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Britain was in the vanguard of the Industrial Revolution, but in its wake an increasingly wealthy middle class reacted against the squalid working
conditions in industry, the loss of identity associated with
mechanisation, and the poor quality of products for the new markets developing around the world. William Morris, through his writing and lecturing, his design and
retail activities, promoted a desire for the perceived simplicity, integrity and craftsmanship of the Middle Ages, a concept that gained momentum across Europe, Japan and the United States in what became known as the Arts and Crafts Movement.
There are many parallels today. Significantly increased retail mark-ups have led to the rapid growth of manufacturing in the low-cost economies
of the Third World, often indifferent in quality and design. This has encouraged a new generation of consumers to seek out creative ways of fulfilling their needs and demanding standards. Minimalism, arising from the Bauhaus drive to find an industrial language for volume products, gained momentum through the 20th Century but now looks tired against the more imaginative expression resulting from the
cross-fertilisation of inventive structural concepts, digital processes, forms more responsive to human interaction and emerging environmental imperatives.
William Morris saw the Middle Ages as the springboard for a wholesome way forward. The dynamics now are forward-looking with new
opportunities to achieve those same enduring values that continue to motivate today's designers and makers. This exhibition is a rare chance to see, to buy and to commission one-of-a-kind contemporary furniture.
John Makepeace
February 2009
Footnote:
Designers and makers, architects and interior designers, design
journalists, curators and collectors may like to note the forthcoming
Symposium, Furniture Futures, at the V&A on Friday September 18th.
To book, visit http://www.vam.ac.uk/your_visit/tickets/
or call 020 7942 2211 |
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