Since the movement of the Arts and Crafts until the Art Deco movement, we saw a total rejection of the Victorian style and historicism that came with an unity and solidarity between the different arts. That led to some prominent figures of these movements to master different arts by studying painting, architecture and sculpture for example. The movement of the Arts and Crafts helped somehow to establish the profession of the decorator because they valued personal style inside the homes.
However, when the Art Deco movement rose into prominence, there was a conflict between two categories, which were the functionalists and the decorators. The functionalists concentrate more on the function and how it relates to form when it comes to objects. While the decorators or "ensembliers" rely more on the aesthetic aspect of objects and sometimes promotes the excess of accessories and furnishings.
More and more, people saw a need to establish the profession of an interior designer and first it came as a person who could fulfill the job by furnishing an interior with a certain style period (Interior decorator). That rise of the decorator was helped by the rise of the wealthy class that wanted help on how to reflect their statuses within the interiors.
What is great, is that coming with the rise of the decorator, some women that became prominent figures in the design field came to be interested in fulfilling the job such as Elsie de Wolfe and Dorothy Draper. And I believe it led the way for women and girls like us in today's world to be able to do so and study in this field.
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| An Elsie de Wolfe interior. |
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Tea house interior by Elsie de Wolfe.
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Current Applications: Interior works made by women
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| An interior by Laura Day. |
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Work by Kelly Hoppen.
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ONE STEP FURTHER...
Dorothy Draper (1889- 1969) was an American Interior Decorator. According to her firm's website, Dorothy was the first person to professionalize interior design as a profession. Coming from an aristocratic family from New York called the Tuckerman, she relied on social connections to be able to do her work. She had no formal training.
She is the pioneer of the Modern Baroque style. Dorothy Draper is known to incorporate clear vivid colors in her interiors because she said and believed that "
Lovely, clear colors have a vital effect on our mental happiness."
Martha,
ReplyDeleteI am extremely glad that you included how necessary it was for these women to pave a path for our futures. We would not be where we are at today because of it. I also enjoyed seeing your current applications of interiors by women, versus finding design elements that were known ultimately because of the female designer behind them.
Martha, thank you for pointing out the significance of female designers, such as Dorthy Draper and Elsie de Wolfe. They were role models, who most definitely inspired many women (and men also) to pursue carriers in interior design.
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