was rooted in architecture, the Rococo style was rooted in interior design. Emerging at the court of Louis XV at the Palace of Versailles, the style proved exceptionally popular in parts of Germany and central Europe. For more, see French Decorative Arts (c.1640-1792); French Designers (c.1640-1792); and French Furniture (c.1640-1792). The Rococo era is also noted for the popularity of Chinese decorative motifs, as in chinoiserie, the pseudo-Chinese style of decoration which spread throughout Europe.
Neither the socialism of the French Revolution or the mass-production techniques of the Industrial Revolution, were conducive to the aesthetics of ornamental crafts. As a result, it wasn't until the late 19th century, in a reaction against machine-based products, that decorative art again came to the fore. It did so due to William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Movement, a social and aesthetic movement which arose out of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society founded in 1888, although its roots date from the 1850s and the aesthetics of the art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900). The movement championed good design and craftsmanship, in contrast to the standardized designs of machine-made factory products.
Around the turn of the century another design movement appeared, known as the Celtic Art Revival Movement. Pioneered by members of the Irish intelligentsia, like WB Yeats and Lady Gregory, as well as activists like "AE" Russell, Percy French, Oliver St John Gogarty, Padraic Colum, and Edward Plunkett, it led to a mini-renaissance of Celtic designs and Celtic art generally. Celtic-style jewellers and metalworkers began copying ancient pieces including: the Tara Brooch, the Knights of Templar Brooch, the Dublin University Brooch and the Clarendon Brooch.
Meanwhile, advances in chromolithography in Paris by the French lithographer Jules Cheret (1836-1932) led to a huge poster art craze across Europe. This merged during the 1890s with the first modern international design style, namely Art Nouveau (popularized by groups like the Vienna Secession) which peaked at the 1900 International Exhibition in Paris. Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939) epitomized Art Nouveau posters. Then, as Art Nouveau began to lose its edge, it was superceded in poster lithography by functionalism, as exemplified by Leonetto Cappiello (1875-1942). (For more information about this medium, see: History of Poster Art.) After World War I came the highly influential Bauhaus Design School, and afterwards the last major decorative movement emerged, known as Art Deco. This style took its name from the 1925 International Exhibition of Decorative and Applied Arts, in Paris. Since then there have been very few significant new styles of decorative art, although Pop art and Minimalism had some influence, as did Neo-Pop.
TECHNIQUES
MACRAME
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting.
Macramé or macrame is a form of textile-making using knotting rather than weaving or knitting.