I spent an enjoyable weekend at Missenden Abbey. As usual I stayed with Aunt Joan, who is a sprightly 90 year old, visually impaired person. She provided accommodation, and I provided family conversation, and we had a lovely time together.
This weekend I was doing two day classes, on Art Nouveau and Art Deco. I had always thought of Arts & Crafts, Art Nouveau and Art Deco as three separate design styles but discovered that they melded into one another without specific start and finish times. In particular, I had thought of Charles Rennie Mackintosh as a completely separate style from Scotland, but actually he melded all three styles together, and was included in the Art Nouveau day, much to my surprise. His work had a strong Arts & Crafts ethic - quality of design, truth to materials, honesty in construction - with Art Nouveau curves from plant forms, and the angular grid forms of Art Deco.
It was good to listen to a lecturer, Jenny Spiers, who was in command of her subject, and enthusiastic about the differences in historical art styles. She does a further series of lectures, which are more about the history of art linked to political and social scenarios. I'm particularly keen to attend her Art and the Dictators lectures, which hopefully Missenden Abbey will put on next year.
No comments:
Post a Comment