The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #75850 Message #1338397
Posted By: CarolC
24-Nov-04 - 11:04 PM
Thread Name: Books: What Are You Reading?
Subject: RE: BS: What Are You Reading?
The Arts & Crafts Movement, by Steven Adams.
It's a very interesting book that traces the hisory of the Arts and Crafts (Craftsman) movement from it's beginnings in Britain in the second half of the 1800s, to it's spread to the US and, under different names, to other countries in Europe. It discusses the different schools of design that are associated with the Arts and Crafts movement, such as the Pre-Raphaelites, Art Nouveau (somewhat tangentially), Art Deco, the Prairie school of architecture, and Bungalow style of architecture.
The Arts and Crafts movement, I'm learning, was much more than just a design movement. It also had very strong connections to various social and political movements and philosophies, and began as a backlash against the mechanization of the Industrial Revolution. It was concerned with the design and production of pottery, glass, metalware, fabric, wallpaper, floorcoverings, and furniture, as well as architecture.
It's not a very long or comprehensive book, but I find it fascinating.