Turning the pages of the book, 30 kinds of flowers and leaf-like patterns depicted in watercolor become the best footnotes to the poem; The fabric catalogue containing 58 swatch samples has detailed pattern numbers, names and price ......Wandering through the exhibition hall on the third floor of the Tsinghua University Art Museum, the special exhibition "Beacons: From William Morris to Mackintosh" is on display, which overlaps the glorious development of design history from 1851 to 1930, and interprets the unique and creative art trends and design trends.
The first thing that catches your eye is the model of the "Crystal Palace" designed by British architect Joseph Paxton, originally built in London's Hyde Park to provide ample display space for exhibits from the first World Expo in 1851.
The special exhibition is divided into six units: "Open Book Art", "Tattoo Art Youth", "Decoration Art Centripetal", "Art Beauty Porcelain", "Art Flavor and Its Cong" and "Modern Construction Art", with nearly 200 exhibits from institutions and collectors such as the Victoria and Albert Museum and Tsinghua University Art Museum, which jointly tell the achievements in the fields of book binding, illustration art, home dyeing and weaving, metal craft, ceramic decoration, architectural design and other fields with the Arts and Crafts Movement as the core development stage.
The germination of the Arts and Crafts movement can be traced back to the 50s of the 19th century, and flourished between 1880 and 1920, under its concept of advocating nature and the environment, and maintaining the dignity of craftsmen, the development of craftsmanship maintained a high-style aesthetic pursuit, and its influence spread throughout the world. Talking about the theme of the exhibition, "Bright Lights", Chinese curator Liu Muwei said that it means "the bright lights of design", which comes from John Ruskin's book "Seven Bright Lights of Architecture", and the English initials of the six units of the exhibition cleverly form the English word "design". Liu Muwei hopes that the exhibition will allow the audience to see the diverse faces of modern design before it emerges.
A unique cabinet-style writing desk with a wide range of beautifully illustrated books** designed by Charles Ashby. The walnut base, carved with delicate decorative motifs in Moroccan sheepskin, reflects the combined skills of the members of the Craft Guild, from carving and cabinet-making to leather and metalworking. Founded by Ashby, the Crafts Guild is committed to upholding higher standards of craftsmanship while maintaining the status of artisans, and seeks to find a balance between the originality of artists and the commercialization of their products.
The exhibition hall is full of fresh and vivid flowers and vines, making the audience feel as if they have stepped into the kingdom of animals and plants full of business and rich natural atmosphere. Walter Crane's wallpaper captures the playfulness of a parrot flapping its wings among pomegranates and flowers, similar to the "owl" wallpaper designed by Charles Worther. Since the 16th century, it has been popular in England to use patterned paper to decorate walls, and William Morris's wallpaper based on the "buttercup" leaf shape is based on a careful observation of nature, divided into two color combinations, green and reddish-brown, which Morris hopes can provide printers with color matching guidance. This iconic work exemplifies the close relationship between design and manufacturing, which has also characterized the Arts and Crafts movement.
William Morris is known as the "father of modern design" in the design world and is the founder of the Arts and Crafts movement. In 1861, the newlywed Morris was disillusioned with the furniture he was buying for his new home, so he set up a company to work with artists, designers and craftsmen to design and make wallpaper, textiles, furniture, etc., and to decorate interiors. In the showcase, William Morris's most famous work, The Strawberry Thief, was inspired by the scene he stumbled upon in a country garden where a thrush stole strawberries. The intricate and ornate pattern of the symbiosis of flowers and birds originally used the ancient "indigo discharge printing technique" in the East, which was expensive and long-lasting, but Morris appreciated the color and clarity of this plant dye and personally supervised the initial printing of the textile.
Morris wants to change the world with beauty, and his goal is to bring together a group of artists, designers and makers who can influence future generations to restore the dignity and status of craftsmen. Max Donnelly, curator of furniture at the Victoria and Albert Museum in the UK, said the works in the exhibition reveal Morris's influence on the British Arts and Crafts movement, and the richness and diversity of design and craftsmanship during this period.
In the exhibition hall, many handmade silverware, jewelry, tea sets, etc., reflect the beauty of daily use under the aesthetic pursuit of the time in a simple and elegant form. "This red dragon designed by the British is very similar to our divine beast! In the "Art and Beauty of Porcelain" unit, it not only gathers the representative British ceramic works of the Arts and Crafts Movement such as "Owl Garlic Bottle" and "Red Dragon Plate", but also presents the cultural collision between the East and the West of ceramic art through the comparison of related Chinese ceramic categories.
It's time to inject fun into furniture and textiles, where we've been trapped in uniformity and boredom. In the exhibition hall, an early 1940 edition of Roger Frye's biography speaks to the notion of this pioneer of formalist aesthetics, who throughout his life emphasized the primacy of art and the form of beauty, and proposed "meaningful forms". In 1913, Frye founded the OMEGA atelier, which brought together artists to bring together a sense of form and artistry to everyday objects and handicrafts. The seven-year-old workshop is a laboratory for innovative design, not only running through Roger Frye's aesthetics, but also practicing abstraction with his exploration of form and color, keeping pace with the development of art.
The theoretical cornerstone laid by John Ruskin, the practice of craftsmanship led by William Morris, and the turn of artistic interest represented by Roger Frye all contributed to the development of the Arts and Crafts movement and the true beginning of modern design. Du Pengfei, executive deputy director of the Tsinghua University Art Museum, said.
It is reported that the exhibition will last until May 26.
*:Light**.