Art Shaque : The Art Of The Art Nouveau

The 19th century art movement, Impressionism originated by a group of artists who rejected the official, government endorsed exhibitions. In 1863, a large number of artist were not accepted into the most important event of the art world, The Official Salon. To which they responded by creating an exhibition known of their own, known as the Salon de Refuses which consisted of work by artists who had been refused acceptance to the official salon. The Impressionists aimed to capture the fleeting moment of a scene, which turned away from the fine finish and detail that majority of artists aimed for in their day. They wanted to capture the effects of light, to convey the difference of time, changes in weather, and other differences in the atmosphere,

Although Basquiat’s mother Matilde was the driving force behind the artist at a young age, it was his life experiences which shaped his personality and in turn his artwork. The first shift in focus for Basquiat occurred in 1968 when he was struck by an automobile and injured. While recovering, his mother gifts him a copy of Gray’s Anatomy and here is where he takes special interest in anatomy which is later reflected in his pieces. At age 15, Basquiat runs away from home after his parents had been divorced and his mother was in and out of mental institutions. Basquiat led a life on the streets of New York, sleeping on park benches in Tompkins Square Park and eating what he could find. Around this time, in 1976, he and Al Diaz create a fictional character by the name of SAMO (Same Old Shit) and the two began to spread witty philosophical messages throughout the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The SAMO days begin to build a name for Basquiat and, along with his ingenious and suave personality, he slowly integrates in the art scene of New York.

The term Japonisme, refers to the influence of Japanese art on Western art (“Japonisme”). During the second half of the nineteenth century, there was an outbreak of admiration for all things Japanese; being that the hidden works of Japan had finally been unveiled to the Western population. In 1859, Japan opened its doors to the concept of overseas trade in turn allowing for Oriental art and household goods to come flooding into Europe. Japanese prints became an immediate hit amongst Western artists; being that they were significantly different from the works of art in which were prevalent within the West. The bright, exotic colors were immensely captivating and the Japanese notion of space opened the eyes of many artists.

The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art covers the various aspects of Japonisme and how it connects with Tissot’s painting Japanese Vase. According to the Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum, the term Japonisme was devised by Philippe Burty who was an influential art critic from France. Burty describes Japonisme as the “study of the art and genius of Japan” (120). Europe was introduced of this new type of art was during the 1850’s, but France welcomed and immersed themselves in the art of Japonisme more than any of the other European countries. Tissot was one of the many French artists who embraced the new art and infused the techniques within his traditional European realism style.

Art Nouveau, 1890-1914, explores a new style in the visual arts and architecture that developed in Europe and North America at the end of the nineteenth century. The exhibition is divided into three sections: the first focuses on the 1900 World's Fair in Paris, where Art Nouveau was established as the first new decorative style of the twentieth century; the second examines the sources that influenced the style; and the third looks at its development and fruition in major cities in Europe and North

Changes and evolution to the world usually means that the people’s beliefs and customs change and evolve as well. With people’s minds and thoughts becoming different than before, the art produced changes in ways as well. Near the beginning of the 1800s the world was being to go through dramatic shifts of ideologies and policies that were crucial for the years prior, and Japan was no exception from this. Japan, at the start of the nineteenth century, experience an extreme adjustment of their own isolationist, conservative views that was prevalent during the Edo Period, to the widespread push of modernization and engagement towards the rest of the world. Because of this, Japan was more accepting and welcoming towards other forms of social, political

Deco Art itself is a reflection of changing world cultures. It was born in France post-World War I as a sort of marriage between craft motifs and the industrial age, characterized by wealthy and bold-looking colors and shapes. The art form is well depicted in the decoration of the Rockefeller Center in New York or any of the art and decor found in the movie The Great Gatsby. This striking form represented the glamour of the age. In a great sense, the period represented a change from conservative to a more liberal view on life. This was no different in Japan.

