- Gesamtkunstwerk
sounds like a mouthful, and it is.
But broken down, it translates from German to English
as a total work of art.
The Arts and Crafts Movements incorporated this idea
as it evolved.
The point of design as a trigger for social change
would be more relevant if it applied to all aspects
of life, from design of all items to a social structure.
Unexpectedly, Gesamtkunstwerk began as an idea
from a composer famous for robust operas
with Brunhilde the Valkyrie, Richard Wagner.
He proposed the artwork of the future can only blossom
if theater, dance, and music work hand in hand
with architecture, painting, and sculpture.
The members of the Arts and Crafts Movement
took this concept and applied it to their approach.
Now, a designer should design every element in a house
from a chair to the dinner plates.
Every item designed in unison would work together
and change the home life.
Nothing in the house could be considered too small
or unimportant to not be designed with craft and pride.
The members of a household would live in harmony
if their entire environment followed the same aesthetic.
There would be no more arguments, disorder,
chaos, or unhappy residents.
This new approach added a layer to the family home
as a moral statement.
Harmonious and good people lived in well-designed
surroundings with finely crafted and designed items.
Mass produced, decorative, and cheap products
created households that would be morally corrupt
and rife with disorder, alcoholism and a range
of unsavory practices.
Gesamtkunstwerk also incorporated the concept
of national identity into all design.
In England, a traditional cottage with a natural garden
represented a sense of pride and longing
for a simpler time.
In America, this idea was seen with Spanish Mission
or early American Colonial styles.
German houses followed a humble Alpine style
as a total work of art for the domestic sphere.
There was major contradiction to the concept,
even though many of the artisan designers
of the Arts and Crafts Movement pursued the
hand made over mass production.
It was the growth of materials and production techniques
that allowed for this idea.
New machines created the tools and provided
the economic means to pursue a fine
limited edition book or one-of-a-kind cabinet.
An architect could design a house, all the furniture,
textiles, dinnerware, and lighting,
but without factory production of new materials,
none of the items could be produced.
Frank Lloyd Wright, the American architect,
believed in Gesamtkunstwerk wholeheartedly.
He stated, "The architect not only sees more or less
"clearly the nature of the materials,
"but in his own trained imagination
"and by virtue of his own feelings,
"he qualifies it as a whole."
After finishing the design of an office building,
all the furniture, and lighting, he complained
that he was not allowed to restyle the telephones.
One aspect of Gesamtkunstwerk was the desire
to design everything with one aesthetic.
The other furthered the idea that all the arts,
from architecture to book design,
were equally important and deserving of the highest quality.
The break from a traditional artistic hierarchy,
with painting and sculpture considered art at the top
and graphics arts and products as a trade at the bottom,
changed the dynamic of the profession and paved the way
for the growth of graphic design in the 20th Century.