Protomodernism
25 February 2023
Protomodernism was all about rejecting the old and coming up with new and unique ways to go about design and art. The design movement started in Germany. The movement that first catapulted the protomodernism era was the Deutscher Werkbund movement. This specific movement originated in Munich Germany by Herman Muthesis.
The purpose of this movement and the protomodernism era was to create designs and furniture that were good quality, but find a way to mass produce them. The picture to the left is part of the Deutscher Werkbund movement called the Werbund Exhibition. The design was used to go against the established design and to use more machines instead of hand-crafted materials to construct these types of structures and buildings.
The next part of history that led to the protomodernism movement was the Vienna Secession. The Vienna Secession was a time in history when art, philosophy, and even technology were advancing and people were starting to develop a greater idea, which, therefore, made people more open to new design ideas. This secession left old historical and traditional ways of design and embraced new ways of design, however, this does not mean the secession led toward the Art Nouveau style either. The secession made artists leave the traditional way of producing art by leaving the institutions and coming up with new ways to create, design, and build
The building pictured above is a result of the Vienna secession. This piece of architecture is called the secession building, designed by Josef Olbrich. The building is important to the protomodernism movement because it was the start of something new and what jumpstarted the protomodernism era for architecture and design.
The image above was designed by a famous architect during the time of protomodernism named Adolf Loos. Loos was an Austrian architect who wanted to challenge the style of Ornamentation. He helped define the style of protomodernism by rejecting the old designs that were functional and traditional. Instead, Loos went by the idea that "Beauty was in form not in Ornamentation," which we can observe from the strong forms he used in his buildings and designs.
This is another depiction of modern-day protomoderism. The thick white walls placed throughout the interior helps create a great use of space and sections off the rooms while also keeping a bright and open feeling. Protomodernism used geometric lines and shapes such as squares and cubes to utilizes space and form like pictured above.
The image above is an example of protomodernism modern-day architecture. There is a rise of this type of architecture today and more geometric and clean lined buildings become more popular. The straight lines are used all throughout this house to create shade and space and also to establish the form of the house.
One Step Further:
One influential designer and architect during the protomodernist was Josef Hoffmann. Hoffmann studied at Brno Wurzburg and Vienna. He was known for his work in textiles and furniture, but also worked on many buildings. Hoffmanns style was influenced by the arts and crafts era, however, he took a new approach that was different and innovative.
Pictured above: Josef Hoffmann
Eva,
ReplyDeleteI think in your blog you did a very good job of going into detail and providing pictures throughout your blog for us to get a better picture of what you are talking us through. I think the way you organized your post from where it began to how it evolved over time helped me understand the Protomoderism movement. To me this movement is so far one of my favorites with simple look with the designers own twist on it. I noticed that most of the designers focused on geometric shapes and lines which I found to be very interesting as that does create a variety of movement through the home. I really enjoyed at the end of your blog how you went into depth and showed each feature that this Era focused on such as the thick white walls to the clean buildings. Overall I really enjoyed reading your post!
Excellent post- each one or your posts are getting more detailed and comprehensive. You led us through Protomodernism by introducing the Deutscher Werkbund movement and Vienna Succession. Including works by Josef Olbrich and Adolf Loos was perfect.
ReplyDeleteThe three examples of Protomodernism that we see today was informative. These examples gave opportunity to list the specific elements that characterize this movement.
Joseph Hoffmann was perfect to look into further.
Total Points 50/50