Allen Jones- Pop Art

Allen Jones was born in South Hampton in 1937. He studied painting and lithography and later went on to teaching lithography at the Croydon College of Art. In the mid-60s he moved to New York and his attention was drawn to the world of mass produced consumer goods. He began working on 3D erotic sculptures. In 1969 he produced the Table Sculpture and the Hat Stand which have become his most famous Human Furniture. The furniture used in the controversial film Clockwork Orange was inspired by his work. Since then he had been invited as guest lecturer in Universities all around the world.

Woman as an armchair by Allen Jones

The original chair was designed in 1969. It was designed as a set incorporating a hat stand and table. The sculptures were made using fibreglass and their clothing was made of leather. When they were first exhibited in 1970,they caused a storm of protest. This type of human furniture was known as forniphilia. When it was later exhibited at the Institute of Contemporary Art in London, stink bombs and smoke bombs were thrown at them. Years later when it was shown at the Tate, it was attacked with paint stripper. Allen Jones has always claimed that this art was never meant to be offensive, but was a protest against sexism.

The remake of Jones' chair by Bjarne Melgaard

Recently this year, Allen Jones' sculptures are still sparking controversy.  His original Woman as an Armchair design that was created in the 60s was back on the front page of the news. Ms. Dasha Zhukova, an owner of an Art gallery in Moscow posed for a photo to promote her gallery. She chose to copy Allen Jones' design, this time using a black mannequin. The day on which the photo appeared online happened to be Martin Luther King day. She has now sparked outrage with feminists and black rights groups around the world. She too claims that this artwork was never intended specifically against any gender or racial politics. She insists that the artwork was against prejudice.

pHinnWeb. no date. Allen Jones. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.phinnweb.org/livingroom/ILikeToWatch/allenjones/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

MailOnline. 2014. The man who turned half-naked women into chairs - and called it art: How Allen Jones' sculptures are still sparking controversy 45 years on. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2544334/The-man-turned-half-naked-women-chairs-called-art.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Pop Art

Pop Art was actually born in Britain around the mid 1950s. It was created by several young artists, who were members of the Independent Group formed in the Institute of Contemporary Art in London. Pop Art appreciated the popular culture (materialistic) trends of that era. Pop Art was the energy of young people born after the Second World War. It rebelled against abstract art and celebrated being the United Generation of Shopping.

The key characteristics of Pop Art are: easily recognisable image, very bright colours, flat images used in comic books and newspapers, images of celebrities or comic book characters.

Bauhaus Stairway: Large Version by Roy Lichtenstein, 1989

Bell, C. (2005). Public Murals. Available: http://www.lichtensteinfoundation.org/frames.htm. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Pop Art coincided with the consumer boom of the 1950s and 1960s. It coincided also with the growth of pop music (Elvis, Beatles). It was young and fun. Once Pop Art made it over to the United States, it grew phenomenally, making it essentially an American movement. Artists like Andy Warhol, picking it up and producing timeless pieces. He would take images of celebrities or consumer products and turn them from banality into something more interesting. He was against any form of skill or craftsmanship to show his artistic personality.

Turquoise Marilyn by Andy Warhol 1964

Valbuena, C. (no date). Andy Warhol Turns 84 Years-old Today – Happy Birthday Andy. Available: http://artsnapper.com/andy-warhol-84-years-old/. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Pop Art was based on the idea of mass-media, mass-production and mass-culture. It was strongly influenced by the Dada movement ideas.

Hans J.Wegner- Danish Design

Hans J.Wegner is one of the masters of Danish chair design. At the age of 17 he trained in carpentry, later on continuing his studies at the Royal Danish Academy of fine arts, school of design. He then further studied as an architect. In the 1940s Wegner began designing chairs for a master carpenter called Johannes Hansen, who himself had brought modern design to the Danish public. Wegner opened his own design studio and from there produced classics like the Wishbone Chair, the Wing Chair and the Shell Chair. Wegner's furniture brings together form and function, to him, ''a chair isn't just a piece of furniture, but a work of art made to support the human form''.

Wegner CH07 Shell Chair

This 3 legged Shell chair was originally designed in 1963. It stands firm despite its 3 legs. It is made of form pressed veneer and the seat and back upholstered in fabric or leather. Very few of this chair were made, but then it was later re-launched in the 1990s.

Replica Wegner chair by Matt Blatt

This replica chair recreates the organic functionality of Wegner's Shell chair. It is made to the exact specifications and quality of the original. The designs exaggerated curves contours with the human body. It has been crafted using form pressed plywood with real wood veneer and upholstered in pure New Zealand wool.

