Page 1
DECORATIVE ART The Finish Near School $135\frac{1}{2} - 64.$
Extrait
Premières pages de l'ouvrage, en accès libre.
Page 5
DECORATIVE ART 1953-54
Page 6
DECORATIVE VOLUME 43 THE STUDIO YEAR BOOK OF FURNISHING & DECORATION 1953-1954
Page 7
AARTC EDITORS: RATHBONE HOLME & KATHLEEN M. FROST - THE STUDIO PUBLICATIONS
Page 8
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Editors’ thanks are due to the many architects, designers and manufacturers whose work is reproduced in this volume: without their valuable co-operation production would be impossible. Their appreciation is also due to their special correspondents overseas who seek and obtain material which might otherwise not come to notice, and in this respect they acknowledge particularly the assistance of Mr Stig Bjorkman, of Stockholm; Mr D. W. Buchanan, of Ottawa; Mr Bryan Holme, of New York City; Mr Shinji Koike, of Tokyo; Mr Sten Moller, of Copenhagen; Mrs G. L. de Snellman-Jaderholm, of Helsinki; M. Pierre Vago, of Paris; and Miss Carmen Valdes, of Buenos Aires. --- PUBLISHED IN LONDON BY THE STUDIO LTD, 66 CHANDOS PLACE, W.C.2 AND IN NEW YORK BY THE STUDIO PUBLICATIONS INC, 432 FOURTH AVENUE PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY W. S. COWELL LTD, AT THE BUTTER MARKET, IPSWICH
Page 9
CONTENTS Editors’ Foreword --- Raising the Standard of FurnitureJ. C. Pritchard, Director and Secretary,Furniture Development Council --- Flats at Twickenham, Middlesex --- House at Beverly Hills, California --- House in Johannesburg, Transvaal --- A Pretorian Farmhouse --- A Studio House in Japan --- A New York Apartment --- A House on Wheels --- A House in Norfolk --- Interiors and Furnishing --- Wall Treatment --- Lighting --- Table and Silverware --- Textiles, Carpets and Rugs --- Ceramics --- Glass --- Flower Arrangement --- Index ---
Page 10
Editors’ Foreword It is difficult if not impossible to discuss design for furnishing without becoming lost in economics, fashion, machinery, even politics. It is neither practical nor economical in furniture production, for instance, to design pieces for mechanized manufacture that will not appeal to large numbers of the buying public. In other words, as in most trades today, the designer cannot—other than in exceptional circumstances—design to please himself or a mere handful of clients unless his designs are to be executed by hand in ones and twos to special order at proportionately high cost. Where large quantities are involved, it is therefore necessary to stifle the ever-present temptation to think and talk of craftsmanship in the traditional sense. In the matter of furniture itself and the possibilities of raising standards of design, this problem and its associated one of raising standards of workmanship are discussed by this year’s special contributor, J. C. Pritchard, in the introductory article which follows. But mechanized production which demands a succession of pieces exactly alike has not yet conquered every province of domestic design and among the examples of work in which traditional methods of employing skill and craftsmanship still persist, glass is probably the most outstanding. Because the same degree of skill and the same methods and primitive tools as have been used for centuries are still found today, it does not follow that there has been no change in the type and design of the product. In Great Britain there seems, admittedly, to be a reluctance to move on from the stiff formality of traditional shapes in blown and cut crystal, but on the Continent of Europe there is a pronounced awareness of the basic characteristics of glass as a material, a very much freer outlook regarding the ways in which it can be manipulated and a feeling for the extent to which it can be allowed to dictate its own shape. The science of metallurgy has been used to the full in creating apparently miraculous effects of pigment and design within the walls rather than on the surface of glass, and an uninhibited attitude toward the use of new techniques has evoked new and exciting designs exploiting and emphasizing the fluid characteristics of the medium. In the inexpensive range, new techniques in moulded and pressed glass, although too often prone to subside into the bad habit of imitating cut crystal, have made possible new concepts in design, which are capable of endowing this type of ware with an attractive individuality in its own right instead of masquerading as a cheap substitute. In ceramics, too, metallurgy is playing its part in promoting ‘happy accidents’ in various colourful glazes. The hand of the potter is finding new freedom of expression both in form and decoration and, again, the Scandinavian countries still retain their lead in this branch of design. Textiles are in a more mechanized class of manufacture, but whereas most highly mechanized industries are subject to considerable re-tooling for each change of design, a loom, like a printing machine, commands an infinite variety dependent upon the manner in which it is set up. New techniques in weaving