Link to Nouveau Presentation.pdf

21/7/2019 to 28/7/2019
Day 27 to Day 34

Garment Prepping

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Top hat Construction

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Used a cracker tin, empty as always, to use as a basis of the inner ring. Fits nicely.
Outer ring was about 3cm longer in radius.

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Creating the actual brim, couldn’t form both sides simultaneously as the the cardboard piece was of insufficient size. More work, more time, more tired, great.
Drew grid to easier draw corresponding curve, lack of artistic skill and whatnot. Guess geometry class did pay off.
Strips of cardboard on the final picture was used to reinforce the stiffness and integrity of the brim.

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Done and done.

17/7/2019
Day 23

Newspaper, garment proof-of-concept

External Coat and Internal Dress

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Addendum:
I had no participation in the creation of the newspaper prototype as I was in the middle of a seperate tutorial class

Trial Run With Curtain Cloth as Dress Fabric

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Powerpoint Draft as of 17/7/2019

1/7/2019
Day 7

The Uniqueness of Nouveau Art

COLORS
Cool colors, mostly shades of yellow, are highlighted with only warm colors to create a soft, romantic aesthetic.
Very little saturation can be seen in colors as to invoke a sense of slow, emotional comfort.

FORM
Organic, curled whiplashes to rapidly draw the admirers’ eyes and attention across the body of the artwork.
Nature themed designs (flowers, vines, stems, etc) can be seen in all Nouveau decorative art.
Rarely is there more than a single subject in the focus of a Nouveau graphic, said figure is will also be feminine in design. It can be said that Art Nouveau helped perpetuate the association of nature with femininity and vice versa.

DEPTH
Nouveau architecture had a heavy emphasis on not only creating spacial and illusive physical depth, but emotional and sentimental depth as well. Even going as far as forming an individual “personality” for the artwork in correspondence to its subject person.
The organic whiplash design is also consistently used in furniture and jewelry to form complex, symmetrical designs that create an abstract sense of size.

MOVEMENT
The female subjects of Nouveau graphics are always seen carrying out a motion, one of grace and poise, almost as if dancing.

MISCELLANEOUS
The irony of Nouveau graphics is being a reaction to over-industrialization of the 19th century, despite its popularity’s existence being the product of lithography, a form of visual mass production.
Had it not been for the impending conflict that was WWI, the art style would have certainly survived much longer that it had. Victor Horta, the pioneering architect of the Nouveau Art, had even predicted the falling out of the movement. Hence, he and many other artists of the era had to appeal to the change in public taste and adapt to the new Art Deco style.

30/6/2019-1/7/2019
Day 6- Day 7
Post work-shift research. Continuation of Wearable Art Research (02).

Victor Horta

Born in Ghent, Belgium in the January of 1861, Victor Pierre Horta was the son of a luxury shoemaker.
While Alphonse Mucha had his focus on graphics and paintings, Victor pioneered in a more utilitarian form of Art Nouveau- architecture. His interest in architecture would stem from the days in which he had helped his uncle on a construction site as a 12 year old. There, he had a revelation, to one day become a renowned Mason.
To further his ambition in architecture, Victor had joined the Academie des Beaux-Arts in his hometown in 1873, in which he graduated with a gold medal.
With such a distinction, Victor had gained the notice of one Alphonse Balat, not to be confused with graphics artist, Alphonse Mucha. Alphonse Balat had already established himself a masterful architect, working on projects such as the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken, a work of iron and glass Victor himself would be inspired by.

Through his increasing reputation in professional architecture in tandem with the growing public acknowledgement of Nouveau Art, did Victor Horta’s skill began to unveil itself.
With more members of the Belgium bourgeoisie issuing commissions for Nouveau architecture, Victor took each opportunity to further improve his hand in the trade. Although each commission was dealt with in accordance to each client, Victor’s work was not without its tropes.
The first one of his masterful products of architecture took form as the Tassel Hotel, an initial attempt at incorporating the Nouveau Art style into urban homes and infrastructure. Today, the building would stand as a UNESCO world heritage site, for its artistic historical significance, being the first building consisting of the intricate motifs and designs of Nouveau Art. (UNESCO, none)

The fronts of the Tassel Hotel (Sullivan 2007)

As visible in the image, Victor Horta was no stranger to the organic, vivid whiplash that plagued nearly all of Art Nouveau. Victor had used the trope immensely to create areas with open space aesthetic. From the railings of the stairs, to the plant-like vines on the walls, as well as the floor tiling.

