Early Modernism and Art Nouveau - A Comparison - Essay Example

of the of the Concerned 12 January Early Modernism and Art Nouveau- A Comparison To put it simply, primarily art is about placing items and forms, usually having symbolic significance in patterns and ways that tend to directly influence the human senses, perceptions, intellect and emotions (Wallis 1984, p. 19). Art as a concept and mode of human expression includes within its ambit, a plethora of activities that are visual arts, music, cinematography, sculpting and architecture. All these art forms tend to give expression to and explore the meaning of life from varied perspectives, be they metaphysical, philosophical, psychological, anthropological or aesthetic (Taylor 1960). Architecture is on such sphere of human activity that though discernibly has utilitarian objectives, also tends to be a pivotal medium of human expression. Architecture is also an art form whose scope and nature is directly susceptible to the times in which it is placed, responding pragmatically and aesthetically to the raw materials in vogue and the primary social and artistic concerns of the generation of which it tends to be a product of (Mattick 2003). Taking architecture in the context of time, early Modernism and Art Nouveau happen to be two important movements in the sphere of art and architecture. In an academic perspective, it will be immensely enlightening to dissect the essentials of these two art movements in a comparative context. Within the realm of architecture, early Modernism was primarily associated with the simplification of form. It primarily relied for the accrual of ornamental appeal, on the theme and structure of the intended structure (Sennott 2004, p. 538). Early Modernism initiated its nascent reverberations during the start of the twentieth century (Dempsey 2005). It was directly influenced by the times of its genesis in the sense that it attempted to respond to the ensuing modernization of society and the accompanying technological developments (Sennott 2004, p. 663). It would not be wrong to say that early Modernism tried to reconcile the principles of architecture to the two aforementioned trends. Early modernism attempted to borrow and harmonize themes and ideas from varied architectural styles and schools of design, while trying to blend the concomitant tensions and harmonies inherent in these genres. There is no denying the fact that early modernism borrowed a lot from the contemporary political and social movements (Miles 2004, p. 7). It also tried its best to incorporate and exploit the engineering and technological possibilities unravelling in those times. On the one side where the Victorian and Edwardian structures were noticeable for their loud and pompous style, early modernism was differentiated by its simplicity of taste and expression (Miles 2004, p. 70). Yet, early Modernism in a way was also a direct outcome of the Industrial Revolution in the sense that the new building materials like sheet glass and steel ushered in by the Industrial Revolution allowed the proponents of early Modernism to experiment with novel engineering and building techniques (Painter 2002, p. 58). These developments allowed the early Modernists to gel the stylistic precedents set by Classicism and Gothic with new utilitarian requirements and structural possibilities. The early Modernist movement in art seemed intent to break away from the past traditions in terms of design patterns and forms (Dempsey 2005). The early Modernist architects aspired to come out with alternate and new concepts of design by deliberately resorting to experimentation in the sphere of geometry, simplicity and materials (Painter 2002, p. 62). Early Modernist architects solicited inspiration from varied Modern Art movements and were avidly open to influences from varied art and architectural movements across Europe. As per the early Modernist architects, the form of a structure ought to flow out from and must be subservient to the purpose of that work of architecture (Reisner 2010, p. 228). They simply intended to do away with all the superfluous and unnecessary details and ushered in a sense of clarity and simplicity that defined the form and scope of a work (Reisner 2010, p. 228). Early Modernism simply believed in celebrating the overall structure with all its implicit details rather than hiding or camouflaging the structural details. The one other important aspect of Early Modernism was that it predominantly celebrated the materials, bringing out and sometimes highlighting the actual texture, colour and grain of a material rather than changing or concealing it (Roth 1993, p. 72). The early Modernist architects appeared to have panache for expressing themselves through horizontal and