The Glasgow Institute and "The Four"

Leave it to Scotland to pipe in their say in the field of Graphic Design...

Okay, so not what I meant.

Anyway, during the 1890's there was a gathering in Scotland...

No, a gathering, not a...

Seriously? Can we do this, or not?

Like I said, in the 1890's, on the heals of the American Architect Frank Loyd Wright, there was a move away from the heavy influence of curvilinear lines into something more rectilinear, in the Art Nouveau movement.
 

Wright had always thought that an organic design would be “something in which the part is to the whole as the whole is to the part, and which is all devoted to a purpose.” Basically, Wright saw the design as rooted in the spaces where people actually lived and worked, not just the facades out front. Some could argue that his use of space was honed by his time running a printing press as a young man.

Wright's use of line was noted by a group of young design students at the Glasgow School of Art.


Margaret MacDonald was a diverse artists, having her hands in embroidery, metal work, and textiles. She partnered with her husband, architect and designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh, on collaborations he would credit her with for providing much of the inspiration; saying “Margaret has genius, I only have talent.” 

She also collaborated with her sister Frances on projects. Frances met and soon married designer and teacher Herbet MacNair; they all attending night classes at the Glasgow Art Institute. With Margaret in prominence, they formed a collective often referred to in, in the art and design world, as “The Four”; helping develop what would come to known as “The Glasgow Style” in the late 1890's and early twentieth century

The May Queen by Margaret and Frances MacDonalnd

Well, it wasn't too well received, at first, that's for sure. In fact, The Four were often referred to as The Spook School for the ghostly ghoulish images they showed portraying hobgoblins by misty moonlight; at least as the critics saw it rom their works displayed at the 1896 Arts and Crafts Exhibition in London.

Inspired heavily on ancient mysticism, folklore, and Celtic symbology, The Glasgow Style did, eventually prove influential, however. It spawned a host of artists that worked in the new way, and made its mark on designers, and their designs.

Personally, I love Art Nouveau. But I also hold a special place in my heart for the "Glasgow Style". Perhaps it's the affinity for the bold lines and symbolic styling that I can relate to, in comics. The use of negative spaces, and the binding of the more rectangular lay out does smack of panels, for sure.

There's, also, a peculiar way that the sweeping lines play well against these edged boxes that compliments each other, very well.  And, as I've said, before, this influence made its way down through all sort of design applications; still being felt, today.



Pictured above; works from a recent Glasgow Style show.

Again, I love this particular style. Not only are the design elements esthetically pleasing, but they also have the kind of storytelling character that the MacDonald sisters first drew from, back in the late 1890's. Married with Wright's sensibilities for negative space, and playing the line versus curve effectively, The Glasgow Style has a unique look that stands out well in the history of art and design.

Of course, I have to admit, as bearing some small piece of Scottish decent, that, besides its essential design and influence through out the world of graphic design and art, there may be another reason I'm so particular to this style for the Art Nouveau movement...

 And who's going to argue with him?