Only a year later in 1894, would Victor once again be engaged to begin construction on another town house, However, after his success creating the Tassel Hotel, Armand Solvay, an educated chemist, would give Victor complete creative freedom over the construction of his bride’s new home.
In response, Victor had aimed to encapsulate the vitality and essence of a person to form a home that suited with its tenants’ heart and mind. The result of such a methodology led to the creation of Victor’s 2nd great work of Nouveau Architecture- The Solvay Hotel.

References:

UNESCO, none, Major town houses of the architect Victor Horta, viewed 1 July 2019,
<https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1005/>

Sullivan, M 2007, Hôtel Tassel, viewed 1 July 2019,
<https://www.bluffton.edu/homepages/facstaff/sullivanm/belgium/brussels/tassel/horta.html>

hotelsolvay, none, Hôtel Solvay, viewed 1 July 2019, <http://www.hotelsolvay.be/>

Turtle, M 2018, Hôtel Solvay, viewed 1 July 2019, <https://www.trover.com/d/1LeOj-h%C3%B4tel-solvay-brussels-belgium>

28/6/2019-30/6/2019
Day 4-Day 6
Nothing of note. Rest of entry will mainly focus on the influential artists of the Art Nouveau era, in the editor’s personal opinion, who defined the movement with their artworks or embodied the principles of Art Nouveau tremendously in their pursuit of art.

Alphonse Mucha

Born on a Summer’s day of 1860 in what is modern day the Czech Republic, Alphonse was originally given the name Alfons Maria Mucha at birth. (Augustyn none)
Throughout his life, Alphonse had attended several institutions of fine arts, but none more notable than the Munich Academy of Art, in which he spent 2 years. His artistic education then furthers in Paris after his move there, for another set of years. In tandem with his studies, Alphonse partook in illustrative work and graphics design, which consequently led to one of his most notable works of Nouveau Art.
It was the winter of 1894, the time of Christmas. As such, other illustrators were not available for commissions, but with Alphonse spending the season in Paris, he had taken up the last minute request. However, the commission was no ordinary request, it was an issue for a poster design, one for a film starring Sarah Bernhardt, the most famous actress in Paris at the time.
With only roughly 2 weeks of time during the holiday season, Alphonse had successfully designed a poster for Sarah Bernhardt’s “Gismonda”. The poster was held in such high regard, Sarah Bernhardt had put together a 6 year contract with Mucha. Not to mention the copies of the poster distributed across Paris being stolen by vandals to be sold by enthusiasts and collectors. (Rogallery, none) (Mucha Foundation, none)

Only a year later, in 1896, Alphonse would be under the employment of F Champenois France, a famous french editor and printer. Under whom he would create another great piece of Nouveau styled artwork more commonly known as “Seasons” when he was commissioned to create decorative panels. Not only is this commission significant for its beauty and and design, but for the fact that it would lead to a popularization of the theme. So much so, that Alphonse would go on to create another set of panels a year later in 1897 and a third time in 1900 with the some variation in form, colors, and shapes and movement. (Museums 2015) (Mucha Foundation, none)

Above all else, Alphonse Mucha was a patriot at heart, firmly believing in the independence of his birth nation- Czech. An exemplary representation of his love for his people and country would be the “Slav Epic”, a twenty-part story depicting the history of Czechslovakians and other Slavic minorities of the time, composed of only paintings. Each piece spanned over 6 meters tall and 8 meters wide, taking 2 decades in total for completion. Naturally, such a monumental project required a considerable amount of funding and support, which Alphonse was not short of. From his agreement with Crane, an american philanthropist with a keen interest in Slavic culture and history, Alphonse would accumulate enough funding to ensure the projects completion. (Boris none)

While the Slav Epic is, in modern times, considered Alphonse’s most ambitious, most grand, and most meaningful series of artworks, there was an endeavor that contended for the same title- The Three Ages.
In contrast to the Slav Epic, The Three Ages would be intended for the people of all nations, cultures, and races to admire and embrace.
However, to the dismay of the world of art, Alphonse could not complete the piece. For his anxiety towards the impending 2nd World War and the Nazi occupation of his homeland led to his failing mental and physical health. The following is what remains of The Three Ages. (Mucha Foundation, none)

For context, The Age of Reason represents human logic and fixed thought, while The Age of Love represents the emotion and irrationality of human psyche. Between them stands The Age of Wisdom, indicating the viewer that only our experience and proper judgement can harmoniously unite the 2 aspects of human perception.

