Protomodernism Part 1 and 2

        Protomoderism is an era that evolved from the Art nouveau and Arts and Crafts movement. It began in 1897 and ended in 1959. This Era rejected the historical styles and brought in more modern looks to this era. Protomoderism experimented with many factors that haven't been done in the past movements such as expanding on form and ideas. Many of the designers experimented with geometric shapes, primary colors and unity. 



Above is a Werkbund exhibition that was created in 1914. This building was a part of  the Deutscher Werkbund movement which was focused in Germany. Germany had a wide variety of impact on the protomoderism era. This movement in Germany was in relation to the arts and crafts movement. The Germans protested against the artistic establishment and set up the stage for the art deco style. Which all lead to the competitiveness in the German designs. Which then led to the Vienna Secession which was a worldwide that advanced in art,history, psychology and philosophy. This era was known for the fine and applied arts. 

This building above is the exhibition building in Vienna which was designed by Josef Olbrich.

This building was a symbol of a proto-modern building. It was considered to be festive and an architectural manifesto. This building was very festive and elegant with the gold and white elements throughout the exterior. With that being said the material that was used mainly in this era was beechwood,metal,aluminum and brass. One chair that resembles a majority of this material is the Postal Savings Bank Armchair designed by Otto Wagner.

This chair used stained beechwood,metal braces and aluminum/brass shoes. It was one of his designs that resembled the pure form of utilization and was practical.

Another essential chair that represented the Vienna Secession was  the Cafe museum chair created in  1898. It was influenced by Arts and crafts. With it being handmade and using the bracing for the legs. It incorporates both the movements.  This was a designer that was essential to contributing to this era.  His name was Adolf Loos who used pure forms also. Protomoderism was known for the purity in forms, modernism and advancing into what is shown today. 


As Protomoderism is well known in Germany and Australia it also expanded to the Netherlands which was also very popular. In their country they focused on De Stijl. Which means “ The style”. As I feel like this was heavily focused through this era. They were focused on keeping up to date with style throughout the years. This was relevant in 1917 to 1931. This focused on colors,shapes, vertical and horizontal lines. Everything seemed to be very geometric and simplistic. As for me I do love those elements in designing a place. I look for clean, simplistic but creative and I do think this movement is all those elements. 

    

                                                            

Shown above is the interior of the Schroder House with the interior being in hand with the concept of geometric shapes and use of primary colors. It is simple with modernist features. This house was inspired and designed by Gerrit Reitveld who had a big contribution to this movement in the netherlands. 

    

These chairs were some that he created through his time of being a designer. It was very eccentric to the elements that he strived for overall. 


With the  Protomoderism movement it has come a long way from where it sprung from. As I feel as it is the most used style in today's designs as a whole. Below are some features of the Protomoderism used today from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. 





 


Step Further:


Frank Llyod Wright


1857-1959


Frank was an early contributor to American Modernism. When he first started working as a designer he worked with Louis Sullivan. He mainly focused on residential homes in Chicago. His first business was in Oak Park illinois.  As A designer he mainly focused oon natural elements and included lots of glass. With that being said the color palette he used was from indigenous plants. I found that to be very intriguing as it was shown a lot through his buildings. Through this era he focused mainly on “ Prairie Style" which was mainly built in furniture, fireplace and unique light fixtures throughout the home. Overall he had a big contribution not only to Chicago but the movement evolving through his eyes of design. 


Sources:

 De Stiji Description: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOSvUfbPHpY


Adolf Loss Showing of furniture:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1m5NTOzB84


Otto Wagner Savings bank:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rt-EdwzKvg

Comments

  1. Eva SerratoFebruary 25, 2023 at 3:01 PM

    Kahlan,
    You did a great job mentioning the characteristics of protomodernism and explaining the different early works of the pioneers of this style. You gave great detail on the furniture also produced during this time and incorporated great pictures to help visualize the characteristics used in this particular style. Your "one step further" section was also interesting on how the architect used the characteristics of protomodernist to design his houses and pieces of work.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Professor VanderNoordaaFebruary 26, 2023 at 6:17 AM

    Kahlan,
    Thank you for this amazing post on Protomodernism. Your introduction featuring the Deutscher Werkbund Movement and Vienna Secession was great. I appreciate your images and information. I really enjoyed that your focused on the furniture of these designers. Your examples of chairs from Gerrit Reitveld were lovely.
    I also enjoyed your summary on the work of FLW and how Protomodernism influenced his design.
    Your current applications and sources were perfect!
    Total points: 50/50
    Great job!

    ReplyDelete

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