Second, modernism design negation of decoration
We all know that the modernist design style was developed under the influence of the modern art movement and the "new construction" movement. It has a certain degree of social democracy, emphasizes mechanical beauty, functional beauty, and rational design, and advocates conciseness. Practicality, negating the role of ornamentation, counteracts the relationship between form and function, thereby developing a different design style than before.
As early as 1892, Sullivan, the architect of the Chicago School of the United States, put forward: "If we can completely abandon the decoration in a period of time, so that our thoughts will be acutely focused on the perfect forms of architecture and beautiful nudity, this is for us. The aesthetic sentiment must be of great benefit." (4) The formulation of "formal obedience" proposed by him became a functionalist manifesto and a core idea.
One of the core figures of the "Art Nouveau" movement, Van de Wilder, in his article "Clearing Obstacles for Art" in 1894, proposed that "the first condition of beauty is that it is based on rational rules and rational structures. Out of the functional works." (5) These ideas became the precursor of mechanical aesthetics.
Austrian architect Adolfo Luce is extremely assertive about the importance of functionality. He is extremely disgusted with the decoration. In 1898 he wrote in an article: "Only looking for beauty in form does not depend on decoration. This is the goal that the entire humanity wants to achieve." (6) He also said that "the progress of civilization is equal to the removal of decorations from useful things." (7) He attributed the decoration to the categories of "backward," "erotic," and "wasteful." “Decoration is a waste of energy, and therefore it wastes our health. It has always been the case. But today it also means the waste of materials. Together, this means a waste of assets.†(8) 1908 Luth published "Decoration and Sin," and the content of his article can be summed up with the slogan "decoration is crime." These theories serve as the guiding ideology of the modernist movement to a certain extent, and also push the design of modernism into the design direction of functionalism.
Bauhaus is the cradle of modern design movement, and also indicates the arrival of the climax of modernist design. Bauhaus was founded by Gropeus in Weimar, Germany, in 1919. During the short course of 14 years (1919-1933), he established a complete design teaching system. Advocate the combination of art and technology to form a modernist design style. It signifies that the original design of the decorative form was replaced by the rational design of modernism.
After the Bauhaus was closed by the Nazis, its main teaching backbone and students dispersed to Europe and the United States, so that rational design ideas spread throughout the world. The "international style" of the 1950s and 1950s was the result of the popularization of Bauhaus's design style. The "internationalist style" totally excludes the decoration, and takes the function-oriented rational spirit as the criterion. Le Corbusier, a master of modernist design and a representative of mechanical aesthetics, puts forward that "houses are the machines of residence." It is a classic mechanized and functional design idea.
In 1958, the design of the West Gray Building in New York, designed by Mies van der Roy and Philip Johnson, was a landmark in an internationalist style. It was also the result of Mies van der Rohe's design philosophy of “less is moreâ€. Emphasis on rationality, functionality, simple design is increasingly lack of personality and human touch, more and more people feel tired.
The rejection of modernism in design does not mean the disappearance of decoration. On the contrary, the decoration appeared in new forms. The British scholar Peter Collins wrote in the book “The Evolution of Modern Architectural Design Thinkingâ€: “Is it really because of the excessive use of decoration in the 19th century that led to the abandonment of decoration, or is the decoration just changing the dress?†he thought, “Decorating In the future, it is only unknowingly integrated into the structure." (9) Modernism design is the assimilation of decoration and structure, creating a "decorative decoration."
Third, the postmodernist design of the revival of the decoration
As people became bored with the internationalist style, by the 1960s, designers introduced pop design to satisfy the public's aesthetic taste. The purpose of seeking common prosperity was to re-use color and decoration. And at 70 A variety of "post-modernism" styles have emerged in the era against monotonous forms of internationalist design.
"Postmodernism" design refers to "a style of design that uses a lot of historical decorative motives and eclectic decoration in the design of modernism and internationalism." (10) It has a definite period of time, continuing from the 1970s. In the early 1990s, it began to decline.
Postmodern design is a challenge to the design of modernism, a decorative development to the design of modernism and internationalism, an opposition to internationalism and a minimalist style in design, and advocating the use of decorative techniques to achieve visual aesthetic delight. , Pay attention to the satisfaction of consumer psychology. A large number of historical decorative symbols have been used in design, but it is not a simple retro style. It adopts an eclectic approach, combining the traditional cultural context with modern design, and creating a new stage of decorative art.
Essentially speaking, post-modernism design does not overthrow or negate modernist design, but on the basis of affirming its practical and functional factors, formally gives it a personalized, emotional decorative effect. The authority of postmodern design theory, American critic, architect and writer Charles Jenks himself also said: Postmodernism is modernism plus some other things.
Postmodernism uses a lot of historical styles, such as Gothic and Baroque. From classics to the Renaissance, everything is covered, embezzlement of decorative symbols, depictions of banter, ridicule, exaggeration, and symbols, and a mosaic of mosaics of historical styles to achieve decorative effects. It is eclectic, and many works are Reflects this feature. For example, Charles Moore designed the Italian Plaza of New Orleans. Philip Johnson's AT&T Building and so on.
The renaissance of decoration in post-modernist design is to a great extent to get rid of the repression brought about by serious, indifferent, monotonous modernism and internationalist design styles.
Robert Venturi, an American architect who first proposed clear postmodern ideas in architecture, believes that the style of modernism and internationalism is ugly and mediocre. He changed it to "less is more" dogma. "Less is tired." In 1969, Venturi designed the “Venturi House†in Walnut Hill, Penn, using the historical architectural symbols. It is the earliest building with complete postmodernism.
With the development of post-modernism design, the position of decoration in design has returned. Peter Hoffman wrote in the American Architecture of the Eighties: "No longer treat decoration as evil. Almost all of these buildings have fully demonstrated a new interest in 'retouching' and show a kind of The fun of architecture." (11)
In the field of product design, the "Memphis" design team formed by Italy's Sottsas and others became the representative. The design works are unique in shape, colorful, decorative, pop and entertainment.
The distinctive features of post-modernism design are its historicism, decorativeism, eclecticism and entertainment. The application of these tactics has adapted to people's needs in all aspects, and has caused people to gradually remove the sense of rationality and indifference caused by modernism and internationalist styles in industrial products both visually and psychologically.
Looking at the development of modernist design to the present, we have seen the importance of decoration. Then, as an artistic symbol, "decoration" will not disappear in the future design. It is a symbol of art and a symbol of culture. Moreover, decoration meets people's psychological needs. As Herbert Reid considered in "The History and Theory of Industrial Art," "The necessity of decorations is psychological. There is also some kind of emotion called fear, and people cannot tolerate loneliness. Space". He also said that "the only assessment for decorations is that it should stand out in some form. I avoid using the common word 'increase' because, if the form is proper, it cannot be added to it" (12) He emphasized that a reasonable decoration will make the work more beautiful.
Sauter Saas, designer of the Memphis Group in Italy, said that design should be a design for lifestyle. Indeed, the design of the future is essentially the design of lifestyles, and proper decoration is an important means of designing a beautiful lifestyle. It is the goal of “appropriate decoration†to achieve “pleasantness†and it will make people walk toward it. Artistic, poetic life.
Source: CNC Survey Network