Tuesday, January 30, 2007
I personally believe that the Victorian area was not as aesthetically pleasing as other periods. The cluttered rooms as well as the darkness from the textiles being used created a very gloomy atmosphere. However, I think it is hard to argue that the decor was not successful for the time because people were so proud to actually own and display the personal "stuff" that was becoming available at this time. I favor the American take on Victorian style over that of England's. It seems to be a bit more conservative and free of clutter which allows for the actual style of this era to be seen.
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I agree because of the display of many things one could not concentrate on one main space. I respect the Victorian styles because of the detail put into everything from interior to exterior. Nothing was simple everything had a decoration or color of some sort. Architects and designs used the more organic styles to make designs unique but sometimes cluttered. Victorian is not one of my favorite periods but it is one that I can respect because of the detail used and techniques used and also passed on to later periods. Just like the industrial revolutions had on this period
Architecture during the Victorian period was not the main focus for showing your stature in society like it is today. The "stuff" you owned was what made who you were. This is what made the Victorian Era. Although I agree that it is overly done in almost every aspect, I can respect what they were trying to do at this time. Today we do the same things just with expensive cars and huge houses instead of massive amounts of ornate "things".
Its interesting because after I read brittany's post it changed my thoughts on the victorian era and today in a way. The victorian era had very "cluttered" interiors and very "cluttered" exteriors. But if you think about it, it is not much different than today, as brittany brought up. Back then all they wanted all those "things" for was to put themselves in a "class" and seem better than other people in a way. That is the same as what happens today, only in todays standards everything is bigger and more, rather than just more more more!! Its interesting that you can tie the past with today in that way.
'Over doing' Interiors is always a problem (even today). Perhaps the problem was not the era but the stratification between the middle and upper classes. (Haven’t' the wealthy always over done things?) And if it was not only an issue of class could it be that some design mistakes are good?
Design happens in cycles. Look at fashion. It always starts out very basic then it becomes increasingly elaborate until we finally grow tired of our doorknocker earrings and elephant legged pants. Need Proof? Compare the Madonna 80's to the Armani 90's.
Decoration and design will always go wild as it did in the Victorian era. Don't fight it. Go with it! And when you see Design that is too damn cluttered for words just realize that a simpler time is just around the corner.
I am a fan of the Arts and Crafts movement, and during the Victorian era I see the early beginnings of A & C Architecture which is good. On the other hand, the Victorian interiors were not very pleasing at all.
The fact that they had nothing but clutter shows their laziness from having a lack of servants, their lack of taste derived from years of not thinking on their own, and lastly because of their awe inspiring ability to rely on space as a means of presenting themselves when in actuality they only take up about 2 square feet.
They werent people, they were puppets.
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