Art Nouveau

Art Nouveau is a French phrase that means "new art". This period followed the Arts ad Crafts movement and took place from 1890-1910. Art Nouveau focused on economic growth and supported new and experimental directins in design. During this time academic models and traditional designs were rejected. A popular style of art during this period was Japanese Art and was used by Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Gauguin, and Aubrey Beardley. The leaders of this movement were Belgium and France. Victor Hort was a major architect and designer. He work consist of asymmetrical facades, twisted iron balconies, large glass window frames, and curvilinear nature related details.

Henry Van de Velde was also a significant Belgian practitioner. He designed his own house in 1894. He was the bridge between British and contential art.

Antoni Gaudi was the highlighted arctitect and designer in Barcelona, Spain. Similar to the other architects and designers in this period, he used flowing curves and unusual decorative details. Casa Batllo was a significant building for Gaudi.

Hector Guimard was a significant designer in Paris. He used decorative elements that could be reproduced for sale as products. Guimard's most well known creation was the Metro Subway Station. He designed the entrance kiosks and detail elements.

Current Applications

Video Discussion: For the Art Nouveau period I chose to view Paige's post. The main thing that caught my attention were her examples of the lamp shades. I think that we focus so closely on the interior or the exterior architecture that only a few of us take the time to pick out the small things. The second blog that I decided to view was Allison's. I enjoyed her blog and most defintely the current application picture of the bathroom. I like how it still incorporated the curved lines but in a different sense. Instead of it being a railing or wall, it was in the floor design.