are found in many of the furnishing fabrics produced today and they consist, notably, of accents on texture, of mixing unfamiliar materials such as threads of tinsel and strips of Cellophane with the conventional wools and cottons and the use of the now accepted but less conventional plastic filament threads and glass yarns. The lethargy which seized the British textile industry after the war has gone far towards disappearing and there is a renaissance of enterprising design in woven and printed fabrics of a quality in keeping with the contemporary spirit of architecture and furnishing generally. Silver and tableware are necessarily less prone to spectacular changes in design, since shapes are too closely related to the functions of the table, but the Danes, as ever, continue to prove that silver for table use, particularly in the design of receptacles, need not suffer functionally for being the better to behold in contemporary surroundings. Indeed, the Danish contribution to the craft of silversmithing is one from which most of the world has much to learn. The concluding section, although a very short one and a new departure for this Year Book, is eminently eligible as one of the most decorative of the decorative arts—that of flower arrangement. In London the Flower Academy which was first held in 1952 and displayed the work of groups of amateur flower ‘arrangers’ from various parts of England, attracted a large entry of exceptionally high standard, most of it indistinguishable in skill and taste from the quality expected of leading professionals. It has proved the growing interest and ability that exists in this form of decoration and has also demonstrated the value of the several types of flower holder, which, placed in the bottom of the container, not only extend the scope of arrangement but make possible the use of a much wider choice of container shape, since the flowers become self-supporting and long stems can emerge from shallow dishes at precisely determined angles. These factors should provide manufacturers of ceramic and glass vases with opportunities for fresh experiment in new shapes of container. We consider that the few examples both of flower arrangement and container we have been able to show, not only from the Flower Academy but from professional sources as well, are a worthy conclusion to this annual display of decorative design. THE EDITORS
Page 11
by J. C. PRITCHARD Director & Secretary: Furniture Development Council Raising the standard of Furniture ABOUT FIFTY YEARS AGO Henri van der Velde, one of the Continental pioneers of ‘art nouveau’ said: > ‘In assuring you that we can make our homes the direct reflection of our wishes, our own tastes, if we will but choose, I know the answer you are going to give me is that it is impossible. It is only impossible so long as we go on resigning ourselves to the repression of our own personalities and accept the human environment imposed on us with the same mute submissiveness as dogs do their kennels and horses their stables. And this is simply because of the unreasoning belief that very few people are born with the gift of self-expression—which is not true and could only be true if civilization had deprived us of a capacity even our primeval ancestors possessed.’ Van der Velde’s statement can stand as an indictment of ourselves today. But how are we to provide the conditions that will give ordinary people that confident ability to choose? And how can the furniture manufacturer get a proper understanding of the various needs and wishes of the people who buy his products so that he will have the opportunities to try the innovations that may solve old problems in new and improved ways with a reasonable prospect of success? If we are rich enough we can choose expensive furniture or have it made for us and if we are dissatisfied we can choose again. But such opportunities are denied to most of the people. Let us look at the situation today in the light of the conditions that prevailed before the Industrial Revolution when, it is generally agreed, there was such a high level of taste and discrimination in furniture design. It would be true to say that ninety per cent of the population in those days had very little furniture, just the simple necessities made by themselves or by the local carpenter. The only people who bought furniture in our present meaning were an educated, leisured class who had the confidence of a secure social position. That age is agreed to have been a golden age as far as furniture was concerned. The patrons could afford and appreciated good living; they travelled widely and had the leisure for study. Their interest in furniture was not merely a matter of careful choice, for they themselves often took the initiative in design. The designer was often a maker of furniture and, being a craftsman, was aware of the craft tradition and its technical limitations. This tradition was founded on a straightforward but very skilful use of the materials and the tools which he used. Tradition acted
