Here is our place to come together as a class to post your projects and to comment on each other's work. In addition to the project work, each week you will post a short review of the work of a graphic designer found from the list of 68 Graphic Designers posted in week 1 on the syllabus. Two posts are expected from each student... project work and review work. Each counts as one attendance.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
William Morris
Born in 1834, William Morris was a textile designer. Other than textile design, he was also known as a writer and an artist. In partnership with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Edward Burne-Jones, he established a design company that significantly dictated the early 20th century house and church decorations. He is credited with being a key contributor in the revitalization of textile arts, and its production methods. He is honored as a founding member of the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings. In his early life, he was hugely influenced by Pre-Raphaelites paintings and espoused John Ruskin’s ideals of rebuffing the tawdry industrial production of decorative architectures and arts, in support of handmade crafts, which promoted creative artists. In 1861, Morris, Burne-Jones, Philip Webb, Rossetti and Ford Madox Brown formed a company in collaboration with Peter Paul Marshall and Charles Faulkner called ‘decorative arts firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co. (“William Morris”). The firm focused on carving, metal work, carpets, stained glass, chintzes and paper hangings. Their work attracted commendable attention in exhibitions.
In his later years, after withdrawing from an active life in socialist politics, he developed a close interest in typography, as opposed to earlier years when he had mainly concentrated on calligraphy and manuscript illumination. He nevertheless still dedicated his efforts to the firm’s design, by personally designing surface decorations, textiles and wallpapers. He even claimed that he personally assisted in the dying, printing and weaving. His textile interests included embroidery, printed and woven textiles, and tapestries. He was married to Jane Burden and died in 1869.
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Wonderful Gary... William Morris is a towering figure for the idea of the place of craftsmanship in contemporary society.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post.