The Allure of Art Nouveau

From the previous posts we got to know how artists, as well as designers, led to this stage through their designs by getting inspirations from various previous and oriental styles. It was inspired mostly by the Arts and Crafts movement founded by John Ruskin and William Morris, as well as Egyptian hieroglyphs, Celtic art, Japanese prints which were transported to Europe through the English colonies, looking back at Rococo and the Gothic revival. And a huge inspiration was nature where the dragonfly and peacock which would be seen very often in the designs. Artists integrated elements of living organisms as well as the delicate figure of women. It is also characterised by the whiplash curves and the absence of straight lines or right angles, but not so much in the case of Scottish and Austrian styles. During this movement we encounter artists such as:

Viktor Horta (Belgium),

Rene Lalique and Hector Guimard (France),

Van de Velde (Germany),

Gustav Klimpt, Joseph Hoffmann and Joseph Olbrich (Austria)

Antoni Gaudi (Spain),

Charles Rennie Mackintosh (Glasgow),

Tiffani (America) and

Alfons Mucha (today’s Czech Republic).

Alfons Mucha

Victor Horta

Rene Lalique

But when looking at the Art Nouveau in Scotland, especially that of Charles Rennie Mackintosh, one can see that it has less whiplash curves and more angular curves which resemble those of Celtic art. 

works by Charles Rennie Mackintosh

But what really caught my attention was the change in fonts used which made me think of something else I had seen … American horror story!

From Art Nouveau in France, to that in Glasgow to today’s American Horror Story.

It intrigued me how a modern TV series chose to use such a particular font so I made some research. It turns out that initially they were going to make use of “Frank Lloyd Wright” font, the American architect known for his stained glass apart from his organic designs. But since Wright was inspired by the Scottish Charles Rennie Mackintosh they thought it more appropriate to use the Mackintosh font. Then I thought of another question … “why did they choose such particular artists?” so I furthered my research. The house in which the whole series is situated was supposedly built by a prominent surgeon for his wife in 1922, and decorated the interior with Tiffany glass which would have been very stylish at the time. The stained glass windows feature the colour blue and green, which Nora, his wife, explains was Charles' tribute to her eye colour. 

These Tiffany lamps were famous at the time due to their focal point they set in a particular room. Apart from light and decoration they were also a statement of crftsmanship, beauty and elegance to whoever set eyes on them in one’s home. These lamps are usually done with nature inspired designs but the ones used in the series are not so full with said designs like the ones we are accustomed to expect to see.

Each series is situated in a different era for instance season 2 is supposedly during the early 1960’s and season 3 is during the 18^th century but they still make use of things we are familiar with. Taking as example the issue with mental homes during the 60’s and things that were happeneing at the time as seen in “Asylum” as well as relating to performances by famous artists such as Pina Bausch's Blaubart performance as seen in “Coven”.

"Coven" picture inspired by Pina Bausch's Blaubart performance.

Anja Wessels. March 2012. Art Nouveau by Alfons Mucha. [online] Available at: http://mybestongoogleplus.blogspot.com/2012/03/art-nouveau-by-alfons-mucha.html [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

UN. Belle Maison: Art Nouvaeu. [online] Available at: http://www.bellemaisoninc.com/2008/05/art-nouveau/  [Accessed on 12^th Oct 2013]

Les coulisses du Luxe par Mademoiselle VIP. April 2011. The Art of Jewel by Rene Lalique. [online] Available at: http://www.lescoulissesduluxe.org/article-the-art-of-jewel-by-rene-lalique-71041199.html [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

Charles Rennie Mackintosh, 1901. House for an Art Lover competition entry. [online] Available at: http://designmuseum.org/design/charles-rennie-mackintosh [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

Abby Rogers. May 2012. Famous Britons: Charles Rennie Mackintosh [online] Available at: http://www.picturebritain.com/2012/05/famous-britons-charles-rennie.html [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

TV Dark. 2013. American Horror Story: Coven – Main Title.  [online] Available at: http://tvafterdarkonline.com/television/american-horror-story-coven-main-title/  [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

Wiki. American Horror Story: Murder House (location). [online] Available at: http://americanhorrorstory.wikia.com/wiki/Murder_House_(location) [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]

Keyboyos. March 2013. Exploring the Beauty of Tiffany Lamps [online] Available at: http://keyboyos.over-blog.com/article-exploring-the-beauty-of-tiffany-lamps-102123984.html [Accessed on 19^th October 2013]