vertical lines, shapes and forms. Art Nouveau was a movement in art and architecture that was known by varied names like the Glasgow Style, or for that matter in German as Jugendstil (Dempsey 2005). Much like the early Modernism, Art Nouveau was an architectural movement that arose as a reaction against the eclecticism of the early architectural styles that had been in vogue till now (Schmutzler 1962, p. 33). However, it differed from the early Modernism in the sense that it not merely drew inspiration from the geometrical forms and patterns like the vertical and horizontal lines, but also relied for influence on the organic forms (Schmutzler 1962, p. 33). So, although is differed from the past movements in terms of designs and forms, it essentially carried the organic substance and freshness that set it apart from other modernist movements (Lenning 1951, p. 51). Art Nouveau did not merely confine itself to angular contours like early modernism, in its zeal to do away with the forms of the yore, but rather tried to synthesize the angular forms with albeit natural contours. However, Art Nouveau quintessentially managed to retain the rebelliousness of the early modernism in its intent to do away with the more historical styles prevalent in the nineteenth century (Mical 2004, p. 12). Hence, like early Modernism, Art Nouveau was an artistic and architectural movement, whose one salient goal was to create a space from fresh ideas in the sphere of art and architecture, by intently abandoning the forms and patterns of the old architectural styles and design forms, not because they were intrinsically useless or flawed, but rather primarily because they had grown up to be the boulders, that obstructed the flow of architectural creativity in the bold and new twentieth century. Also, like early Modernism, Art Nouveau also resorted to new materials facilitated by the Industrial Revolution. Yet, its relevance lied in its ability to recognize the fact that the new forms and styles of architecture either choose to use these new materials to create poor imitations of the older architectural styles, or were totally giving up the organic forms originating from nature, in the favour of abstract geometrical forms (Mical 2004). Hence, the practitioners of Art Nouveau aspired to genuinely raise the standard of architecture as a craft and an art form by giving way to genuinely modern designs, which exploited both the curves and angles. The other way in which Art Nouveau differed from early Modernism was in the sense that it was one of its avid intentions to bestow on architecture the same honour and prestige that was hitherto enjoyed by fine art forms like sculpture and painting (Lenning 1951). So Art Nouveau borrowed a lot from these media to create interiors and buildings that comprised of the same spatial and visual effects, which were hitherto believed to be lying solely in the domain of fine arts. One other way in which Art Nouveau resembled the early Modernism was that it considered the function to be the precursor of the form. However, here it also differed from early Modernism in the sense that it denounced the unessential frivolity and ornamentation of the old architectural styles, while embracing the rich organic forms that imbued them (Lenning 1951). In other words, Art Nouveau though being much like early Modernism in its intent and purpose dared to differ from it that it tended to be a more fleshy, pithy and organic style of architecture. To put it simply, though Art Nouveau, very much like early Modernism, repudiated the flashiness of old Victorian and Edwardian architectural styles in theory, in practice it happened to be a more flexible and accommodating style of architecture (Lenning 1951). Thus, it is not a wonder that unlike early modernism, Art Nouveau was an art movement that was not only more intimately associated with architecture, but it also had a great impact on the Western culture. Even today, if one takes a helicopter view of the architectural landscape of Vienna, Prague or Paris or says East European urban hubs like Budapest or Riga, one comes across ample landmarks inspired by Art Nouveau style of architecture. Though the procreators of Art Nouveau architecture were dealing with modern urban utilities like subways and terminals, unlike early Modernism, they managed to retain the organic sense of the architectural styles of the yore, to create spatial experiences that were neither typically linear or angular, nor archaically curvaceous or dome like (Malcolm 2004). There is no denying the fact that early Modernism and Art Nouveau movements in architecture tended to do away with the excesses of the old architectural styles and shared many commonalities in the sphere of intent and purpose, yet, both these