Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau was an international art and design movement

that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This
movement began in response to the very strict and formal
Neoclassical and Romantic art movements. Instead of focusing
on realistic or idealistic rendering, artists in this movement
drew inspiration from natural forms, such as plants and sea
creatures. Work from this style is characterized by the repeated
use of organic, flowing curves known as whiplashes, and use of
flat areas of color (an element borrowed from Japanese wood
block printing.)
This piece of art, a dining-room cabinet by Belgian architect
and designer Gustave Serrurier-Bovy, is dominated by organic
curved forms, from the wood bars on the doors, to the elegantly
shaped copper hinges and handles, which are accented with
small panels of green enamel in a flat graphic style.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

Cabinet-vitrine
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
1899
Wood, glass, copper, enamel
94 x 84 x 25 in.

Bauhaus
The Bauhaus was a school of art, design, and architecture that
was active in Germany between 1919 and 1933. The Bauhaus
had a unique philosophy of uniting art, architecture, and craft
into one field, with a common aesthetic and functional goal.
Bauhaus design work is characterized by several related
traits: an absence of ornamentation, the achievement of visual
minimalism through a focus on function, and the reduction of
complex forms to simple geometric shapes.
This teapot is designed by Marianne Brandt, the only female
student ever in the Bauhaus' metalworking program. It shows
many characteristics of Bauhaus design. Its form is mostly
composed of parts of circles, and it sits on a cross-shaped
base, which visually connects the spout to the handle, while
emphasizing the form of the pot.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

MT49 Tea Infuser

Marianne Brandt
1924
Brass, ebony
2 7/8 in. tall

Russian Constructivism
Russian Constructivism is an art and design movement that
rose in 1913, in the late years of the Russian Empire. This
movement was initially defined by two concepts: the physical
properties of an object's material, and its presence and
interaction in space. After the Russian Revolution in 1917, the
Constructivist movement began to incorporate a social goal
as well; any art or design should directly benefit the Russian
people and the state.
The Monument to the Third International was designed in
the early years of the Soviet Union. During this time, the
new Communist leadership sought to remove all remaining
monuments and statues from the earlier Russian Empire, and
replace them with new ones emphasizing the new government's
ideals. This building was to be over 1300 feet tall, making it
the tallest building in the world and proving the success of
Communism. The outer steel frame of the building would hold
four glass structures, each containing a different branch of the
Communist party. The image here shows a scale model of the
building; the project was never constructed at full scale.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

Monument to the Third International

Vladimir Tatlin
1920
Wood
13 ft. 9 in. tall, 9 ft. 10 in. diameter

Art Deco
Art Deco is an art and design movement popular between 1920
and 1940. This movement was grew from an exhibition in Paris
in 1925, showing the design of the contemporary and future.
Art Deco design is characterized by simplified and streamlined
modern shapes, as well as stepped repeated patterns. It
commonly incorporated local traditional culture into design, for
the ultimate purpose of beauty and enjoyment.
This piece of jewelry, made by French jeweler Georges Fouquet,
shows many characteristics of Art Deco design. It appropriates
a traditional Chinese mask motif, rendered in a sleek and
modern fashion, using a combination of jade (a stone popular in
Asia) and diamonds, which were popular in Western culture. A
stepped pattern, similar to the shape of Art Deco skyscrapers,
is seen in the lower edge of the hanging strands of beads.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

Dress Ornament
Georges Fouquet
1923
Jade, onyx, diamonds, platinum
9 in. x 4 in. x 1/2 in.

International Typographic Style

International Typographic Style, also known as Swiss Design,
is a design movement that developed in the 1950s. This
design style was characterized by the use of layout grids to
systematically align asymmetrical elements. Easily readable
sans serif typefaces such as Helvetica and Univers were
developed as part of this movement. Swiss design commonly
used a reduced color pallete, and flat graphic shapes in place of
photographs or illustration.
This poster, by Josef Muller-Brockmann, shows many
characteristics of Swiss design. On the bottom of the poster,
text is set in three grid-based columns, using a simple sansserif font. Above the text, four circular elements are aligned to
the same grid as the text, creating a flow throughout the page.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

Poster for musica viva

Josef Muller-Brockmann
1958
lithograph
28. in x 39 in.

Modernism
Modernism is a philosophical, art, design, literary, and
architectural movement that began in the late 19th or early
20th century. Modernism is characterized by a belief that
traditional forms of expression were becoming obsolete, due to
the rapid industrialization and urbanization that was occurring.
Modernism in art and design includes many different artistic
movements, all united by their contradiction of earlier styles.
Abstract Expressionism is one art movement associated
with Modernism. In this art movement, the physical act or
performance of painting, as well as the material quality of the
paint itself, became more important than the aesthetic qualities
of the final product. Jackson Pollock's work, shown here, was
often created by dripping and splattering paint across a canvas
on the floor, a direct response to the traditional techniques of
painting on an easel with controlled brush strokes.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)

Jackson Pollock
1950
enamel on canvas
105 in. x 207 in.

Post-Modernism
Post-Modernism, like Modernism, is a movement that sought
to criticize and reflect upon prior movements. In Post-Modern
art and design, previous ideas were collaged and combined in
ways that encourage response and thought from the viewer.
Because of this, Post-Modern work often put form ahead of
function, and incorporated unnecessary design elements.
This sculpture by Israeli artist Ron Arad shows the critical
elements for which Post-Modernism is known. Althought
the sculpture takes a form which is well-known, that of an
armchair, it is made of steel, a material which would be rather
uncomfortable to sit on. When one looks at this sculpture,
he/she questions why it was made of such a material, and
attempts to assign meaning to the object, provoking original
thought as a response to several already-understood ideas.

title
designer
date
medium
dimensions

"Big Easy Volume Two" Armchair

Ron Arad
1989
Mild steel
40 in. x 50 in. x 35 in.