During the late nineteenth century all things Japanese began making their way into Western culture. This event coined the term “Japonisme”. This was a time where objects such as books, scrolls, and other forms of art traveled to the West and absolutely captivated Europeans. European artists became inspired by the way the Japanese depicted images. They used a lot of abstraction, flat colors, decorative patterns, and an overall simplification of natural elements in their art. This type of design heavily influenced the next major movement in the west called art nouveau.
Art nouveau was a style thriving from 1890 to 1910 that included a multitude of elements all at once. There was architecture, furniture, product design, fashion, and graphics. This art could be found on almost everything; posters, packages, and advertisements. Art nouveau has a very elegant and flowing quality to it in a way that it almost defies gravity. Some of the identifying elements of this style are vine tendrils, flowers, birds, and a female figure.
This movement was the initial phase that led to the modern movement. It was a pivotal point for graphic design because art nouveau really helped in the evolution of all aspects of design. This was a bridge between the highly decorative Victorian era and modernism. Decorative elements began to have more intentionality in art nouveau, rather than cluttering the space the art was in. It unified decoration, structure, and function. Art nouveau really was a style designers were able to utilize for everyday art and it simply worked.
Art nouveau continues to inspire and influence artists to this day. We see a huge influx of this style through the late 1960s-1970s in band posters, fashion, and other forms of advertisement. The organic elements of art nouveau heavily influenced interior design elements such as wallpaper and decorative aspects. There was a lot of pattern being used in the 70’s much like this movement as well. Something else to consider was the increase in drug use during this era. This style of art deeply reflected the use of psychedelics and other drugs through the gravity-defying elements and bold imagery.
Art nouveau’s influence on modern art can be seen all around us. From advertisements to architecture, it’s there. Even some of our most well known brands have logos that are clearly influenced by this style of art. Take the Starbucks logo for instance, it not only has a female figure, but it also includes the graphic element of a circle which can be found in most early designs of art nouveau. Another area we see much of this art style’s influence is simply in the comeback of floral and natural elements. With environmental movements, the popularity of displaying our love for the earth has been a huge trend the past five years. Take simple graphic design of a cactus for example, this can be found on notepads, dishcloths, and even T-shirts at your local Target. Art nouveau had so many elements that it’s hard for us not to be influenced by it.
Adriana. “The Influence of Art History on Modern Design: Art Nouveau.” PIXEL77, 30 May 2016, pixel77.com/art-history-modern-design-art-nouveau/.
Bigman, Alex. “Good Call, Bon Iver: Art Nouveau Design Inspiration – Designer Blog.” 99designs, 99designs, 14 Mar. 2018, 99designs.com/blog/customers/good-call-bon-iver-art-nouveau-design-inspiration/.
Haley Locke 