movements differed from each other in style and inspiration, consequently giving way to new type of spatial and visual arrangements that were to alter the face of modern Western world forever. In that context, it is next to impossible to taste and grasp the uniqueness of these two architectural styles, without attempting a comparative analysis of two structures uniquely influenced by these two distinct styles. If one determines to cull out a true representative of the early Modernism style of architecture, no other name flashes on the screen of inner eye than that of Frank Lloyd Wright. Actually speaking, Frank Lloyd happened to be one of the pioneers of early Modernism. The artistic genius of this particular architect was instrumental in creating a range of modern marvels that also served as houses, hotels and modern landmarks (Pfeiffer 1993). Lloyd’s approach towards architecture was beautiful, yet very simple. Most of the buildings designed by him seemed to yearn for a real or imagined horizon (Pfeiffer 1993). Fallingwater House designed by Frank Lloyd Wright happens to be a typical sample of early modernism. The building seems to integrate man with nature by taking recourse to vertical and horizontal, linear shapes (Pfeiffer 1993, p. 9). The Fallingwater house is made of sandstone and the architect appears to be particularly bent on accentuating the grain and texture of the material by making it an integral part of the design and form (Pfeiffer 1993, p. 152). In a typical early Modern style, the structure tends to integrate the function with the native materials and the surrounding environmental factors. When it comes to Art Nouveau, Le Corbusier was not only one of the most worthy and noticeable architects of the 20th century, but was also known for his architectural creations in the realm of Art Nouveau (Choay 1960). His ideas and creations laid down the foundations for the new themes in the 20th century architecture. The Art Nouveau creations of Le Corbusier were also to a great extent influenced by the organic themes in the classical Greek architecture (Choay 1960). Corbusier was the proponent of a bold new type of architecture that defined and determined the scope and nature of many town planning projects around the world (Choay 1960). Villa Savoye is one of the typical works of Le Corbusier affiliated to the Art Nouveau style of architecture. This structure tends to lay down the foundations of a novel aesthetic of architecture by using a material like reinforced concrete (Broadbent 1996, p. 238). The supporting columns in the Villa Savoye raise the main structure above the surrounding damp area, thereby allowing the organic substratum to freely flow beneath the main structure (Broadbent 1996, p. 238). The entire structure is built in the lap of a meadow surrounded by trees. The elimination of walls intended to bear the load allow for the creation of partitions when and wherever they are required, thereby allowing for varied spatial and visual experiences (Broadbent 1996, p. 238). Villa Savoye differs from the Fallingwater House in its scope for more curvaceous and organic experimentation with themes and motifs. Certainly it is true that both early Modernism and Art Nouveau do differ in terms of styles, motifs and patterns. Yet, the one essential factor that unites these two movements in modern architecture is that both of them intended to do away with the excess and decadence of the old architectural styles, to usher in a breath of novelty and innovation in the mainstream Western architecture. Reference List Broadbent, Geoffrey 1996, Emerging Concepts in Urban Space Design, E & FN Span, London. Choay, Francoise 1960, Le Corbusier, G Brazilles, New York. Dempsey, Amy 2005, Styles, Schools and Movements, Thames & Hudson, London. Lenning, Henry F 1951, The Art Nouveau, Martinus Nijhoff, Hague. Mattick, Paul 2003, Art and its Time, Routledge, London. Mical, Thomas 2004, Surrealism and Architecture, Routledge, London. Miles, Malcolm 2004, Urban Avant-Gardes Art, Architecture and Change, Routledge, New York. Painter, Colin 2002, Contemporary Art and Home, Berg, New York. Pfeiffer, Bruce Brooks 1993, Frank Lloyd Wright the Masterworks, Rizzoli, New York. Reisner, Yael 2010, ‘To Really Connect with People, Architecture needs to get Back in Touch with its Emotions’, The Architectural Review, September, p. 228. Roth, Leland M 1993, Understanding Architecture, Westview Press, Boulder. Schmutzler, Robert 1962, Art Nouveau, Harry N Abrams, New York. Sennott, R Stephen 1962, Encyclopaedia of 20th Century Architecture, Fitzray Dearborn, New York. Taylor, Harold 1960, Art and Intellect, Museum of Modern Art, New York. Wallis, Brian 1984, Art after Modernism, Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. Read More