Analyzing the Total Work of Art Charles Renee Mackintosh Term Paper

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Total Work of Art: Charles Renee Mackintosh

Born on June 7, 1868, in Glasgow, Mackintosh, worked as an apprentice under one of the local architects named John Hutchison, however, he changed to the more stable and established Honeyman and Keppie city practice in 1889. As a way of complementing his architectural apprenticeship, Mackintosh got enrolled into evening classes at the school of art in Glasgow, where he partook in a number of drawing programs. While in the art school, Mackintosh in the company of Herbert MacNair, his friend and colleague, ran into the famous artist sisters, Frances and Margaret Macdonald. These four talented artists formed a group and specialized in furniture designs, illustration and metalwork, and developed several weird-looking images, which were very distinctive. Such images included abstracted female images and certain metamorphic lines that reminded one of Aubrey Beardsley. They got to be known as the spook school, a nickname they earned as a result of their unique style. However, in certain places like England, their works were received with a level of suspicion due to the decadent influence their works had on Continental Art Nouveau (The Glasgow School of Art). Here, under the keen eyes of Francis Newberry, the headmaster, he flourished in his profession and was able to consult the most recent architecture in the School's library and created journals with an increased awareness of the efforts of his likes, at home and in Diaspora. He was awarded a number of student prizes and won different competitions such as the coveted Alexander Thompson Travelling Studentship of 1890, which gave him the chance to embark on an architectural tour of Italy (Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society). Most of Mackintosh' work was carried out in Glasgow, which explains why the best among his works still remains in Glasgow till to-date. However, Mackintosh left Glasgow for London where he sought greener pastures, but unfortunately, he died in London unnoticed. Most people think it is ironic that his own native city gave him little or no recognition at that time. This was so unlike the recognition he received in Glasgow, where he came to be known as the originator of the famous Glasgow Style and among the major driving forces behind the modern approach to architecture (The Glasgow School of Art).

Gesamtkunstwerk, which literarily means, Total work of art, is the belief that all works of art, including music, painting, architecture, literature, etc., can be made into one interrelated topic, project and research. Using the term in architectural papers shows that the architect is solely responsible for designing and overseeing the totality of the building's shell, furnishings, accessories, and landscape.

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is known to be among those later architects who related intimately to the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk. The image in figure 1 is the Glasgow School of Art, which was one of the very first designs created by Mackintosh, and displays his obvious break with the culture. There is a clear contrast between the sandstone and the obvious smoothness of the massive paned windows, while there is a divergence of the visual geometric shape of the building from the lithe bends of black steel, which were located on the sill of the windows and placed in an arc above the entrance.

When they opened the Glasgow School of Art building to the general public in 1899, its critics became awed by the building's fine design and artistic simplicity (Muir, 7). They started taking note of Mackintosh as an architect to watch, even though he was never given full credit for the breathtaking design of the building, since all his designs were placed under his firm's signature. However, in 1901, Honeyman and Keppie made Mackintosh a partner when he was 33, partly due to his awesome and famous building design of the Glasgow Art School. This partnership gave him the opportunity to become more creative and equally the chance to receive full credit for his designs.

Figure 1: The Glasgow School of Art building (Adopted from Muir, 7)

With the huge influence Gesamtkunstwerk had on the increase in the twentieth century interior design popularity in Glasgow, the projects Mackintosh handled for Honeymen and Keppie in the early 1890s, showed an increased level of maturity. His (1894) Glasgow Herald Building design included some uncommon innovative technology such as a hydro-pneumatic lift system and fire-resistant concrete flooring made of diatomite. Later in (1895) at the Matrtyr's Public School, in spite of a restricted brief, he succeeded in introducing complex, but regulated detailing like the fundamental roof trusses.

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In 1893, at an architectural public lecture, Mackintosh presented an argument that both designers and architects ought to be given higher artistic independence and freedom. He started experimenting with several decorative ideas, creating new furniture designs, as well as graphic arts and metalwork (This included highly stylized watercolors and posters), always in partnership with Honeymen and Keppie, his friend and colleague, Herbert MacNair and two other students, Frances and Margret Macdonald (Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society).

Mackintosh gained his highest commission in 1896, to create a new building design for the Glasgow School of Art. This turned out to be his masterpiece. The building design was significantly done in two clear phases, 1897-99 and 1907-09, as a result of limited cash. In a stylistic way, this delay gave Mackintosh the opportunity to make amendments and include his original 1896 design in the new design. This original design owed much to the earlier baronial tradition of Scotland with the second half of the building carrying the 20th century design outlook using new materials and technology. The new Library turned out to be the most dramatic of the interior (concluded in 1909), which comprised of a complex connection of beam and timber posts. Traditional Japanese domestic interiors inspired its construction, but the building was ultimately a mixture of influence and style (Harris).

All over Europe, the uniqueness of Mackintosh designs was appreciated quickly, and in Germany, and especially in Austria, he got the recognition and acclaim he was never to be given at home for his beautiful designs. He was part of the 8th Vienna Secession and took part in the Turin, Moscow international exhibition and some other places. In 1900, he got involved in one open competition to create a new design for one art lover, which was suggested by one German design journal, Zeitschrift fur Innendekoration, in 1900. Although he could not win the competition, his designs were judged to be so perfect that they were reproduced to be used as a portfolio of prints. In 1904, back in Scotland at then Helensburgh Hill House, Walter Blackie, the publisher, commissioned Mackintosh to create a design for a substantial family house. The design he produced owed much in appearance to what he designed for the art lover competition and an earlier design for domestic use- Windyhill (1900). On the outside, The Hill House was significant for its slid massed and simple forms with very little ornamentation, yet, on the inside, there were no light and space in the rooms, and there was a careful conception of the use of decoration and color (Harris; Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society).

All through his career, Mackintosh depended on just a number of supporters and patrons. Catherine Cranston, the Glasgow businesswoman, turned out to be the most influential while her range of tearoom interiors (designed and furnished between 1896-1917), gave him virtual freedom to experiment. Given the task of creating the tearoom designs, Mackintosh provided the furniture (including the amazing high-back chairs), wall decorations, light fittings and cutlery. Despite the successes he enjoyed in Europe and the support he got from clients like Blackie and Cranston, Mackintosh's work was treated with indifference at home, which led to a decline in his career (Charles Rennie Mackintosh Society).

The Hill House and Willow Tearoom both offer great examples of Mackintosh transformation to Viennese restrained inspiration. Nevertheless, I opine that the most powerful example of obvious level of Viennese influence on Mackintosh is very visible in the interiors he created in 1917 for the benefit of the Basset-Lowke family. In this family home, Mackintosh created a design for the dining room, the hall, the living room, one upstairs bedroom and the kitchen. This 78 Derngate's home interiors were obviously different from the earlier interior designs created by Mackintosh, sticking strictly to the geometric lines, using dark woods and deep primary colors, and the huge preference for the use of the triangle as a vital decorative tool. While every one of the Derngate interiors displays heavy inspiration from both the Wiener Werkstatte and Hoffman, indisputably, the room that shows the Vienesse influence most clearly is the hall. This room has several elements that can be found in Hoffmarm's designs, such as geometric wallpaper, patterning with lattice, and using a focal white fireplace making use of stacked squares to create an H shape. The floor comprises of white and black checkerboard style, while the walls are covered in wallpaper or with.....

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