Victorian (circa 1840 - 1900)

Arts and Craft Movement (1862 – 1914)

The Arts and Crafts is an inventive movement that emerged as a response to the industrial revolution, which begun during the Victorian era in the most industrialized country of which was England. The movement created the unbalance between urban and rural areas, as most people moved to urban areas to adapt to the new approved and fastest way of machines production. This shift was named after the Art and Craft Exhibition Society.

According to Morris before the Sixteenth Century all men were working manual, then ‘Due to the Industrial Revolution the factories mass produced goods in order to keep up with the rise in consumer demand’ (ELLABASTIDACONTEXTUALSTUDIES, 2016). With machines progressively replaced men in factories, it was possible to produce faster and cheaper merchandise, leading to mass production (Renauld, MA & BA Art History and Archaeology, 2020). Afterward men had no choice but to adopt the use of machines as they could not compete with its quick production. As machines replaced men and handwork, the quality of craftsmanship and the decorative arts declined, and several skilled artisans lost their position (Renauld, MA & BA Art History and Archaeology, 2020).

This was the phase that shake not only the industry sector, but it also destroyed the way people used to socialize with each other and it was opposed by the Art and Craft Movement. According to Ruskin and Morris, machine ‘production had negative effects on traditional design, skills and the aesthetics of everyday life’ (Anon. n.d.: para. 2 line 1,2). During the second half of the 19thcentury, some leading British personalities rose against the impoverishment of craftsmanship (Renauld, MA & BA Art History and Archaeology, 2020). The practitioners of the movement strongly believed that the connection forged between the artist and his work through handcraft was the key to producing both human fulfillment and beautiful items that would be useful on an everyday basis (The Art Story.: para. 3 line 1). Thus, Morris insisted that the artist should be a craftsman-designer working by hand (Foo. 2018.: para. 1 line 22,23). The Art and Craft was the movement that celebrate the ethic and human creativity (Anon. n.d.: para. 2 line 1). This helped artists as they could not compete with a fast industrial production and its lower prices. Morris pushed the movement by convincing people to ‘change the manufacturing conditions in order to reinstate the social relations of production’ (Krugh 20145).

Morris teamed with other artist to design object that cover all people standard of living regardless of the expenses and time put in, but still the middle class people did not afford. So, some artists used their skills to design similar design at a low price for the middle class people. As many people who were working were paid less the art and craft movement gave them permission to use their skills and talents in their spare time to produce goods and be able to sell them. From around 1850 up until the First World War the Arts and Crafts movement dive into the Dress Reform Movement, which gathered momentum in the same period (Anon. n.d.: para.7 line 1,2). William Morris and some friends founded the firm of Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co which firm produced high-quality textiles designs of which some are still known till today (Renauld, MA & BA Art History and Archaeology, 2020). Marshall and Snelgrove used the European Art and Craft movement as an inspiration on designing a coat that had the medieval decorative elements (Poliakoff. 2005.: para. 1 line 1). The embroidery were one of the most favored element of the Art and craft fashion community (Anon. n.d.: para. 3 line 1). The Scottish artist in 1894 established a Department of Embroidery at the Glasgow School of Art to "teach embroidery in a modern manner for use on modern garments"(Anon. n.d.: para. 3 line 6,7,8). Also ‘The work of William Morris (1834 – 1896) made the ornate and fanciful renderings of exotic blooms that had been fashionable in the middle of the 19th century look mannered and out of date” (Anon. n.d.: para. 5 line 3,4,5). The art and craft movement perve the path for artist to unlock their talents and polish their skills that were rejected by the Industrial Revolution. People also moved to rural place to find the simple life they could resonate with. The most common thing about the movement was collaboration of artist and sharing of skills of which other are being passed on to our generation.

Reference list

Anon. n.d. An introduction to the Aesthetic Movement: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/an-introduction-to-the-aesthetic-movement (Accessed 25 September 2021)

Anon. n.d. How Arts and Crafts influenced fashion. Available: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/how-arts-and-crafts-influenced-fashion (Accessed 26 September 2021). Chatterjee. 2020. Post industrialism and the Long Arts And Crafts Movement: between Britain, India, and the United States Of America Available: https://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=9&sid=42340fac-f7bb4e8b-a154-efa403303d5d%40sessionmgr4008 (Accessed 25 September 2021) Foo. 2018. Lecture2 arts & crafts movement. Available: https://www.slideshare.net/SimonFoo6/lecture2-arts-crafts-movement (Accessed 27 September 2021). Vam. N.d. Arts and Crafts: an introduction(image). Available: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/arts-and-crafts-an-introduction (Accessed 25 September 2021) Krugh. 2014. Joy in Labour: The Politicization of Craft from the Arts and Crafts Movement to Etsy. Available: https://eds.a.ebscohost.com/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=19&sid=8ede11a1-2e35- 416c-9bb4-d51176fe8aa7%40sessionmgr4006 (Accessed 24 September 2021). Poliakoff. 2005. Coat. Available: https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O110232/coatmarshall-and-snelgrove/ (Accessed ELLABASTIDACONTEXTUALSTUDIES. 2016. Nature Versus Machine: Arts and Crafts Movement – 16/02/16. Available: https://ellabastidacontextualstudies.wordpress.com/2016/05/09/nature-versus-machinearts-and-crafts-movement-160216/ (Accessed 21 November 2021). Renauld. M, MA & BA Art History and Archaeology. 2020. The Effects Of The Industrial Revolution vs. Arts & Crafts Movement. Available: https://www.thecollector.com/industrial-revolution-arts-and-crafts/(Accessed 21 November 2021)