MODULE 5 - ART NOUVEAU AND THE GENESIS OF 20TH CENTURY DESIGN

This week's mission is to reflect on an individual from Chapters 11 and/or 12 - Art Nouveau/Genesis of 20th Century Design.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/mar/18/death-of-aubrey-beardsley-1898

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/beardsley-aubrey/

As an artist myself, who frequently creates pieces with stark black ink lines, Aubrey Beardsley's art (of the Art Nouveau period) stood out to me. Beardsley was considered a bit of a rebel during his heyday and was criticized for his "outrageous" work (1893 - 1896). 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/500336587/art-nouveau-aubrey-beardsley-art-nouveau?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_d-art_and_collectibles-prints-other&utm_custom1=_k_CjwKCAjw_L6LBhBbEiwA4c46ut6vWmbEY4KXUHeX-iks6ZDgYoPsVJ8A-e9t63TNpH-5NdP6GLbI_hoCn40QAvD_BwE_k_&utm_content=go_12569400421_122439148311_507438362879_pla-329595960451_c__500336587_102638416&utm_custom2=12569400421&gclid=CjwKCAjw_L6LBhBbEiwA4c46ut6vWmbEY4KXUHeX-iks6ZDgYoPsVJ8A-e9t63TNpH-5NdP6GLbI_hoCn40QAvD_BwE

Beardsley was referred to as the "Enfant Terrible" of art nouveau (Megg's 2016), which is French for "terrifying child". The term was used to describe Beardsley's art because it was considered controversial due to its distorted shapes and use of strong black shapes. It had Kelmscott influences, yet went strongly against this style by warping tradition. 

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/beardsley-cover-design-for-the-yellow-book-vol-i-n04171

Reviewing Beardsley's art, it is easy to see how it was commonly referred to as "the black spot" design. His art was used to illustrate a new edition of Morte d'Arthur and Beardsley's dynamic art led him to become the art editor of "The Yellow Book" which was a magazine that was known for art that shocked the art world of the period. Many of his compositions consisted of sweeping black designs and compositions were considered obscene at the time.  Beardsley spent most of his life unwell and his health was theorized to have contributed to his seemingly grotesque art form during this period (https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2020/mar/18/death-of-aubrey-beardsley-1898). Beardsley hit is prime when he was 20 years of age and was wildly popular for four years before tragically dying of tuberculosis at the age of 26. 

https://www.wikiart.org/en/aubrey-beardsley/cover-design-for-ali-baba-1897

Beardsley's art contributions were short yet very influential on graphic design of the period. His style changed the way people thought about art and advertising in the late 1800's and assisted with the transformation of poster production in America and Europe of the era (https://www.theartstory.org/artist/beardsley-aubrey/).