De Stijl, Transformation, (8th post)

In the 1917 a Dutch art movement initiated. It was called De Stijl also known as neoplasticism (the new plastic art). This particular art movement was brought up mainly by seven artists;  Teo van Doesburg (1883-1931, not a significant role in the group) , Piet Mondrian (1872–1944), Vilmos Huszár (1884–1960), and Bart van der Leck (1876–1958), and the architects Gerrit Rietveld (1888–1964), Robert van 't Hoff (1887–1979), and J.J.P. Oud (1890–1963).
The name De Stijl is supposedly derived from Gottfried Semper's Der Stil; stijl: “a post, jamb or support”; it's seen in works of art, by the construction of crossing joints.

The aim of this art movement;

• To abstract objects, reduce them to basic forms & colour in architecture and painting. 
• To use vertical & horizontal lines.
• Colours used where Primary Colours which are, Red, Blue & Yellow. + Black & White
• A very good use of squares & rectangles.

De Stijl art is very geometric. One can also say that Cubist painting is a main source of influence in De Stijl's works. In turn this art movement also influenced the Bauhaus,  the international style and also music. 

Examples of De Stijl works ;

 Painting : Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, 1937-42, oil on canvas, 23 3/4 x 21 7/8 inches (60.3 x 55.4 cm), Museum of Modern Art, NY.

Furniture Design : Red & Blue Chair , designed by Gerrit Reitveld in 1917

 Architecture : The Reitveld Dchroder House - the only building realised completely according to the principles of De Stijl.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=veM6UigScH4 The White Stripes - I'm Bound to pack it up.

These 3 designs all make use of the main elements and principles of Des Stijl art. Simple rectangles & squares, a good use of horizontals & verticals and the use of the primary colours. Which in my opinion it's used to balance the dull monochrome palette of De Stijl art.

Transformation can be seen in De Stijl art, from a flat 2 D design such as the first image of Piet Mondrian, Composition in Red, Blue, and Yellow, into a 3D design such as the Red & Blue Chair and The Reitveld Dchronder House.
( One of my main sources of inspiration).


Bibliography :

De Stijl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. De Stijl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_Stijl. [Accessed 11 December 2012]. 

ArtLex on De Stijl. 2012. ArtLex on De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.artlex.com/ArtLex/d/destijl.html. [Accessed 11 December 2012].

De Stijl. 2012. De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at:http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/decstijl.htm. [Accessed 11 December 2012].


The White Stripes - I'm Bound To Pack It Up - YouTube. 2012. The White Stripes - I'm Bound To Pack It Up - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veM6UigScH4. [Accessed 11 December 2012].

Transformation , Inspiration. (7th post)

Designers sometimes use past art movements to inspire them in their work.
Famous paintings are given a new form and dimension, changing them into modern day views.
Posters are a good example.
Art inspires various aspects of our culture, such as fashion and music.
 

Commercial, Flora by Gucci
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ykXkmVURI-w 

 
 The designers of these two posters and the commercial of the perfume, have surely been inspired from other sources.

• Flora - Flora is the goddess of flowers and Spring
• Dress - It looks that it's inspired by 2 famous paintings ; Primavera by Sandro Botticelli & Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli.  ...In both paintings Flora is dressed up in a flowy dress with a flower patter. Very much like the one in the commercial and the posters.
• Wind is also portrayed in the commercial and posters, this can be influenced by the paintings as well because of the presence of the god of wind. The strong use of wind in commercial can suggest that the perfume has a long lasting strong smell whilst being a very feminine sent.

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.annalundberg.se/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Flora-by-Gucci-Fragance-Ad-Campaign.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.luxuo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/flora-by-gucci-fragrance.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].


chris cunningham gucci - YouTube. 2012. chris cunningham gucci - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=ykXkmVURI-w. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3c/Botticelli-primavera.jpg/345px-Botticelli-primavera.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://mmmnoodles.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/botticelli-birth-venus.jpg. [Accessed 07 December 2012].

Transformatioin, Inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci. (6th post)

Leonardo's Sketchbook

. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.wishfulthinking.co.uk/blog/wp-content/leonardo.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012].


. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.johnstockmyer.com/mwcc/artlecture/davincisketch.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012]. 

