Working On: exploring art nouveau
This summer we spent four beautiful days in Paris, and with the aid of a Navigo pass we took the Metro all over the city. Probably my favorite thing to do when traveling is to simply ride around on public transit, and I consider Paris in particular to be an exceptional place to do so. This is, of course, mostly because of the incredible Art Nouveau-style entrances at many of the subway stations, composed of sinuous iron lamps, arches and railings.
These subway entrances were designed ahead of the 1900 Paris Exhibition by Hector Guimard, and they were so influential that le style Metro was used as an alternate name for Art Nouveau. Eighty-six of the original station entrances remain today, and are now protected historic monuments. They stand out amid the modern hustle and bustle of the city, and take on a slightly sinister aura at twilight as the bulbous lamps begin to glow with eerie orange light, looming above you like gigantic Venus fly-traps. I loved them.
The Musée d'Orsay has an interesting collection of what I can only describe as Art Nouveau home goods, since it includes furniture, lamps, and tableware, as well as wall panels and screens. When we were there I spent a good deal of time staring at various of the floor and table lamps, which were so breathtakingly beautiful that I coveted them deeply. (I've never contemplated running a heist on an art museum, but these lamps tempted me.) Since seeing these station entrances, and the exhibit at the Musée, I've been having something of an Art Nouveau moment.
Doing a bit more research, I was unsurprised to discover that Art Nouveau was actually a successor of the Arts and Crafts movement. The swirls and florals are clearly similar, as is the essential ethos of the style - a priority was placed on craftsmanship and functional design, with an idea that the same aesthetic could be applied across many different disciplines, including the so-called 'decorative arts'. The curving forms that are so distinctively Art Nouveau were a reaction against strict Victorian values, and and both the style and subject matter of the period were heavily influenced by the natural world and Japanese art.
One of the most famous pieces of art from this movement is probably the poster Tournée du Chat noir, created in 1896 by Théophile Steinlen, which combines a stylized font, detailed circular motif, and wiry cat to stunning effect. Less famous, but on my mind more frequently, is a Miller High Life advertisement from 1907 that someone photocopied and taped to a fridge at our local dive bar. It features some exceptional Art Nouveau squiggles and hop vines, one of which looks like it was heavily inspired by the Metropolitain lamps. (The typeface, in contrast, is for the most part plain and simple, which lends a delightful incongruity.)
Poster art in general was a big part of the Art Nouveau movement, perhaps epitomized by the work of Aubrey Beardsley. I'm especially fond of a magazine cover that he did for the first issue of The Studio, an international art publication that championed the style. (You can actually read this whole issue of the magazine online here. I highly recommend doing this; there’s an excellent article about designing bookplates.) I'm a big fan of the way that the aesthetic was adapted to convey information - the waving banners and hand-lettered table of contents are extremely engaging, while still being very clear. In fact, it's Art Nouveau graphic design that I'm most interested in at the moment, for it's particular mix of charm and effectiveness - it has such personality, which I find really compelling at the moment. In a sea of AI-generated “content”, it's nice to see something as idiosyncratic and, dare I say, handmade-looking as the magazines, posters, advertisements, and book covers of this era.
I won’t go on a long rant about AI and how it’s ruining the world (I did type one, but then deleted it), but I will say that seeing an artwork that was so clearly made by someone is so inspiring to me. It makes me want to make something! I want to learn how to do woodcuts or lino-printing or create a magazine. So much about the world these days seems oriented toward turning us into passive consumers, instead of active participants in and creators of our own lives. Engaging with art that is so clearly made by an individual, with their own unique perspective, feels exciting and generative.
John Ruskin, who was hugely influential on both the Arts & Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, wrote in The Stones of Venice that “All that is good in art is the expression of one soul talking to another”. This is, I think, what I am so viscerally responding to in these prints, lamps, posters, and subway entrances. There is something innately human about them - a swooping idiosyncrasy, a specificity of taste that represents their creators. Looking at them, you feel something of the person who made them; you see from the artist’s point of view.
I want to post a PSA about my online shop this week - if you were looking for a Christmas gift for a maker in your life, now is the time to buy one! I will be closing the shop for Christmas, from December 17th to January 1st. I think a pennant would make a lovely present, and if you order one now it should arrive in time for the holidays.
OK, that’s it from me for now - I will be back next week rambling on about one thing or another. Talk to you soon!
Best,
Delightful, informative, and interesting, as always. Thank you, Kelsey.