Illustration: Franz Metzner. Carpet design, c1906.
The German sculptor Franz Metzner was a relatively important artist of his time and was particularly influential during the period that incorporated the Jugendstil. His sculpture which was very often incorporated within an architectural setting, both inside and out, tended towards a form of semi-abstraction, with figures often appearing to be rooted within the framework of a building.
Although Metzner was almost exclusively seen as a fine art sculptor, he did produce a certain amount of design work, particularly in carpet design. It is always an interesting diversion in the career of fine artists, to see work that was not necessarily focused on the absolute and the unrepeated. Although, to some extent Metzner could be classed as working at least within some of the confines of architecture, a design discipline, particularly due to his close association between sculpture, ornamentation and architectural detail, he would still be better categorised as a fine artist.
The three carpet designs shown in this article were produced by Metzner in the first decade of the twentieth century. Interestingly, they all show a severe limitation in any real form of expansive decoration or pattern work. Although in Germany there was certainly an element within the design structure of the period towards the limiting and even containment of the more expansive and stylised areas of Art Nouveau, some would even say affectation, even in Germany this was often treated with a certain amount of creative licence.
Illustration: Franz Metzner. Carpet design, c1906.
Metzner seems to have foreshadowed at least elements of carpet and rug decoration that were to be seen a decade or so later in the Art Deco period. This form of extreme geometry that works so well on the flat surface of a rug or carpet, particularly when seen within some of the starker Modernist interiors of the early twentieth century, came to dominate large sections of the textile market which included woven and printed textiles, carpet and rug, tapestry and even embroidery.
The limited and all-over pattern work produced by Metzner, paid little attention to the traditions of carpet and rug design. Whilst he was still capable of using such conventions as borders, as well as using the rectangular or square format, he made those conventions work for him. The practical vertical and horizontal nature of a carpet was used by Metzner to produce his pattern work. He did not insist on using the dimensions of the carpet in order to compose a freestyle composition that paid little attention to the formula of the discipline. Instead, he made the decorative pattern work a feature of the weaving process by creating a vertical and horizontal network that strictly adhered to the technical aspects of the carpet, as you often find in woven materials, but less so in carpet and rug design.
By placing more emphasis on the structure of the underlying practical aspects of the carpet, in many ways Metzner cleverly reflected what were often seen, and still are, as the limiting aspects of textile design. It is often thought that the technical rules of a discipline hinder creativity, but in many respects those same practical rules of limitation can also lead to levels of creativity that are more profound to the discipline than if they were intentionally ignored.
Illustration: Franz Metzner. Carpet design, 1910.
By understanding perhaps that a carpet or rug was basically a structured framework rather than a blank canvas in which to impose a composition, Metzner produced a set of decorative carpet designs that could be seen as strikingly original, whilst at the same time being also grounded within the perceived limitations of the discipline. By flowing with the discipline, rather than against it, by expressing the underlying vocabulary of the structure of its construction through the visual language of pattern and decoration, rather than trying to fight against its natural rules and limitations, we can achieve design work that is far from limited in its scope and direction. Whatever textile discipline we choose to work in and from whatever direction we have arrived at that discipline, using the natural boundaries of the craft as a theme, guide, or starting point of inspiration can often lead to stronger, more centred and certainly more harmonious finished pieces than if we were to constantly struggle to impose a foreign concept to a discipline purely for the sake of it.
This is not to say that parameters should never be challenged, that has been the lifeblood of design, decoration and craft. It also does not necessarily mean that 'tradition' is the best formula in which to work. However, working within a discipline, understanding its vocabulary, both practical and ephemeral, allows an individual to take that discipline for a long creative walk whilst still within the framework of its natural traditions.
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