I agree with Adolf Loos Statement that “The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use”. Ornament in early communities with rich culture relies heavily on the use of ornament to tell there ancestral backgrounds, this is due to a lack of separation from the body to the current civilized forms of documentation, hence a large focus on the art of tattoos. Adolf Loos remarks, “The Papuan tattoos his skin, his boat, his oar, in short, everything that is within reach. He is no criminal. The modern man who tattoos himself is a criminal or degenerate”,
This desire to ornament the body is not so much for satisfaction, but of a need to keep culture alive. I believe that this need becomes less apparent as we become more civilized, this is due to a loss of cultural significants within society.
Adolf Loos writes, "The absence of ornament has raised the other arts to unknown heights". We tend to have a thirst for knowledge of the future, rather than of past or present, therefore our idea of the arts is constantly changing, hence we feel no need to ornament as our culture is defined by the broad spectrum of the arts and the modernist believes that simplicity is relevant to our times as economics and practicality has become the driving force behind the world. For example, this flat pack shelf is made to create the largest net profit and therefore simplicity of use with materials and space is prime.
Yehuda Safran, “Loos, Adolf,” The Groove Dictionary of Art Online, ed. L. Macy,This desire to ornament the body is not so much for satisfaction, but of a need to keep culture alive. I believe that this need becomes less apparent as we become more civilized, this is due to a loss of cultural significants within society.
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| Flat Pack Shelves |
Adolf Loos, ” The Industrial Design Reader” (1910)
Picture - http://www.jemllfixit.com/
Picture - http://www.jemllfixit.com/
