(RFS) Decorating into Intimidation and The Age of Infertility

Herman Muthesius and Henry van de Velde had it out on day at the Deustcher Werkbund Conference in 1914. They fought over the role of their institution (to design for the built environment and promote their crafts etc..).

Muthesius wrote: (with numbers) 2. universal high taste has not been achieved / 3. "that the world will buy our products when they achieve convincing stylistic expression / 5. decoration into intimidation will signal a relapse wherein all hope for unified design is lost. / 7. This new standard of style should be brought to the world through publication and exposure.

van de Veldes response (with a similar numerical order):

1. The essence of an artist is that of a "burning idealist, a free spontaneous creator"=

3. The development of high culture does not happen over night, instead it is a recurring culmination of the preceding culture that occurs over generations and that to impose a standard on the world at this point (1914) would

5. Destroy the embryo in the egg.

van de Veldes argues that the creative approach (however it may come) is partially birthed by the "differentiated execution, and not through standardisation of creativity and that therefore imposing a standard "form" on the world runs contrary to the spirit of unified artistic expression. (which in my opinion falls along the lines of "free" artistic expression and not necessarily unified anyway.)

I disagree with van de Veldes second to last point (8.) where he summarizes the way arts help develop and influence the world and create a unified culture.

Quality will not be created out of the spirt for export. Quality is always firstly created exclusively for a quite limited circle of connoisseurs and those who commission the work. These gradually gain confidence in their artists; slowly there develops first a narrower then a national clientele, and only then do foreign countries.

I think it is obvious that the optimum approach is twofold. First that the freedom of expression should work its way through quality (either from the top down, or from the bottom up.) Secondly, that the scientific definition of standards should (like furniture) be continuously refreshed and made public so that the overall systems of creative expression can then continuously push the limits of possibility and thusly refresh necessary standards.