Ornamental Design Media Blitzkreig
Posted in Discourse on Thu Sep 21, 06 by Kyle under 19th Century and Decorative Arts.
If the New York Times says it, and no-one on Apartment Therapy listens can it still be true? After nearly a century of egregious contempt from high-style minded critics it looks as if the century that brought us the domestic use of electricity, the telephone, the bicycle, photography, film, the recording of sound, canned food, flush toilets, large scale public transportation, the study of psychology, department stores, metal and glass as structural building materials, and pre-perforated cross-stitch cards may finally be getting some serious attention in regards to its aesthetic output.
If you didn’t see it, the New York Times published a little missive headlined After Midcentury Modern, What’s Old Looks New today contemplating the future of trends in the high end design and antiques collecting market. Personally, I don’t think there should be that much of a distinction between “design” and “antiques” other than the technicalities of age. It’s all design in the end, but that is another discussion. Getting back to the article the Times focuses on the “Biennale des Antiquaires, Europe’s best-known art and antiques fair” and the dominating prevalence of 20th century pieces (including a fifty-five year old library table by Charlotte Perriand with a two million dollar price tag!) and the comparatively small selection of 18th century furniture and the near dearth of 19th century pieces. Per their regular milieu, the Times focuses all of its decorative attention on the ultra-first-class seats of a direct flight from Paris to New York, citing Parisian decorator François-Joseph Graf among others as stirring the beginnings of a new found appreciation of the 19th century.
And now just for fun, a brief interlude with some pictures of Renaissance Revival furniture I found on eBay or some other auction site long ago.
And now, back to our regularly scheduled blogging program.
Two quotes cut to the heart of the matter. The first came from Odile Nouvel, the curator of the 19th-century collections at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs (My dream job!):
People “are now ready to see the 19th century in a more complex, interesting way than a decade ago,” Ms. Nouvel said. “That’s a big change.”
The second from New York decorator Juan Pablo Molyneux:
“There are extraordinary pieces, but it’s like a theme park. Why would you go through that again?”
Clearly there are many varied opinions on this matter. Part of my personal obsession with the 19th century is exactly the “theme park” quality cited by Molyneux. There are so many different styles and all are highly imaginative and varied. They reference the past, but in such a way that is clearly a new and fresh interpretation for its time. For all of its perceived genius in “clarity,” “simplicity,” and “utility” the Modern movement and its children are thoroughly unskilled in the picturesque, the grand, the fantastic, the mystic, and the opulent, characteristics the 19th century embraced in droves.
As noted above, the article concerns itself exclusively with the very wealthiest of collectors and makes no mention of how this potential trend might develop in the more frugal echelons of the market. Doubtless, it would take a long time for such an enthusiasm to trickle down fully. But some furniture retailers are making strides in that direction. As the above goodnatured jab at the absolutely delightful readership of Apartment Therapy (which I am completely and utterly utterly addicted to) indicates there are still plenty of 19th century unbelievers out there. Check out the discussion concerning the recently released Brocade Home catalog if you want to take the pulse of the reception of the overtly ornamented among apartment aficionados. Between the NYT article and all of the Brocade Home reactions this week has been seeped in coverage of people’s love and hate of ornamental-minded design.
My biggest qualm with the article is that they made specific mention of the Herter Brothers, one of my most beloved cabinetmaking firms of the 19th century. Now everyone will know about them and I’ll have even more competition! This is the bad side of things you like gaining critical acclaim, people start to care and all the bargains vanish.