Priscila Lena Farias / Anna Calvera Marcos da Costa ... - Blucher

Frontiers of looking past: a Nietzschean survey of introductions and intentions in Design History
for Pevsner the Arts and Crafts movement corresponds to Morris’
style, for Raizman the movement was a process of adjustment
with mechanical production, for Woodham, the Arts and
Crafts model of production was problematic and perhaps incompatible
with 20th century design. Texts show the evolution of
design history premised on an monumental art historical and
diachronic approach of time, to a synchronic place motivated
history (Banham, Meikle, Pulos), to theme motivated history
(Woodham, Forty), to (Raizman, Spark) texts that combine
these approaches. This exploration of motivations for design
history help me better articulate my own motivations in writing
a design history relevant to Bangladesh.
2. Monumental History: Nicholas Pevsner,
The Sources of Modern Architecture and
Design
Nicholas Pevsner offers no introduction in his Pioneers of the
Modern Movement. The title alone admits his attention to a sequence
of iconic pioneers in the monumental tradition of art
history. The first sentence of chapter one entitled ‘Theories of
Art from Morris to Gropius’ states, “ Ornamentation, says Ruskin,
is the principle part of architecture.” (Pevsner, 19) This opening
gesture sets up the study of modern design as an aesthetic
evolution beyond ornamentation towards function. The primacy
of aesthetic development measured by artists and architects,
make design history derivative. Subsequent design texts by
historians such as Adrian Forty, Penny Sparke and Jonathan
Woodham, among others counter the dependence on monumental
moments in architecture and have long ago shattered
Pevsners aesthetic authority. Despite the overcoming of Pevsner
in Western design history, the dependence on art and architecture
to account for the emergence of modern aesthetics
still animate non-western design history, and as such, warrants
inclusion in this short list of texts. Written during the 1930s, revised
in the 60s and then again in the 70s, the narrative shows
surprising little transformation aside for the inclusion of more
images. In contrast Penny Sparke’s, Introduction to Design and
Culture 2.0 extensively reconsidered the first addition in light
of post-modern developments. Pevsner’s insistence on a stable
sequence of monumental modern figures is consistent with his
primary motivation to define modern design as the removal or
tranformation of ormentation. This sense of of iconic glorification
persist in design texts, even if, to a lesser degree. The icons
compose visual landmarks that chart a claim of modern cultural
evolution. Pevsner begins with the old master Ruskin to defend
the progression towards the new modern master Walter Gropius.
The evolution validated emergent modern design history by
association with art and architecture. Therefore, a monumental
approach to design history establishes heroic accomplishments
worthy of imitation. The benefit of this approach is the
initial validation for a new area of study by identifying heros or
pioneers. For example, design history in developing countries
identify their ‘firsts in design’ as does disciplines like service or
interaction design. However, this approach can also easily lead
to a form of hero-worship doomed to imitate out of context.
To the Arts and Crafts movement, Pevsner devotes considerable
attention in chapter two. His analysis relies heavily on a formal
description of style, stating ‘What raised Morris as a reformer of
design high above the Cole group and Pugin is not only that he
had the true designer’s genius and they had not, but also that
he recognized the indissoluble unity of an age and its social
system.” (Pevsner, 48) And, further on, “Morris alone felt that
what was needed was the personal example, the artist turning
craftmen-designer himself.” (Pevsner, 48) Monumentalizing
Morris as an exemplar of modern material honesty and social
relevance, Pevsner practices his perspective of past greatness
as worthy of present imitation. While Pevsner addresses Morris’
theories and process, he gives more attention to the aesthetics
of the Arts and Crafts style. The case for modern aesthetic
evolution, for Pevsner depends on formal analysis of exemplary
models. His interpretation and explanation of the Arts and Crafts
movement presents Morris as a essential mediating figure between
Ruskin and later Bauhaus developments. The need for a
validating association between art, design and architecture is
evident in his account of the movement as a collective and continued
effort to redefine ornamentation.
3. Antiquarian History: Jonathan Woodham,
Twentienth Century Design
Jonathan Woodham’s, Twentienth Century Design (1997) begins
with the humble confession, “The writing of a comprehensive
single volume on the history of twentieth century design is
a daunting prospect, not simply in terms of the seemingly limitless
range of products and associated meanings from which
such a text might be fashioned but also in terms of the considerable
geographical scope which might be encompassed.”
(Woodham, 7) My suggestion that Woodham’s words are evidence
of an antiquarian motivation by no means imply that his
text is antiquated, isolated or frozen in a moment of preservation.
Rather, I find his motivation, like many 20th century design
texts that include the works of Sparke, Miekle, Forty, Walker,
Banham and others, defends contextual conditions broadly
understood as the source of modern design rather than historical
continuity. The antiquarian motivation appreciates the past
as relevant but not repeatable. Woodham’s narative presents
thematic discussions that include issues of production, reception,
distribution and social resonance. The opening sentence
conveys the expansive field of the design history, rather a Pevsnerian
evolution of celebrity designers. By doing so, Woodham,
along with others, carves a field of design history, connected
yet independent from the fine arts and architecture. This form
of history relies on contextual conditions rather than conceptual
or aesthetic continuity. The benefit of this approach is the
attention to specific lived experience interpreted thematically
or geographically. The drawback, however, is precisely as Woodham
confesses, in the difficulty of offering a single ‘comprehensive’
volume on history. Nevertheless, this approach finds
much resonance in time, place or theme specific histories that
overcome a conceptual and universal dependence on Western
design heroes.
Design Frontiers: Territiories, Concepts, Technologies 451