Karl Blossfeldt: Superb Pioneering Botanical Photographs

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt

Karl Blossfeldt made many of his incredible botanical photographs with a home-made camera that could magnify the subject up to thirty times its size, revealing details within a plant's natural structure. 

Appointed for a teaching post at the Institute of Royal Arts Museum in 1898 (where he remained until 1930), he established an archive for his photographs. 

Blossfeldt never received formal training in photography. The ingenious artist developed a series of home-made cameras that allowed him to photograph plant surfaces in unprecedented magnified detail. This reflected his enduring interest in the repetitive patterns found in nature's textures and forms.

Archibold Knox: Art Nouveau Jewelry

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox 

Archibald Knox (1864- 1933) was born on the Isle of Man. He studied at the Douglas School of Art with an emphasis on Celtic ornamentation. 

In 1897, he began working on designs for still existing department store Liberty & Co. of London that, since 1880, produced Arts and Crafts-style furniture following the new concept of the renaissance of applied arts initiaded by William Morris. 

In 1899 the first handmade "Cymric" (pronounced "Koomric") silver pieces were starting to be produced -- many designed by Knox. All those items were decorated by interlaced symbols, curves, stylized plant or flowers, and symmetric ornaments. Thorough those years, the names "Liberty" and "Art Nouveau" became synonymous. 

In 1900 Archibal Knox returned to the Isle of Man except for a period in 1912, when Knox ceased to work for Liberty's and went to America where he designed carpets for Bromley & Co of Philadelphia.

A description of Knox's new Celtic range from a Liberty & Co. catalogue of 1899-1900 shows how keen Arthur Liberty was to promote his work:

"The especially interesting feature is its complete and unmistakable differentiation from all other descriptions of modern silverwork. The suggestion, as it were, having its origin in the work of a far earlier period than the greater part of the gold and siler plate ornaments to be found even in the Royal Collections today, the bulk of which only dates back to the Restoration. Cymric silver, although original and initiatory of a new school of work, is suggestive of a more remote era than this, and simplicity is the keynote of its design"

In 1902, Knox also designed some of famous Liberty's "Tudric" pewter series, very similar to the Jugendstil pewterware made in Germany. 

Many of the designers used by Liberty & Co. were key figures in the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements. These figures included Lindsay P. Butterfield, a leading figure in textiles, and Archibald Knox, a fine designer in all areas of art. Arthur Liberty was instrumental in the development of Art Nouveau through his encouragement of such designers. He proceeded to make the store one of the most prestigious and profitable in London. 

Many objects were certainly designed by "Archibald Knox," however the name of Archibald Knox does not appear on any of the objects that he designed for Liberty, as this was not the company's practice. Most of their records were destroyed in the London blitz of WW II and, because of this, many items are 'attributed to Archibald Knox,' however it is agreed by devotees of Knox's work that his mark of genius is unmistakable. 

The works of Archibald Knox were inspired by Celtic ornamental details, which became English Art Nouveau trademarks. He designed elegant vases, candelabra, chalices, boxes, and baskets, as well as clocks made in silver and pewter. They were shaped into innovative forms, with functional lines and harmonious contours and some were enhanced by enamels or blue-green polished stones or semi-precious stone cabochons.

Bertha Lum: Color Woodblock Prints

Bertha Lum

Bertha Lum

Bertha Lum

Bertha Lum

Bertha Lum

Bertha Lum made a significant contribution to the Japonisme movement with her woodblock prints and paintings. Lum's prints combine sinuous Art-Nouveau curves with flat planes of color that harken back to 19th century ukiyo-e. The subject of her work ranges from children to landscapes to mysterious figures from Asian folklore and legend. Perhaps because she was a foreigner and could only experience Asian life on the outside, Lum envisioned Asia as an exotic, magical place full of lantern light, swirling smoke, and smiling women, a vision which still appeals to viewers today.

Bertha Lum was born Bertha Boynton Bull in Tipton, Iowa to parents who were amateur artists. Although her family was not well-off, she was able to study for a year at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1895, and apparently worked as an artist during her youth. Around this time there were several important exhibitions which helped to popularize Japanese art and culture in America, including the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. Lum's interest in Japanese prints may also have stemmed from Arthur Wesley Dow's art textbook, 'Composition', which featured his own color woodblock prints. In 1902, one of Lum's art teachers, Frank Holme, was inspired to try his hand at color printmaking. It would not be long before Lum got a similar opportunity.

In 1903, Bertha married Bert Lum, a corporate lawyer, and persuaded him to travel to Japan on their honeymoon. Lum was expecting to find many artists working as printmakers, but during this time, Japanese printmaking was in serious decline. It would be several years before the publisher Watanabe Shozaburo revitalized traditional Japanese printmaking with the shin hanga movement. Fortunately, on one of her last days in Yokohama, Lum happened across an old printmaking shop. She was able to learn a little about the printmaking technique and buy the necessary tools to get started.

It would be four years before Lum was able to return to Japan for further study. In the meantime, she made several noteworthy woodblock prints. These prints clearly show the influence of both French Impressionism and ukiyo-e. Theatre Street, made by Lum in 1905, employs a diagonal perspective that is similar in composition to prints by Hiroshige. But unlike crisply outlined ukiyo-e designs, Lum's work is softly printed with rich clouds of light and shadow. Lum only used a few sharp outlines in the foreground to delineate the figures closest to the viewer. The other figures fade into the misty night, giving the print a sense of drama and depth.

In 1907, Lum made her second trip to Japan, primarily to learn more about Japanese printmaking. Through a letter of introduction, Lum was able to study carving in the workshop of Bonkotsu Igami, a master carver. Lum worked there every day for two months, being taught mainly by Igami's two 12-year old apprentices. After Igami was satisfied with her level of competency at carving, he introduced her to a master printer. Lum learned by watching printers work from her own blocks, and later practiced their techniques of subtle gradients and layered colors. During her early years, Lum insisted on carving and printing her own prints, and she became masterful at both skills. However on subsequent trips to Japan, Lum decided to hire carvers and printers to work under her direct supervision. The Japanese system of collaborative printmaking was more practical and efficient than working alone. It made sense for Lum to work this way, as she was not only trying to establish herself as an artist, but also to raise two young children.

After Lum's third visit to Tokyo in 1911, her prints were featured in the Tenth Annual Art Exhibit in Ueno Park in 1912. She was the only Western artist in the show, and her prints were remarkably modern compared to her Japanese contemporaries. Based on the enthusiastic response to her work, Lum soon had print exhibitions at galleries in Chicago and New York. Lum's work was increasingly influenced by the stories of Lafcadio Hearn, a Westerner who translated Japanese legends and fairy tales into popular books.