The Influence of Impressionism within the Textile Arts Coursework

The Influence of Impressionism within the Textile Arts - Coursework Example The paper "The Influence of Impressionism within the Textile Arts" explores Impressionism in the context of textile arts. The familiarity of domestic intimacies within Japanese pictorial content, and flat, un-modeled color areas offered much in terms of broad perspective; something that Europeans were greatly attracted to as interests in abstracted intellectual pursuits such as science and philosophy came into vogue as leisure activities for an emergent industrial class of bourgeois. Demand for art in all realms of life, prompted a new market of decorative arts and fashion once reserved only for the elite. Translation of impressionist art into everyday objects was perhaps most readily achieved through the industrial manufacture of textiles and secondary products, in the fashion and domestic design industries. The world of spontaneous ‘now’ within the presence of impressionistic painting became even more precise in the post impressionist period, ‘in favor of a measu red painting technique grounded in science and the study of optics’. The transition from pre impressionism to post impressionism was relatively brief yet lasting, both in terms of aesthetic break with the rationale of modern realist of thought, and retention of class interests in the area of decorative arts. Everyday luxuries from exotic locales in the marketplace obtained through longstanding trade with Asia and elsewhere, provided a dense resource for reiterations of aesthetic beauty now transferred to mass production through factory fabrication. Situated in the context of Karl Marx's industrial England, contemporaneous socialist thinkers contributed to the field of philosophical proscription through alternative responses to capitalization of the national economy, and the attendant shifts within social life associated with the development of the industrial complex. In his book Utopia, Sir. Thomas More (1893) crafted one such response in direct confrontation with what he perceived to be the harshness of industrialism, and solution in the pastoral vision of a future gone back to nature. Following the utopian socialist work of Marx and More, William Morris (1890) News From Nowhere substantiates the ideological tenets of his political thought, and influence on the Arts & Crafts movement in the decorative arts through his portfolio of design and textile applications to book covers, furniture and wallpapers. It is in this landscape of popular thought that the Asian silk motif is put into new relation with European decorative arts. With the advent of optical technologies in the textile manufacturing industry, incorporation of painterly concepts from the burgeoning Impressionist School enabled textile manufacturers to replicate Japanese style and other related content derived from the School's tenets; an aesthetic of elegance for the masses. Query into the relationship between art and mass production is perhaps most noted in Walter Benjamin's (1992) incursions on the topic in his work, Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. Here, Art is work, Art is Ideologue, and Art is replication of self and society for mass consumption. In the industrial age, through public art, and more specifically the architecture of the World Exhibition, fin-de-secle capitalism implodes into a third formation whereby base meets superstructure as utopian dream space. Prompted by use of steel and industrial

Western History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Western History - Essay Example In this switch, there was a great deal of social upheaval as people living in these changing times began to question the status quo. Social class structures were beginning to break down as common men were able to make fortunes in industry and landowners found it more and more difficult to keep the idyllic life they’d constructed alive. Women gained greater freedoms as more job opportunities came their way. Although these weren’t the equal rights position of today, women were at least given an option when it was necessary for her to earn a living wage. The great migration from the country to the city was an expression of a people ready for a chance to better their futures, an expression of hope for a greater tomorrow for their children. This period is also characterized by widespread colonization in numerous directions. Englishmen were still relocating to America seeking their fortunes, but also had the option of retaining their English citizenship by going into Africa, India or even Australia. For many, it proved to be just so, for many others, it proved to be their destruction, for men and women. The biggest benefits the Industrial Revolution introduced to society were also the biggest setbacks. Stories existing out of the middle ages are full of epic battles, travels through sparsely populated country, images of vast forests and romantic tales of knights and ladies. This is contrasted sharply against the images of Victorian Industrialization with its smokestacks, grimy streets and poisonous air. Machines began taking on more importance than people as the massive in-pouring of country citizens all seeking their fortunes provided ample replacements for those who could not keep up. Societal norms were breaking down as accountability began declining. This was because younger sons and daughters, as well as those with more disreputable reputations, found a means of escaping their sometimes