The front side of the Cross of Lothair (c. 1000), a classic example of "Ars Sacra"
Wine Pot, ca. 18th century, China, Walters Art Museum
Applied arts largely overlaps with decorative arts, and the modern making of applied art is usually called design. The decorative arts are often categorized in distinction to the "fine arts", namely painting, drawing, photography, and large-scale sculpture, which generally produce objects solely for their aesthetic quality and capacity to stimulate the intellect.
The distinction between the decorative and fine arts essentially arose from the post-Renaissance art of the West, where the distinction is for the most part meaningful. This distinction is much less meaningful when considering the art of other cultures and periods, where the most valued works, or even all works, include those in decorative media. For example, Islamic art in many periods and places consists entirely of the decorative arts, often using geometric and plant forms, as does the art of many traditional cultures.
The distinction between decorative and fine arts is not very useful for appreciating Chinese art, and neither is it for understanding early Medieval art in Europe. In that period in Europe, fine arts such as manuscript illumination and monumental sculpture existed, but the most prestigious works tended to be in goldsmith work, in cast metals such as bronze, or in other techniques such as ivory carving. Large-scale wall-paintings were much less regarded, crudely executed, and rarely mentioned in contemporary sources. They were probably seen as an inferior substitute for mosaic, which for the period must be considered a fine art, though in recent centuries mosaics have tended to be considered decorative. A similar fate has befallen tapestry, which late medieval and Renaissance royalty regarded as the most magnificent artform, and was certainly the most expensive. The term "ars sacra" ("sacred arts") is sometimes used for medieval Christian art executed in metal, ivory, textiles, and other more valuable materials but not for rarer secular works from that period.
The view of decoration as a 'lesser art' was formally challenged in the 1970s by writers and art historians like Amy Goldin[1] and Anne Swartz.[2] The argument for a singular narrative in art had lost traction by the close of the 20th century through post-modernist irony and increasing curatorial interest in street art and in ethnic decorative traditions. The Pattern and Decoration movement in New York galleries in the 1980s, though short-lived, opened the way to a more inclusive evaluation of the value of art objects.[3]
Influence of different materials
Modern understanding of the art of many cultures tends to be distorted by the modern privileging of fine visual arts media over others, as well as the very different survival rates of works in different media. Works in metal, above all in precious metals, are liable to be "recycled" as soon as they fall from fashion, and were often used by owners as repositories of wealth, to be melted down when extra money was needed. Illuminated manuscripts have a much higher survival rate, especially in the hands of the church, as there was little value in the materials and they were easy to store.
Renaissance attitudes
The promotion of the fine arts over the decorative in European thought can largely be traced to the Renaissance, when Italian theorists such as Vasari promoted artistic values, exemplified by the artists of the High Renaissance, that placed little value on the cost of materials or the amount of skilled work required to produce a work, but instead valued artistic imagination and the individual touch of the hand of a supremely gifted master such as Michelangelo, Raphael or Leonardo da Vinci, reviving to some extent the approach of antiquity. Most European art during the Middle Ages had been produced under a very different set of values, where both expensive materials and virtuoso displays in difficult techniques had been highly valued. In China both approaches had co-existed for many centuries: ink wash painting, mostly of landscapes, was to a large extent produced by and for the scholar-bureaucrats or "literati", and was intended as an expression of the artist's imagination above all, while other major fields of art, including the very important Chinese ceramics produced in effectively industrial conditions, were produced according to a completely different set of artistic values.
The lower status given to works of decorative art in contrast to fine art narrowed with the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement. This aesthetic movement of the second half of the 19th century was born in England and inspired by the writings of Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin and William Morris. The movement represented the beginning of a greater appreciation of the decorative arts throughout Europe. The appeal of the Arts and Crafts movement to a new generation led the English architect and designer Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo to organize the Century Guild for craftsmen in 1882, championing the idea that there was no meaningful difference between the fine and decorative arts. Many converts, both from professional artists' ranks and from among the intellectual class as a whole, helped spread the ideas of the movement.[4]
The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement led to the decorative arts being given a greater appreciation and status in society and this was soon reflected by changes in the law. Until the enactment of the Copyright Act 1911 only works of fine art had been protected from unauthorised copying. The 1911 Act extended the definition of an "artistic work" to include works of "artistic craftsmanship".[5][6]
Mass production and customization
Electric lamp in the shape of a turtle
In the context of mass production and consumerism some individuals will attempt to create or maintain their lifestyle or to construct their identity when forced to accept mass-produced identical objects in their life. According to Colin Campbell in his piece “The Craft Consumer”,[7] this is done by selecting goods with specific intentions in mind to alter them. Instead of accepting a foreign object for what it is, the foreign object is incorporated and changed to fit one's lifestyle and choices, or customized.