By the turn of the century, a new movement emerged known as Art Deco. This movement along with the world was halted by the development of the first World War. It was around this time that the second Industrial Revolution began which lead to the develop of machines that is highly used today. From the Art Story, John Glennon says, “That crafted quality was emblematic of a kind of elitism in opposition to Art Deco's more egalitarian aim: to make aesthetically appealing, machine-made objects that were available to everyone.” This was apparent with London as it was traditionalist and elitist view when it came to architecture. This result them not to follow the initial movement as they were opposing this movement for Art Nouveau. Later, London would

Art movements were brought into Japan and modified according to the cultural preferences. Prior to the Meiji era, Japanese paintings called Ukiyo-e were made by the techniques of woodblock printing, which mainly involved the development of the artists in designing, engraving, and printing their own works. Woodblock paintings were the earliest attempt to create commercial graphics to the mass audience. Katsushinka Hokusai’s work, 'Kisoji no oku Amida ga taki' (1832), is featured here as a sample of the Ukiyo-e painting.

In its simplest terms collage is when a piece of artwork is made from an assemblage of various forms, creating a new entity. A collage tends to include, newspaper and magazine clippings, paint, bits of paper, ribbons, and sometimes pieces of other artworks glued to a piece of paper or a canvas. Throughout history, there have been examples of artists using techniques found in the art of collage, but the pieces of art produced wouldn’t be considered a collage artwork. For example, in tenth-century Japanese caligraphers would paste the text of their poems onto different surfaces. The method of using gold leaf panels, which became popular in 13th Century Medieval Europe, could be argued as a collage method. In the 19th Century, the use of photo albums began to emerge, some experts claim that this is where Picasso and Braque got their influence to create the modern definition of collage art.

Impressionist painter Claude Monet once said, “if you insist on forcing me into affiliation with anyone else…then compare me with the old Japanese masters; their exquisite taste has always delighted me, and I like the suggestive quality of their aesthetic, which evokes presence by a shadow and the whole by the part.” Claude Monet was French and Vincent Van Gogh was Dutch, both were inspired by a different culture in Japanese artwork. I attended the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco for an exhibit called Looking East: How Japan Inspired Monet, Van Gogh, and other Western Artists. In the paintings shows how Japanese artwork and Japanese painters influenced these artists by using similar techniques.

During the 1850s and the 1860s, a style that is known as the “Japonisme” started emerging in Western Europe, mainly in France. And in the mid-1800s, Japanese people started to trade things with the west again. Thus, as a result of that trading, so many of the Japanese imports were being sent to Europe. This French term, Japonisme describes that period of time when the art of the Japanese people influenced the western art in the 19th century. According to our book,

Japanese art has a rich history stretching back tens of thousands of years. This long history has been divided into many different periods. The Meiji, Taisho, Showa, and Heisei periods cover the Modern Era-- 1868-present-- of Japanese art. Katsuhika Hokusai, Takahashi Yuichi, and Claude Monet are all famous artists of modern Japanese art history. Westernization is the term that describes the influence of the West in Japan. Japonisme refers to the period of time in which European artists looked to the East in order to emulate its style in their art. The West was very important to modern Japanese art history because if was influential and influenced by Japan.

When one considers the term “Art Nouveau,” what comes to mind most immediately is “images of a European-wide invasion [characterized] by the restless dynamism of organic form”(Silverman 1). For me it is usually the work of Alphonse Mucha– his mysterious women surrounded by the beauties of nature. Often my Art Nouveau fantasies take shape in the odd fungal-shaped stained-glass lamps of Tiffany. Or sometimes they surface as the romantic Parisian posters I’ve seen at Pier One, advertising champagne or cats noir or bicycles or the like. But no matter what ones notion may be of what Art Nouveau looks like, there is a feeling that accompanies it that is at the heart of the style’s appeal. It is difficult to define or describe what

There is something special about art deco interior design. It just does not seem to want to be defined. The unpredictable collision of completely distinct elements is what encapsulates the marvels of eclecticism.