Short article about Glasgow School, Vienna Secession, & Werkbund - Essay Example

[Teacher’s There is a difference that exists between handmade and machine made products. However, there are advantages to both procedures and some individuals such as the Deutscher Werkbund aimed to combine different aspects of arts and crafts to make the German industry more competitive. The individuals not only embraced machine made crafts, but aimed to utilize them to improve traditional crafts. Many designers favored handmade products stating that the hands are the window to the mind. The main idea was that hands provide the artist or craftsman with the ability to have a closer relationship with his art.

VanderVelde stated that it was important for an artist to have individual expression which favors handmade crafts. One of the main views of individuals that favored handmade crafts was that it enables the preservation of skills among the designers. On the other hand, taking an industrialized approach to crafts would eventually result in the loss of these traditional values. However, there is no denying the advantages that exist from machinery such as the precision in the design and accuracy of the fine detail.

In addition, machines also provide the possibility to create designs faster. As mentioned above, the Werkbund was a group of individuals that believed in the combination of all aspects of art. I also share the same opinion as both handmade and machine made products have a role to play in the quality and appearance of the final product. However, I feel that machine made crafts have more advantages than handmade crafts. One of the individuals that prove this point is Peter Behrens who was one of the main contributors to the Arts movement in German.

He was a firm believer of combining different aspects of art which gave his products an exceptional appearance and design. Behrens utilized different systems such as the grid and branding systems in his designs. In his views, architecture, furnishing and different objects were all coherent. Hence, this also illustrates the benefits of using different approaches towards creating a final product. As mentioned above, machine made crafts are more advantageous due to their accuracy and provide the designer with an accurate base that he or she can modify to improve the final products.

However, many individuals that oppose industrialized design stated that it created repetitive and soulless end products. In addition, the machines took away the creativity and freedom that is associated with working with one’s hands. However, regardless of the criticism, many artists such as the Werkbund illustrate that use of machinery does not take away the originality of the creativity of art. The geometric system that was launched by Behrens was an application of grid system to graphic design.

The approach was influential in creating the foundation for modern graphic design. The use of machine also creates room for complexity in the design which may be impossible to achieve through handmade designs. Ironically, machine made products were opposed for their uniformity, however, they provide a wider platform for the designer to be more creative.