Eroticism and Consumerism in Art Nouveau and How Sex Sells
Title: Eroticism and Consumerism in Art Nouveau and how sex sells.
Question: Discuss, using specific examples of design and promotion, how themes of eroticism and consumerism were bound up in Art Nouveau design.
Name: Hayley Rawlingson
Student Number: 12415555
Module Code: 2DD1003
Art Nouveau was hugely popular between 1890 and 1910. It originated from the British Art Movement known as The Arts and Crafts Movement. The style of Art Nouveau is highly decorative and detailed; the style was not only used within traditional painting and lithographs but also in architecture, jewellery, home furnishings and clothing. Art Nouveau carries certain traits and characteristics which make the style well recognised; it tends to use floral decorative imagery, curved lines, and the female form. It took a lot of influence from Japanese wood blocks. The style was very much influenced by an artist known as Alphonse mucha, who produced a poster advertising cigarettes which was displayed in Paris in 1895, I shall look at this specific piece in greater detail further into my essay. Maurice Rheims, an Artist historian, wrote “Art Nouveau arose out of symbolism and its sources are as diverse & bewildering as those of the parent stream.”
Throughout the essay i shall be exploring the themes that are projected in the style, specifically Eroticism and also looking at consumerism in some detail to understand why it became so popular. In terms of consumerism there may be a reason as to why Art Nouveau was such a success, usually art was seen as a luxury for people from a well off background. Art Nouveau challenged this idea of social class, as a quote by:
Elisabeth Horth. (2009). Guest Column: The Social Agenda of Art Nouveau. Available: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/guest-column-the-social-agenda-of-art-nouveau/. Last accessed 9th Dec 2012. 'Art Nouveau artists did not work in isolation. They belonged to large groups that
Question: Discuss, using specific examples of design and promotion, how themes of eroticism and consumerism were bound up in Art Nouveau design.
Name: Hayley Rawlingson
Student Number: 12415555
Module Code: 2DD1003
Art Nouveau was hugely popular between 1890 and 1910. It originated from the British Art Movement known as The Arts and Crafts Movement. The style of Art Nouveau is highly decorative and detailed; the style was not only used within traditional painting and lithographs but also in architecture, jewellery, home furnishings and clothing. Art Nouveau carries certain traits and characteristics which make the style well recognised; it tends to use floral decorative imagery, curved lines, and the female form. It took a lot of influence from Japanese wood blocks. The style was very much influenced by an artist known as Alphonse mucha, who produced a poster advertising cigarettes which was displayed in Paris in 1895, I shall look at this specific piece in greater detail further into my essay. Maurice Rheims, an Artist historian, wrote “Art Nouveau arose out of symbolism and its sources are as diverse & bewildering as those of the parent stream.”
Throughout the essay i shall be exploring the themes that are projected in the style, specifically Eroticism and also looking at consumerism in some detail to understand why it became so popular. In terms of consumerism there may be a reason as to why Art Nouveau was such a success, usually art was seen as a luxury for people from a well off background. Art Nouveau challenged this idea of social class, as a quote by:
Elisabeth Horth. (2009). Guest Column: The Social Agenda of Art Nouveau. Available: http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/guest-column-the-social-agenda-of-art-nouveau/. Last accessed 9th Dec 2012. 'Art Nouveau artists did not work in isolation. They belonged to large groups that