DanishDesignStore. 2014. Hans J. Wegner. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.danishdesignstore.com/collections/designer-collections-hans-wegner?page=1. [Accessed 26 January 14].

DanishDesignStore. 2014. Wegner CH07 Shell Chair - Featured. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.danishdesignstore.com/products/ch07-shell-chair-by-hans-j-wegner-featured. [Accessed 26 January 14].

MATT BLATT. 2013. THE MATT BLATT REPLICA HANS WEGNER SHELL CHAIR. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.mattblatt.com.au/Replica-Lounge-Chairs/Replica-Hans-Wegner-Shell-Chair.aspx?p2578c105. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Scandinavian and Danish Design

This era of design was born in the 1950s. Called so, because its origins were in Scandinavian countries like Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

It is a style of simplicity, minimalism, and functionality. Many ideas in this style were influenced by the Bauhaus school, some still in use till this day like; the Egg Chair and the Sydney Opera House, Australia.

Egg Chair by Arne Jacobsen

Republic of Fritz Hansen. (no date). Arne Jacobsen Egg Chair in Gabriel Orange Fame. Available: http://www.stardust.com/eggchairfameorange.html. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Sydney Opera House by Jorn Utzon

Waqar Ali. (no date). Travel Tourism. Available: http://traveltoursim.blogspot.com/2011/09/sydney-opera-house-australia.html. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Designers wished to create beautiful, yet functional objects that were readily affordable by all. They tended to use new, low-cost materials and mass production methods like form-pressed wood, plastic and aluminium or steel.

Some of the most successful designers in this era were:- Borge Mogensen, Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen.

Shortly after the Second World War (late 1940s), emphasis was put on producing furniture. In Denmark industrial production began producing affordable, light wood furniture which added to popularisation of Danish design. So much so, that the furniture school at the Royal Danish Academy of Art was born. Ideas and influences grew and then the first industrially manufactured chair in Denmark was produced, the Ant Chair by Arne Jacobsen.

Ant Chair by Arne Jacobsen

Design Museum. (no date). Arne Jacobsen. Available: http://designmuseum.org/design/arne-jacobsen. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Le Corbusier- International style

Charles- Edouard Jeanneret- Gris was born in Switzerland, but later became a French citizen. In 1920s it was fashionable for artists, especially in Paris to take on a single name, so Gris decided to take on his maternal grandfather's name and slightly alter it. It was Le Corbésier, which he changed to Le Corbusier.

Le Corbusier was heavily involved in building commissions. He worked primarily with steel and reinforced concrete. The buildings taking on geometric forms. The first house he designed was at the tender age of 20. He had always imagined the concept of prefabricated houses being built with the same idea of an assembly line manufacturing cars.

Le Corbusier's architectural designs began spreading worldwide, between the 1930s and the end of world war 2 Le Corbusier was working on projects in the cities of Algiers and Buenos Aires.

In the late 1920s Le Corbusier began experimenting with furniture design, after having met the architect Charlotte Perriand. Their first creation resulted in a tubular steel framed chair that composed of four large cushions within the frame.

The Grand Confort chair by Le Corbusier

The actual chair's seating space is very limited, giving the sitter a feeling of being held. It was designed with the idea of a cube and offering a solution to the problem of achieving real comfort. This design has influenced many recent designers who produced super comfortable armchairs and sofas. Also the idea of large, loose cushions had proved extremely popular even till this day.

Le Corbusier Style Red Leather Chaise

The Modern Line Furniture company produces many variations of the Le Corbusier Grand Confort chair. Pictured here is a red leather chaise lounge. They have completely transformed the original style, but still kept the original idea. The frame is made from chrome stainless steel and the leather cushions are heavily stuffed using high density foam.

bio.true story. 2014. Le Corbusier. biography. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/le-corbusier-9376609?page=3. [Accessed 26 January 14].

iMODERN. 2014. Grand Confort Chair by le Corbusier France, 1928. [ONLINE] Available at: http://imodern.com/le_corbusier_grand_confort_chair.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Modern Line Furniture. 2013. Le Corbusier Style Red Leather Chaise. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.modernlinefurniture.com/modern-furniture-le-corbusier-sofa-chaise-st002rchaise.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

International style

This period of design lasted from the 1930s to 1950. Its origins began in Western Europe. Three architects namely Le Corbusier (France), Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (both German) wished to create a new modern style of architecture, They emphasised on geometric shapes and toned down anything traditional and over elaborate.