With that, Alphonse Maria Mucha had left his final mark on the artistic world, a fractured, incomplete footprint. His death can be attributed to both the onset of pneumonia and possible physical stress as a result of abuse by the Nazis.
On the 14 of July, 1939 an artist, patriot, and above all else an idealist passes. Alphonse’s funeral would be held in Prague, the capital of his homeland, despite Nazi German law.
(Mucha Foundation, none)

References:

McGill, D 2017, Artists with tragic deaths: Alphonse Mucha, viewed 28 June 2019, <https://owlcation.com/humanities/Artists-with-Tragic-Deaths-Alphonse-Mucha>

Augustyn, A Bauer, P none, Art Nouveau, viewed 28 June 2019, <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alphonse-Mucha>

Rogallery none, Alphonse Mucha, Czech (1860-1939), viewed 28 June 2019, <https://www.rogallery.com/Mucha_Alphonse/mucha-biography.htm >

Mucha Foundation none, Alphonse Mucha timeline, viewed 28 June 2019, <http://www.muchafoundation.org/timeline/alphonse-mucha-timeline>

Mazzino, A 2011, Gismonda poster | Alphonse Mucha | 1894, viewed 28 June 2019,
<https://silverandexact.com/2011/01/21/gismonda-poster-alphonse-mucha-1894/>

Museums 2015, Daily art story: Mucha’s Seasons, viewed 29 June 2019,
<http://museu.ms/article/details/108761/daily-art-story-muchas-seasons>

Mucha Foundation none, The Seasons, viewed 29 June 2019,
<http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/browse-works/object/80>

Boris none, The Slavic Epic – the story of Slavs in paintings, viewed 29 June 2019,
<https://www.slavorum.org/the-slavic-epic-the-story-of-slavs-in-paintings/>

Mucha Foundation none, Study for ‘The Three Ages’ triptych: Reason, Wisdom and Love [unfinished project], viewed 29 June 2019,
<http://www.muchafoundation.org/gallery/browse-works/object/258>

26/6/2019
Day 2- After consultation with Ms.Chee our task became lots more clearer, to apply the principles of design as well as the messages and ideas portrayed within artworks of the era onto our garment. Research of our corresponding art era will be necessary for better understanding of the world and life its artists had to live through and experience, experiences which influence and direct their art and intents.
With all that being said, after much debate, we ultimately choose “Art Nouveau” as our group’s choice of modern art era.

Historical Walkthrough

Existing between approximately 1890 and 1910 (Augustyn 2019), then reviving once more to be recognized as a historically significant art movement, the eras of Art Nouveau had to survive several transitions.
By the end of the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution had already passed its prime and was in full swing. With it came along a sense of dread for the age of mass mechanically driven industries, a rebellion to social norm naturally followed in the form of Art Nouveau. As the movement’s philosophical father, William Morris, states-
“To give people pleasure in the things they must perforce use, that is one great office of decoration; to give people pleasure in the things they must perforce make, that is the other use of it.” (LeBourdais 2016)
In Laymen’s terms, the creation of an object with use should instill satisfaction within the one creating it as well as serve a function to its user, not only to act as an ornament. Such an ideology acts in resistance to the nature of society in the late 1800s and early 1900s, as the practice of mass producing goods was well in its prime. All forms of goods and products came off factory lines continuously, but with very low craftsmanship when imitating past art styles of the 19th century.

Additionally, the Nouveau Art style rebelled against academic art standards, by tearing down the hierarchy of art forms formally put in place. In context, before the existence of Nouveau Art, it was well accepted that the traditional arts, paintings and sculpting, were superior to glass work, jewelry, and etc. The art movement would be an attempt to create equality in appreciation for all forms of artworks, hence its embodiment in various mediums.

Composition of Style

As a form of total art style, Nouveau Art is embodied in all forms of art. Whether it be glass work, architecture, paintings, or even as jewelry and etc., all share a common theme and principle.
That being the nature based motif, composing of floral and fauna elements such as flowers and birds.

References:

Augustyn, A Bauer, P 2016, Art Nouveau, viewed 26 June 2019, <https://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Nouveau>

Lebourdais, G 2016, What is Art Nouveau, viewed 26 June 2019, <https://www.artsy.net/series/art-history-101/artsy-editorial-art-nouveau>

Garment Design, Final Project, Research Summary.

25/6/2019
Day 1- Ms.Chee issues our final project, that being the task to create and design a piece of wearable art, or a garment. Said garment should consist of principles of design used it the correspondingly chosen era, with any graphics on the garment possessing relevant historical and cultural significance to the era .

Group members- Vin, Johann, Yuki, Zovvy, Wan Juin, and I.