One way to achieve a customized look and feel to common objects is to change their external appearance by applying decorative techniques, as in decoupage, art cars, truck art in South Asia and IKEA hacking.
Home Economics Archive: Tradition, Research, History (HEARTH) Cornell University
Argentine Decorative Art Museum
Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture - electronic resources
Metropolitan Museum of Art American decorative arts collection
Bagatti Valsecchi Museum, Milan, Italy
Mobilier national, collection of French decorative arts (Paris)
May 13, 2023
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This article includes a list of general references but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations January 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose object is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional It includes most of the arts making objects for the interiors of buildings and interior design but not usually architecture Ceramic art metalwork furniture jewellery fashion various forms of the textile arts and glassware are major groupings Le Nove porcelain Bowl with cover 1765 70 painted with ruins soft paste porcelain The front side of the Cross of Lothair c 1000 a classic example of Ars Sacra Wine Pot ca 18th century China Walters Art Museum Applied arts largely overlaps with decorative arts and the modern making of applied art is usually called design The decorative arts are often categorized in distinction to the fine arts namely painting drawing photography and large scale sculpture which generally produce objects solely for their aesthetic quality and capacity to stimulate the intellect Contents 1 Distinction from the fine arts 2 Influence of different materials 3 Renaissance attitudes 4 Arts and Crafts movement 5 Mass production and customization 6 See also 7 References and sources 8 Further reading 9 External linksDistinction from the fine arts Edit Surahi Mughal 17th Century CE National Museum New Delhi The distinction between the decorative and fine arts essentially arose from the post Renaissance art of the West where the distinction is for the most part meaningful This distinction is much less meaningful when considering the art of other cultures and periods where the most valued works or even all works include those in decorative media For example Islamic art in many periods and places consists entirely of the decorative arts often using geometric and plant forms as does the art of many traditional cultures The distinction between decorative and fine arts is not very useful for appreciating Chinese art and neither is it for understanding early Medieval art in Europe In that period in Europe fine arts such as manuscript illumination and monumental sculpture existed but the most prestigious works tended to be in goldsmith work in cast metals such as bronze or in other techniques such as ivory carving Large scale wall paintings were much less regarded crudely executed and rarely mentioned in contemporary sources They were probably seen as an inferior substitute for mosaic which for the period must be considered a fine art though in recent centuries mosaics have tended to be considered decorative A similar fate has befallen tapestry which late medieval and Renaissance royalty regarded as the most magnificent artform and was certainly the most expensive The term ars sacra sacred arts is sometimes used for medieval Christian art executed in metal ivory textiles and other more valuable materials but not for rarer secular works from that period Chinese bowl Northern Song Dynasty 11th or 12th century porcelaneous pottery with celadon glaze The view of decoration as a lesser art was formally challenged in the 1970s by writers and art historians like Amy Goldin 1 and Anne Swartz 2 The argument for a singular narrative in art had lost traction by the close of the 20th century through post modernist irony and increasing curatorial interest in street art and in ethnic decorative traditions The Pattern and Decoration movement in New York galleries in the 1980s though short lived opened the way to a more inclusive evaluation of the value of art objects 3 Influence of different materials EditModern understanding of the art of many cultures tends to be distorted by the modern privileging of fine visual arts media over others as well as the very different survival rates of works in different media Works in metal above all in precious metals are liable to be recycled as soon as they fall from fashion and were often used by owners as repositories of wealth to be melted down when extra money was needed Illuminated manuscripts have a much higher survival rate especially in the hands of the church as there was little value in the materials and they were easy to store Renaissance attitudes EditThe promotion of the fine arts over the decorative in European thought can largely be traced to the Renaissance when Italian theorists such as Vasari promoted artistic values exemplified by the artists of the High Renaissance that placed little value on the cost of materials or the