F51 chair by Walter Gropius for Tecta 1

Evans, M. (no date). F51 chair by Walter Gropius for Tecta 1.Available: http://originuk.com/uncategorized/tecta-hidden-classics-at-aram-store/attachment/f51_walter-gropius_tecta-1/. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Chaise Lounge by Le Corbusier

Meadmore, C. (2012). ''The Modern Chair''. Available: http://chairpedia.com/intro/the-modern-chair.aspx. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Cantilever chair MR10, 1927 by Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe

design. (2010). Design: Ludwig Mies Van der Rohe. Available: http://flairset.blogspot.com/2010/12/design-ludwig-mies-van-der-rohe.html. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

The new buildings being designed were very stark , with flat roofs and rectangular windows. In the 1930s, before World War II, European architects had taken their ideas over to America and influenced American architects into designing bungalow type residences and developing skyscrapers. In fact the first International style skyscraper appeared in Philadelphia in 1932 (Philadelphia Saving Fund Society Building). It was considered as an 'ultra modern' design; this opened the gateway to many more skyscrapers and had a lasting impact on modern design.

There may not be pure examples of International style buildings, but there are many buildings showing its influence. In Europe, this style was popular for residential and school buildings, but not too common in America.

International style has remained a typical example of designs having; a simplified form, a non-use of anything ornamental and a use of glass, steel and concrete.

As Le Corbusier described these houses being ''machines for living''.

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. (no date). International style 1930-1950. Available: http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/modern_movements/2391/international_style/408691. Last accessed 20th January 2014.

Raymond Loewy- Streamlining

Raymond Loewy began his career as a fashion illustrator, but then began to take interest in designing for industries. This proved an ideal career change as Loewy made an immediate effect on the industry, you could say he revolutionised industry. He worked as a consultant for hundreds of companies and created designs from cigarette packets to cars and even space crafts. He believed that the public may not be ready to accept logical solutions to their requirements if the solution is bigger than what they have been accepting as the norm. His first commission was to improve the appearance of a mimeograph machine for a British company. His design was created in three days and remained in use for over 40 years. Loewy created a new concept of ''beauty through function and simplification''. He spent over 50 years streamlining everything from the smallest postage stamp to the largest spacecraft. Some of his famous creations include the GG1 Locomotive, the slender Coca-Cola bottle, the Greyhound Bus, the Shell logo and the Loewy Pencil Sharpener.

The Loewy Pencil Sharpener

Even though Raymond Loewy was a well known automobile designer, he was also commissioned to design office equipment. This was one of his designs, the streamlined pencil sharpener. This sharpener was much smaller than its predecessors, but just as efficient and easy to use. It was chrome plated and its teardrop design added to a more modern effect. It was fastened to a table top and the shavings would be removed from the base.

The Wet Jet concept by Brad Steele

This hand held, jet assisted shower head was part of a project to design a streamlined object. Steele chose Loewy's pencil sharpener for inspiration. He wished to make a more streamlined, aesthetic, modern object. He produced this design where the handle is inspired by a blade of grass with water coming through the surface. The upper head is made by a deposable rotating sponge and scrub. The head produces the function while the shape is a tribute to Raymond Loewy's famous streamlined pencil sharpener design.

The Father of Industrial Design Raymond Loewy. no date. Raymond Loewy PR and Head Shots. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.raymondloewy.com/photo-gallery.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Modern Mechanix. 2008. Pencil Sharpener Is Stream-Lined (Jul, 1934). [ONLINE] Available at: http://blog.modernmechanix.com/pencil-sharpener-is-stream-lined/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

coroflot. 2008. ASU projects by Brad Steele. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.coroflot.com/bsteele/ASU-projects. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Streamlining

During the years 1930 to 1940, America went into a severe depression. Even though the financial world was in turmoil, two World Fairs were opened; the 'Century of Progress' Fair was held in Chicago in 1933-34 and the 'World of Tomorrow' Fair held in New York in 1939-40. Design offices were given the chance to produce and promote their consumer products.

 Many new ideas were produced for the 1939 fair. Fluorescent lights, nylon stockings, commercial air-conditioning and Tele-vision were among some of the innovative ideas to appear.

'Streamlined' appeared in the 1900s. It gave rise to the idea of things to come, of science-fiction, of aerodynamics, especially with objects such as trains, airships, automobiles and boats.