 >> 
. 2012. . [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.unmuseum.org/leohelo.jpg. [Accessed 19 November 2012].  
Leonardo's Sketchbook | Flickr - Photo Sharing!. 2012. Leonardo's Sketchbook | Flickr - Photo Sharing!. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.flickr.com/photos/mount_gallery/4187853645/. [Accessed 19 November 2012].

These are some of Leonardo's famous sketches/drawings & designs.
Leonardo did a lot of planning before he did a painting or invented an object. 
He was a painter & an engineer. 
He transformed his observations and ideas into sketches and those sketches into test pieces then he would do his final painting or object. 
In Leonardo's designs transformation are also present in the positioning of the figure in a painting, it's facial expression, how the object he is inventing will open, move , how it is to be assembled etc...

Transformation in Pop art /design (5th post)

Pop design in the late 50's in the US.
The aim of pop art refers not as much to the art itself as to the attitudes that led to it.
"Pop art employs aspects of mass culture, such as advertising, comic books and mundane cultural objects. It is widely interpreted as a reaction to the then-dominant ideas of abstract expressionism, as well as an expansion upon them. And due to its utilisation of found objects and images it is similar to Dada."
Transformation in Pop design , from the rigidity of the Bauhaus.
Function & good design.
In this art movement there is the use of artificial materials (man-made) such as; polypropylene, which gave designer the possibility to experiment with innovative designs and colours.
Pop art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Pop art - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pop_art. [Accessed 16 November 2012]. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-IxcJsXyWtQ 

Introduction to Pop Art - YouTube. 2012. Introduction to Pop Art - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-IxcJsXyWtQ. [Accessed 16 November 2012].

Transformation in Media, (4th post)

In film trasfrormation is constant. The story/ plot changes. Characters change, good or bad...
In my opinion transformation in a film keeps the story interesting.
Eg; Battleship ( 2012 ) Produced by ; Peter Berg
      Film & Animation
      Link ; Battleship Final Trailer 2012 [HD] - Official Movie Trailer - YouTube. 2012.Battleship Final Trailer 2012 [HD] - Official Movie Trailer - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpoabtbEJOI. [Accessed 11 November 2012].

Transformation can be seen in the begging of the film when the main character who starts off as one who doesn't have a life and lives with his brother , changes into a successful Navy soldier, "One of the best". He  transformed himself from being a pathetic person to a hero in the end of the film. His transformation also made him win over the girl of his dreams.Transformation can also be seen in the animated aliens, and their space craft. Their space craft transformed itself when it fell from the sky and rose from the sea. Transformation of their weapons...At the end of the film, they managed to transform a retired battleship , back to it's glory and with it win the fight with the aliens. 

3rd post Design

Bauhaus

In 1919to 1933 a school opened in Germany called Bauhaus.

This school combined crafts and fine arts together in their designs.

Founded by Walter Gropius

The Bauhaus influenced art, architecture, graphic design, interior design, industrial design and typography.

Motto of the Bauhaus, " Form follows function."

Bauhaus transformed objects from being very decorative with little or no function, in more simplified stylish styles whilst keeping in mind the function of the object.

One of the most famous works , was the Tubular chair.
Bauhaus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Bauhaus - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bauhaus. [Accessed 04 November 2012].



>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F8zuGsX_z_Y

Modernism: Bauhaus - YouTube. 2012. Modernism: Bauhaus - YouTube. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=F8zuGsX_z_Y. [Accessed 04 November 2012].

2nd Blog Transformation

1st  >>2nd
This are two beautifull Oil Paintings by Caravaggio. (1571-1610)
Completed for the Contarelli Chapel in the church of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome.
It was destroyed in 1945 and is now known only from black-and-white photographs and enhanced color reproductions.Basically when Caravaggio did the painting he portrayed the image in a different manner, unlike other artists at the time whom following typical iconographic images of the Saint. When it was finished the first piece the commissioner did not approve because of the way there patron was portrayed in the image, like a typical human who is almost portrayed illiterate with the way he is holding the pen and the book, and how the angel is helping him (bare foot) and Caravaggio had to do another painting because of it's criticism. He managed to transforming it into a more praised work of art by the commissioner and at the eyes of the people. Saint Matthew and the Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2012. Saint Matthew and the Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Matthew_and_the_Angel. [Accessed 02 November 2012].