Ornament, a passing trend? Ornament or decoration is used to embellish buildings, objects, interior furnishings, textiles and even human bodies for the sake of telling a story and simple visual pleasure. It can be traced back to the beginning of mankind and prehistoric cave paintings. The ancient Egyptians were the first recorded civilization to decorate their buildings. Styles of ornament have a long, rich, cultural history but were shunned from Western design for most of the 20th century. Throughout Europe during the 15th to 19th centuries an abundance of Pattern Books were published giving access to decorative elements from all over the world. Napoleon documented the great pyramids and temples of Egypt in Description de l’Egypt (1809) and Owen Jones (1809-1874, Welsh architect and decorative artist) published The Grammar of Ornament (1856) with over 3000 full-page colour illustrations of decorative arts and styles from different cultures becoming an invaluable tool for designers. Today, one of the largest collections of pattern books can be purchased from The Dover Bookshop, London. There hasn’t been a significant ornamental style since William Morris (1834-1896, British artist & writer) As a principle founder of the British Arts & Crafts and pioneer of the Socialist Movement, he and a group of reformers, during the second half of the 19th century, tried to create a market for ornament in a modernizing world and encourage the revival of traditional crafts believing it created a superior quality product. Unfortunately the cost of production meant these products were only available to the elite. Sanderson & Sons purchased Morris & Co, best know for their wallpaper and furnishing fabrics, in 1927 and are still producing new interpretations of the classic designs. So why was ornament so abruptly exiled? Firstly, the explosion of machine production in the 19th century destroyed the skills necessary to create it and the ability to understand and appreciate it and secondly, Modernism. A term that covered a range of movements and styles that rejected historical context and applied ornament. Modernists desired to create a better world and believed that art and design could transform society. The Modernist Movement began in 1908 when Adolf Loos (1870-1933, Viennese Architect) declared in his essay Ornament & Crime that all non-functional ornamentation should be eliminated. He believed that ornament was economically inefficient and reducing it was a sign of progress. Sadly, Loos did not always practice what he preached and created “modernist ornament”, experimenting with the natural patterns of natural materials such as marble, wood and stone with not particularly attractive results. Thankfully as fashion and trends evolve and ideologies and design dictators lose their influence, ornament is becoming fashionable again and a new ornamental style has emerged – Techno-romanticism. Using computer technology as a medium for expression combined with principles from the Romanticism movement of the late 18th century, a deep belief in the beauty of nature, emotion over reason, folklore, imagination and individuality to create a sensuous decorative style. Tord Boontje is probably the most celebrated proponent of Techno-romanticism successfully applying it not just to fabrics but also to lighting, ceramics, glassware and furniture. Other names of note for which ornamentation forms an integral part of their work, are the architects Klein Dytham and Hella Jongerius who fuses traditional craft techniques with high tech materials. New production techniques are now making it possible to apply ornamentation to mass-market products. LG Electronics have teamed up with Designers Guild to launch a limited edition steam washing machine. Nokia’s L’amour collection introduces etched metal and glass surfaces to the mobile phone market. And Louise Jenkins has designed a range of laser-etched cutlery for Habitat. While I commend these brave steps, if its just surface decoration without a more meaningful reason for its existence there’s a danger of it becoming yet another passing trend. I hope not. Nicole www.tordboontje.com www.william-morris.co.uk www.tordboontje.com www.klein-dytham.com www.jongeriuslab.com www.uk.lge.com/index.do www.designersguild.com www.nokia.co.uk/nokia/0,,83577,00.html www.habitat.net/uk/main_uk.htm