compare and contrast the principle elements of the movement...

Good Morning Friend,
I am not sure I understand what you are looking for as Stonecat explained the elements in the other post. You say compare, compare to what?

Please give us a little more detail of what you seek.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

quote:

Originally posted by bronwen:
compare and contrast the principle elements of the movement...

Ahhhh, now this is a challenging question ! ...assuming I know what you're talking about

Despite the seemingly unquestionable virtue of the philosophy of the movement, the 'principle elements' as professed by Stickley and Hubbard and others, were also the things that ultimately contributed to the death of the movement. For example, Gustav's philosophy and furniture reflected the ideals of strength, durability, handcraftmanship (to a certain degree), and so on, but ultimately he produced a relatively expensive product which was not affordable to the commoner, and as a result he went bankrupt. This 'contrast' is quite ironic because it was the common man who, in theory, was the slave that the philosphy was trying to liberate from industrialization, and turn him into a social artist and craftsman. The irony of course continues to this day because much of the work of Gus and the Roycrofters etc. is for the most part still unaffordable to most common folks (like me ). Nonetheless, Gus and others ignited and influenced a surge in manufacturing of furniture and other wares, that copied and translated the 'movement' into more affordable goods for the masses. This in itself could also be seen as ironic because much of this other furniture was mass-produced on assembly lines with lesser degrees of handcraftmanship (which of course irked Gus). However, much of the product of the other makers from Grand Rapids and other areas, survives to this day because it has ended up being relatively durable, functional, unique, and aesthetic work. In contrast there was also a significant amount of junk produced and slowly, surely, and thankfully it is disappearing from the market.

The 'comparison and contrast' of the 'principle elements' thus seems to be full of ironic circumstance, both in the movement of the past and the movement of the present.

So that's my little view, with a focus on Gus and the furniture business, for what it's worth.

not sure how more to explain it more, it was a question given to me and i was completely baffled by it, so seeked help from you all. sorry.

Does it make a difference if i change the wording from movement to style? As is in, compare and contrast the principle elements of the arts and crafts style...

quote:

Originally posted by bronwen:
not sure how more to explain it more, it was a question given to me and i was completely baffled by it, so seeked help from you all. sorry.

It's a legitimate question from the academic and philosophical standpoint, and this sub-forum is called Defining the Movement, afterall. The problem, however, is that it's such a broad topic. There are writers and scholars out there who have written both popular literature and academic papers on questions like this, and it's difficult to know where to start or where to point to, for the best references. My little snippet is just one train of thought on comparing and contrasting some of the elements, but there are several other avenues that could be explored.

I'm guessing the question is from some sort of college or university school assignment, maybe an essay project. If so, I'm curious to know what school, and class, and what year of study - it would be cool to know who's teaching this stuff.

3rd year interior design course, studying at a university in south africa, cape town.

quote:

Originally posted by bronwen:
3rd year interior design course, studying at a university in south africa, cape town.

Very cool, thanks. Is the focus on the English movement or the American movement or both, because there is a difference between the two?

It doesn't specify whether it is British or american, so i assume both, although the course notes focus mainly on the British.

Most of the talk in this forum is on the American side of things, so I don't know how much more help might surface here. Nonetheless, good luck with the project.

Another thought - given that it is an interior design course here are a couple other sites you might find interesting:

http://www.ambungalow.com/AmBungalow/home.htm

http://www.style1900.com