Applied Art

Function and Form

    “The Significance of Applied Art,” by Herman Muthesius talks about how applied art serves a specific purpose in our everyday lives. Muthesius makes it clear that applied art has changed in time from being more visually focused, to making sure that the piece has visual interest while serving it’s particular function with ease. This is particularly important nowadays that implied art does it’s job with efficiency, because of the fast paced American lifestyle. Applied art is also significant when it comes to the economy, because it causes people to focus more on the function and design of an object as a whole, rather than believing that it is necessary to buy something soley for it's function, or soley for it's design appeal. Applied art is apart of American art culture, because it is so prevelent nowadays for artists to create artwork that have another purpose rather than just for their beauty. For when an artist is creating a chandelier (like the one shown below), it is more important as a craftsman to make sure that the chandelier is lighting up the desired space, rather than it just looking pretty hanging from the ceiling.

    Many different aspects of life influence applied art: the economy, artistic, and cultural. All three impact how products are produced, because it is important to create interest in a piece while also holding its function.

Unique Wooden Chandelier that also serves it's purpose in creating light

Fine China is a good example of applied art

 Crafty

      “The Manifesto of the Staatliche Bauhaus in Weimar,” by Walter Gropius discusses the importance in creating crafts in order to be a successful designer. I agree with this statement, because your design instincts begin with simple crafts. It allows you to get familiar with materials such as fabrics, which will only help you become more knowledgable as a designer later on in life. Crafting will also allow you to get informed with basic principals like making clean lines, using different materials, and creating an eye-catching piece that serves a purpose.

Weaving bracelets is an example of a craft but it is the basis to weaving applied art such as a basket

Crafts are a way to get your creative juices going, colliding function and form

 Function > Form

     LeCorbusier discusses how the importance of function outweighs form completely, but it seems as if designers have lost touch with this idea lately.  He reminds us how it is important to remember how the use of an object is also what satisfies us, not just by its appearance. Artists and designers seem to focus on the beauty of the product they are creating, but if it is supposed to be applied art, then the real main focus should first be on how they are going to achieve that function. Design should always come after making the function of the applied art, because the purpose of the object is what will be most important to the consumer. 

The Guggenheim Musuem is a good example of how the architect and designers let design and form come before funtion. This musuem turned out to not work, because the musuem needed flat walls to display the artwork, but instead the walls were rounded, therefore the artwork could not lay flat against the wall.