Designers created streamlined designs to reduce drag on moving objects and to improve the appearance of objects such as radios and refrigerators. The word being defined as something smooth with soft, sweeping curves.

Raymond Loewy's streamlined pencil sharpener

After the close of World War II, there was a new development of the new electric refrigerators and kitchen appliances. These became cost-saving and the idea was to reduce manufacturing costs and increase production. Sales increased and only the larger mass producing factories could keep up the demand.

Fridge with streamlined design made by Crosley between 1930 and 1940

'The Comet' was one of the first streamlined trains. It was designed in 1935 by Donald Dohner. He used aluminium framing thus making it very lightweight.

'The Comet' built in 1935.

Products produced in masses during the 'Streamline Era' were not only influenced by design, but also by new advances in machinery, new systems and new materials.

Industrial Design History.com, 2011. The Streamline Era. [online] Available at: <http://www.industrialdesignhistory.com/node/1022> [Accessed 4 December 2013].

Marcel Breuer- Bauhaus

Marcel Breuer was an American architect and furniture designer. He was born in Hungary. While he was a student in carpentry, he was enrolled at the Bauhaus. He was an outstanding student and whilst rejecting traditional forms, endeavoured to produce new forms for modern furniture. Breuer was inspired by De Stijl and also by Rietveld's Red-Blue chair, thus inspiring him to experiment with frames and supports for chair. Originally he used plywood for his creations.

Breuer went on to teach at Bauhaus and his favourite form of transport was the bicycle. Tubular steel was very light and strong and Breuer's creative ability led him to experiment with this tubular steel for his chair creations. By using tubular steel his chairs could be mass produced and the material could easily be bent to create furniture. He took the idea of a club chair and produced the Wassily chair.

The Wassily chair by Marcel Breuer

This style of chair is called a club chair, but the original chair that Breuer created was named Wassily after his friend and fellow teacher the painter Kandinsky. Kandinsky had praised the design of the chair, that is why Breuer named it after him. The main materials used for this chair are tubular steel and black canvas. The canvas is used for the seat, the back and the arms, making them seem to float on air. When Breuer created his chair his exact words were, ''this is my most extreme work, the least artistic, the most logical, the least cosy and the most mechanical''. In fact it was his most influential work, within a year that it first appeared, designers everywhere began experimenting with tubular steel. This took furniture making into a new dimension.

Criollo by Edgar Orlaineta

This creation was designed by a Mexican artist called Edgar Orlaineta. He named it Criollo. Orlaineta used a mixture of different media and materials including a bicycle, chromed steel, nylon, leather and a reproduction of the Wassily chair. The designer states that Marcel Breuer went to a bicycle factory to build his chair, so he wanted to create a bicycle using the chair. In Mexico you see tricycles being used for various sales. The front of the frame is like a box and they ride it around selling anything like toys, water and ladders. This is where he got the inspiration.

MoMA. 2009. Marcel Breuer. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?criteria=O%3AAD%3AE%3A769&page_number=&template_id=6&sort_order=1#bio. [Accessed 26 January 14].

The Washington Post. 2008. Function Following Form. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/artsandliving/style/studio/021008.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Bauhaus

A German Architect called Walter Gropius was the founder of Bauhaus in 1919. The main objective was to unite all the arts. This union was to combine architecture, sculpture and painting into one single expression of creativity.

Walter Gropius

Bauhaus combined fine arts and design in one educational curriculum. Initially, students began a study of materials, colour and theory to help them develop a basis for more specialised studies. These courses were taught by artists themselves.

Following this course, the students went onto more specialised workshops, taking them further into metalwork, woodwork, weaving, pottery and wall painting, to name a few.

'Red Blue chair', deal and plywood (originally) by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld, 1918

Bauhaus, whilst emphasising on crafts, changed its goal around 1923, giving more importance to designing for mass production. The school's slogan became 'Art into Industry'.

The school moved to a new building in 1925. This building became the hallmark of modernist architecture. It was constructed using a steel-frame, a glass curtain wall and an asymmetrical pinwheel plan.

The furniture workshop was the most popular. Many a mass-produced metal chair was designed here a Bauhaus. The textile workshop created many abstract designs. All materials were used including cellophane and metal. Fabrics produced were very popular and sold well. The Metalwork workshop was also popular. It produced many prototypes for mass production.

In 1928, Gropius stepped down as director. The architect Hannes Meyer took over the past. The school continued to gain momentum introducing Advertising and photography into the curriculum.

Hannes Meyer

Hannes Meyer resigned as director in 1930. This is when Ludwig Van Der Rohe, also an architect, took up the position.

