Arts & Crafts Movement

 

In England, parallel to the Art Nouveau, another movement emerged which had a lasting influence on architecture. This was the Arts and Crafts movement, which arose out of the ‘Romanticism’ movement in literature, and promoted the simple rural lifestyle. Inspired by the writings of John Ruskin and William Morris, which centered on the evils of the industrial revolution, the movement laid a great stress on the virtues of pre-industrial society, and advocated the use of traditional arts & crafts as an antidote to the ill effects of the industrialization, and hence the name.

 

The disruption of the established social systems due to the industrial revolution were a cause of concern for many humanitarian writers. Moreover, the manufacturing by machines made the products cheaper but deprived them of the artistic craft traditions, and made them purely utilitarian. They thought of 'the craftsman' as free, creative, and working with his hands, 'the machine' as soulless, repetitive, and inhuman. In Ruskin’s view, the industrial production carried out by the ‘servile labour’ demeaned both the process and the product. A healthy and moral society, he argued, requires free workers who design the products they make, and incorporate in them both the knowledge base and aesthetic traditions of a society.

 

This was in tune with the ‘pre-Raphaelite’ movement in art, which was critical of both the industrial culture which they considered barbaric and the renaissance art (particularly after Raphael) too ornate & formal. The pre-Raphaelite movement thus shared the sentiments of the ‘romanticist’ movement in its glorification of the pre-industrial society and the traditional crafts which reflected the simple, down to earth nature of the rural lifestyle.  

 

It was natural, therefore, that the ‘back to roots’ philosophy of the Arts & crafts movement got its inspiration from the based its design on the British vernacular architecture expressing the texture of ordinary materials, such as stone and tiles, with an asymmetrical and informal composition of built form. Many elements of this traditions like the solid form, wide porches, steep roof, pointed window arches, brick fireplaces and wooden fittings became the identity of the style.

 

The Red House, in Bexlyheath, London, designed by Philip Webb and William Morris, is a one of well known examples of this style. Its plan organization is based on function and is asymmetrical, and the elevations are a result of this organization, which gives it quite an informal character. A major element of the elevation is the informal arrangement of a varied type of windows, made to suit the spaces they served, instead of any planned composition of the façade. The house was quite unusual for its time, in both its the informal composition and in the complete absence of surface any decoration. The house relies for effect solely on its massing and proportion, and the colour and texture of materials used, like the red brick and roof tiles.

 

Charles Mackintosh was another architect who was influenced by the movement, and his hill house near Glasgow, built after about 30 years after Red House, is similarly designed with its composition of solid masses, and its asymmetrical organization, though the brickwork in this case is plastered and painted. But Mackintosh also absorbed influences from the modernist ideas of Art Nouveau and the simple unadorned style of Japanese art which relied for effect on the natural texture of the material and use of light & shadow. A combination of these ideas made Mackintosh’s work original and unique. The interior design of the hill house is actually quite contemporary by today’s standards, in that Mackintosh uses great restraint in design, relying on the functional organization and use of natural texture of materials instead of ornamentation. The most notable of his work is the Glasgow School of Art, which effectively demonstrates his skill in free spatial compositions with use of double height spaces, and combination of the simple geometric façade in stone with large windows, and art nouveau style detailing for the main entrance, with a free-flowing curve of the entrance steps.

 

The arts & crafts movement extended to many other products of everyday use like furniture, textiles, and stained glass. A notable addition was light fittings. Electricity for lighting was the latest innovation and many fixtures were designed exclusively for lighting at home and other establishment, based on the simple geometric shapes that the vernacular style dictated.

 

But the practitioners of the movement like Morris were also influenced by medieval styles, particularly the Gothic, and though they refrained from using the overt elaborate detailing  ornamentation of the classical Gothic architecture, the principles of organization like symmetry, rhythm, balance and formal layouts which was actually against the professed ideas of the arts & crafts movement.

 

There was also an ambivalence in the use of machinery for making products. The art & craft practitioners were perfectly willing to manufacture a product designed by them by use of machines, provided exacting standards were met in the process. This actually led to a debate on whether the artist really has to make the entire product all by himself, or whether he should be content in designing and letting others carry out the execution, including manufacturing of some components by machine. This contrasted sharply with the vision of arts and craft as a movement going back to roots, where the craftsmen did everything from design to execution, without involving the machinery.

 

Even with these contradictions the association of the arts & craft with the British vernacular architecture made it popular because of its nostalgic appeal and influenced many other architects, notably Sir Edwin Luytens, who later designed the Indian capital complex at New Delhi. In his early work, Lutyens followed the British vernacular style faithfully, with asymmetrical compositions, simple massive forms without any surface decoration except the texture & colour of the materials, creating informal spaces which was the hallmark of the style.

 

But his later work borrows heavily from the classical traditions. This was partly the result of the ideology the Arts & Crafts movement which glorified the past traditions, and partly the fact that in the design of palatial houses of the lords or the design of churches, the Arts & crafts movement had little to offer as design guidelines; its philosophy was based on the simple vernacular architecture of humble residences. For the same reasons, Luytens later work for the Indian capital is also based on the guiding principles of the classical traditions like symmetry, scale, proportions and so on. The agenda here was to create a monument befitting the strength & character of the British Empire, and the simple vernacular traditions could hardly be a guide for this kind of architecture.

 

In Europe & North America, the main appeal of the movement was its emphasis on rejuvenating the traditional culture through handicrafts. The American society looked forward to Europe for inspiration in arts & culture, and the movement spread there through journals & news papers and also by exhibition of exhibitions of contemporary craft objects. However, the movement remained largely concerned about the handicrafts, its appeal for architecture was not universal.

 

The architect who is said to have a significant contribution to the traditional craft traditions in the USA is F. L. Wright, whose early work shows distinct similarities with the vernacular architecture of Arts & Crafts. But F. L. Wright was a genius, and a far more original in all his work, which elevated the status of the craft traditions like stained glass and wrought iron, among others.

 

The major influence of Arts & Crafts on the modern architecture is its emphasis on simplicity and honesty in the use of materials. Its philosophy of following vernacular traditions was also followed by many eminent architects in the modern period, who found that the vernacular traditions of a place are culturally relevant, and reflect the lifestyle of society in its design & detailing. Not only that, in a world increasing concerned with the ecological impact of architecture, vernacular traditions are now seen as more eco-friendly in their use of local materials & a climate compatible design.