The Language of Ornament (World of Art) - Softcover

Trilling, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0500203431 ISBN 13: 9780500203439

Publisher: Thames & Hudson, 2001

Synopsis

Ornament, the art of decorative patterning, includes some of the most spectacular creations of human imagination and skill. Although the fashion for unadorned form pushed ornament to the margins of Western taste in the twentieth century, an ornamental revival is now under way. This book introduces the global panorama of ornament and will be of value to crafts people, collectors, and students of art history. Trilling's approach is both visual and historical. With over 200 illustrations, he presents the dazzling variety of ornament so that the reader can appreciate both its inherent form and the role it has played in everything from the monumental architecture of Mycenaean Greece to the inlaid vessels of Zhou Dynasty China, from the bronze mirrors of Early Celtic Britain to the carved and woven ornament of the Indians of Alaska and British Columbia. The characteristics of individual styles are balanced against their evolution and interaction from the Paleolithic Age to the present day. Special attention is paid to patterns that migrate across large stretches of space and time, showing how ornament becomes a record of cultural interaction through trade, conquest, and the spread of religions. Finally, Trilling explores the fate of ornament since the beginning of modernism in the early twentieth century. Modernism actually nurtured a vibrant and original ornamental style of its own, one so different from traditional ornament that its true nature went virtually unrecognized. Ornament in the postmodern era is open to any number of possible innovations, combining the modernist legacy with forms and principles from the world of traditional ornament. 50 color and 175 b/w illustrations.

About this title

About the Author

James Trilling served as curator of Old World Textiles at the Textile Museum in Washington and taught at the Rhode Island School of Design. He has published extensively on aspects of the history of ornament and on Byzantine art.

Reviews

Although the ornamental has, in mainstream art-history circles, become "acceptable again" after long-running modernist attacks, its "rehabilitation is far from complete," laments James Trilling (Ornament), former curator at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C. The Language of Ornament, a visual and historical study with 246 illustrations (68 in color), begins in the Paleolithic era (an English hand-ax) and ends with Matisse and a back-to-the-future look at one of the oldest forms of ornament: tattoos. Trilling's unabashed apologia for the beleaguered art form will speed its recovery.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Considered one of the four major categories of art along with architecture, sculpture, and painting, ornament is broadly defined as a complicated decorative patterning device that may exude intense emotion, give pleasure, and enhance beauty. Trilling, who was curator of Old World Textiles at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC, and who taught at the Rhode Island School of Design, provides historical context for ornamentation and traces its use, development, and meaning from Paleolithic times to the present. His beautifully integrated text is accompanied by descriptive illustrations and dazzling examples. Broad chapters highlight the appreciation of ornament, sketches in art history, ornament as conventional system, and ornament in the age of modernism. A welcome addition to all libraries with a focus on design and design techniques. Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Libs., Johnson City Art Instruction By Daniel Lombardo, formerly with Jones Lib., Amherst, MA
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0500203431
• ISBN 13: 9780500203439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224