Critical Review: Introduction

For this unit, you will plan and draft a critical review. This task will require you to work up an Essay Plan within Project 4: Redaction and then complete the essay (1250 words or equivalent to a spoken or recorded presentation) within Project 7: Intersections.

Note:

Writing - to the painter/artist - comes in many forms: from the studio jotting to the essay and dissertation/thesis. Other forms include letters, emails, reviews, case studies, and proposals for art projects. Writing is a form of making. When writing, think about structure and overall shape, and aim for clarity.

In this project, you will identify a field of enquiry (a subject), research your way to a specific question, and draft your ideas and possible arguments. Of course, reading is the best way to begin, but there are many other ways to engage in research; you can watch films/videos, listen to audio recordings, attend lectures, talk to people, collect raw data and, of course, experience and make artwork.

---

Introduction/Rough plan.

Art Nouveau was an innovative and influential movement that emerged in the late 19th century as a reaction against the academic art of the time, which was seen as stale and unoriginal. The distinctive features were organic forms and decorative motifs. Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase was a period in the artist's career when he created some of his most famous works with gold leaf and highly ornamental motifs. This review will explore the Art Nouveau movement and Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase, focusing on his painting, The Kiss.

Content/Topic

Art Nouveau wasn't a painting style; it was more of a fashion craze. The Art Nouveau movement significantly impacted art, design, and architecture with stylised natural forms asymmetrically blended. Art Nouveau artists wanted to erase the distinction between major and minor arts, unifying all arts. In Austria, the "Sezessionstil" Otto Wagner was a teacher at the architectural school. He introduced and diffused the Art Nouveau/Secession style to his pupils. Underground stations and houses with eclectic designs integrated into the structures.

Figure 1 - Karlsplatz Metro Station Vienna.

Belgian architect and designer Victor Horta was a key figure. Horta's work uses curvilinear forms, often inspired by natural forms, elegant, twisted or infused with powerfully rhythmic and whiplike forces. Another important figure was the French artist Alphonse Mucha. Mucha's work was again highly decorative, focusing on motifs such as flowers, leaves, and vines. Mucha was mainly well known for his posters centring on the female form's beauty.

Japanese motifs inspired Art Nouveau. Artists who worked in the Art Nouveau style had borrowed motifs from Japanese woodblock prints, which had an angular, linear look, incorporating the grids and parallel lines of Japanese interior design depicted in these images, as well as the curved, flowing lines of blossoming tree branches, rivers, and kimono.

Gustav Klimt's Golden Phase was a period in the artist's career when he began incorporating gold leaf into his work. Its use was highly innovative and significantly impacted modern art's development. One of the most famous works from this period is The Kiss. The painting is intricate, symbolic, stylised, and flowing, with patterns on the two figures' clothing. However, despite the innovative use of gold leaf, Klimt's work has been criticised as superficial. It lacks the depth and substance of other works from the period.

Go to Vienna and look at Art Nouveau and Klimt's work first-hand. Photograph and reflect on how it differs from viewing the work in a book or digitally.

(Find out more about the subject, books, and interviews about the Kiss to form more of an argument, and be curious about what it means for my practice)

Using different patterns and international/global textures in my work, and how this fuels my passion for variety, travel, surface tensions and ornament within my work.

Conclusion

How does the content of the essay connect to my practice?

What can my painting possibly become with the influence of Art Nouveau/ornamental patterns?

How can I move into an expanded field without losing the integrity of my painting?

---

References

Fig 1- Elliott, M. (2023) Karlsplatz Metro Station Vienna. [Photograph] In possession of the author: Banbury.

---