amount of skilled work required to produce a work but instead valued artistic imagination and the individual touch of the hand of a supremely gifted master such as Michelangelo Raphael or Leonardo da Vinci reviving to some extent the approach of antiquity Most European art during the Middle Ages had been produced under a very different set of values where both expensive materials and virtuoso displays in difficult techniques had been highly valued In China both approaches had co existed for many centuries ink wash painting mostly of landscapes was to a large extent produced by and for the scholar bureaucrats or literati and was intended as an expression of the artist s imagination above all while other major fields of art including the very important Chinese ceramics produced in effectively industrial conditions were produced according to a completely different set of artistic values Arts and Crafts movement Edit Arts and Crafts movement Artichoke wallpaper by Morris and Co The lower status given to works of decorative art in contrast to fine art narrowed with the rise of the Arts and Crafts movement This aesthetic movement of the second half of the 19th century was born in England and inspired by the writings of Thomas Carlyle John Ruskin and William Morris The movement represented the beginning of a greater appreciation of the decorative arts throughout Europe The appeal of the Arts and Crafts movement to a new generation led the English architect and designer Arthur Heygate Mackmurdo to organize the Century Guild for craftsmen in 1882 championing the idea that there was no meaningful difference between the fine and decorative arts Many converts both from professional artists ranks and from among the intellectual class as a whole helped spread the ideas of the movement 4 The influence of the Arts and Crafts movement led to the decorative arts being given a greater appreciation and status in society and this was soon reflected by changes in the law Until the enactment of the Copyright Act 1911 only works of fine art had been protected from unauthorised copying The 1911 Act extended the definition of an artistic work to include works of artistic craftsmanship 5 6 Mass production and customization Edit Electric lamp in the shape of a turtle In the context of mass production and consumerism some individuals will attempt to create or maintain their lifestyle or to construct their identity when forced to accept mass produced identical objects in their life According to Colin Campbell in his piece The Craft Consumer 7 this is done by selecting goods with specific intentions in mind to alter them Instead of accepting a foreign object for what it is the foreign object is incorporated and changed to fit one s lifestyle and choices or customized One way to achieve a customized look and feel to common objects is to change their external appearance by applying decorative techniques as in decoupage art cars truck art in South Asia and IKEA hacking See also EditAmerican craft Art Nouveau in Milan Art for art s sake Applied arts Design museum Faux painting Fine arts History of decorative arts Industrial design Ornament architecture References and sources EditReferences Goldin Amy September 1975 Patterns Grids and Painting Artforum 14 1 With Pleasure Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972 1985 MOCA Thackara Tess 31 January 2020 The Pattern and Decoration Movement Challenged the Machismo of Modernism Artsy Arts and Crafts movement Encyclopaedia Britannica 2012 Retrieved 5 June 2014 Section 35 1 UK Legislation Copyright Act 1911 Edmund Eldergill 2012 The Decorative Arts and Copyright Lagoon Contemporary Furniture archived from the original on Jul 4 2017 Campbell Colin The Craft Consumer Journal of Consumer Culture 5 1 2005 Print SourcesFiell Charlotte and Peter eds Decorative Art Yearbook one for each decade of the 20th century Translated Bonn Taschen 2000 Fleming John and Hugh Honour Dictionary of the Decorative Arts New York Harper and Row 1977 Frank Isabelle The Theory of Decorative Art An Anthology of European and American Writings 1750 1940 New Haven Yale University Press 2000 Campbell Gordon The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts New York Oxford University Press 2006 Thornton Peter Authentic Decor Domestic Interior 1620 1920 London Seven Dials 2000 Further reading EditDormer Peter ed The Culture of Craft 1997 Manchester University Press ISBN 0719046181 9780719046186External links EditHome Economics Archive Tradition Research History HEARTH Cornell University Victoria and Albert Museum Argentine Decorative Art Museum Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture electronic resources Metropolitan Museum of Art American decorative arts collection National Gallery of Art decorative arts collection Bagatti Valsecchi Museum Milan Italy Mobilier national collection of French decorative arts Paris Museum of the City of New York Decorative Arts Collection Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Decorative arts amp oldid 1147045920, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