Ludwig Van Der Rohe

Due to the unstable political situation in Germany at the time, the school had to move to Berlin and in 1933 Bauhaus closed its doors.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000-2013. The Bauhaus, 1919–1933. [online] Available at: <http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm> [Accessed 4 December 2013].

Gerrit Rietveld- De Stijl

Gerrit Rietveld was born in Holland, he became one of the most important designers and architects of the 20th century. Initially he was a trained carpenter and became involved in the De Stijl movement. His work was reflective of the ideals and objectives of this movement. He transformed objects and buildings into designs of abstract lines. He mainly used primary colours, black, white and grey. His infamous red-blue chair was originally produced without colour, the coloured version appeared around 1923. This was followed in 1924 by his first architectural project which is the well-known Rietveld- Schroder House.

Red-blue Chair by Gerrit Rietveld

Gerrit Rietveld produced this chair using only square and rectangular pieces of wood. He used no nails, but instead connected every corner using little pieces of wood. The chair is very uncomfortable, it was designed so. The intention being that one would remain awake and alert when sitting in it and not sink into it and fall asleep. The colours used, red, blue and black were used so that they would make the art appeal to everyone. This particular chair was also created in red for Rietveld's own use in his home.

D-W-A redesigns the Red and Blue chair by Gerrit rietveld

D-W-A redesigned the Red-Blue chair calling it the DZA RnB extended edition. Being that from a chair they extended the design to a two-seater plus a table. The designer of this modern furniture was inspired from when he was a teenager. He had seen the chair at a friend's house and fell in love with it. Rietveld became his favourite designer and when he had problems with getting inspired, he would look to him. The company has produced other variations of the red-blue chair, namely using natural finishes of birch and walnut. Some people criticised and misunderstood their project, saying they had ruined a classic design, but their argument is that they ''pay homage to one of the most influential and revolutionary designers of the 20th century''.

Vitra Design Museum. 2012. Gerrit Rietveld. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.design-museum.de/en/exhibitions/detailseiten/detailseiten/gerrit-rietveld.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Wikipedia. 2013. Gerrit Rietveld. [ONLINE] Available at: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerrit_Rietveld. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Art of Europe. 2010. Red-Blue Chair. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.slam.org/moderneuropean/works/14.html. [Accessed 26 January 14].

Phaidon Club. no date. Gerrit Rietveld [The Remix]. [ONLINE] Available at: http://uk.phaidon.com/agenda/design/articles/2012/january/20/gerrit-rietveld-the-remix/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

De Stijl

After World War 1 the world moved into the new industrial age. In the early 1920's a new movement was formed called De Stijl. De Stijl is Dutch for ''The style''. This Dutch group of architects and artists had one vision in common, they had a philosophy based on functionalism. Their ideas and designs were based on removing all surface decoration and using only touches of primary colours and black and white. They tended to use Geometric forms mainly straight lines, squares and rectangles.

Composition in Red and Blue by Piet Modrian

contemporary practice. 2010. Composition in red and blue- Piet Mondrian. [ONLINE] Available at: http://contemporarypractice.wordpress.com/. [Accessed 26 January 14].

One of the leaders of the group was Theo Van Doesburg. Two others important members were Piet Modrian and Gerrit Rietveld. In fact it was Gerrit Rietveld's Schroder House which was to remain the prime example of the De Stijl movement. Many of their initial ideas came from Dada, with some influence from Japanese sources.

Schroder House by Gerrit Rietveld

Wikipedia. 2013. Rietveld Schröder House. [ONLINE] Available at: http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casa_Rietveld_Schr%C3%B6der. [Accessed 26 January 14].

De Stijl influenced a variety of artists and designers, it was practiced in fine and applied art, music, poetry, typography, Industrial design and even in architecture and urban planning. The De Stijl movement was influenced by the devastation of World War 1, with the members wishing to express some sense of order and harmony in the new society that was emerging after the war. De Stijl was the first ever publication devoted entirely to abstract art.

The De Stijl movement faded away after the death of its leader, however it remained a fundamental contribution to modern and contemporary Art & Design. The De Stijl Movement gave rise to the  International Style that was later to follow.

Charlotte Jirousek. 1995. De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at: http://char.txa.cornell.edu/art/decart/destijl/destijl.htm. [Accessed 26 January 14].

The Art Story.org. 2014. De Stijl. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.theartstory.org/movement-de-stijl.htm. [Accessed 26 January 14].