Lace Design Work of Paul Haustein

Illustration: Paul Haustein. Lace design, c1911.

Much of the surviving work by the German designer Paul Haustein is in metalwork, much of it produced during the Art Deco period and therefore he is often identified as being a designer of that period specifically. However, Haustein was born in 1880 and had a long and fruitful career before the Art Deco era dawned.

Haustein was in Munich during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a particularly richly creative period of the Bavarian city's life. He was also a member of the Darmstadt Artists' Colony along with the likes of Richard Riemerschmid and Peter Behrens, his speciality at the time being that of goldsmith. However, Haustein, like so many artists, designers and craftspeople of his era, worked a number of disciplines, not all of which were sympathetic or complementary to their favoured discipline. In some respects, this widening of creative interest and adaptability proved to be a fascinating and expanding experience for the decorative arts of Europe. That it was widely common throughout the nineteenth century, and indeed well into the twentieth, is fortuitous as it allows us to experience creative work from disciplines and genres that sometimes broke rules that were set by the medium itself. By coming from a different direction and with a number of unusual tools and a different set of vocabulary, a designer could well move the discipline on to a different format, even if only at a personal level. However, some experiments were produced on a much larger scale, by groups of individuals rather than the single. Admittedly, the cross-discipline scenario of the nineteenth century did not always achieve what it set out to, however, more times than not it has left a distinct advantage to future generations, allowing them to understand through examples, how cross-discipline relationships can work creatively.

Illustration: Paul Haustein. Lace design, c1912.

Shown in this article are two examples of lace work produced by Haustein in the early second decade of the twentieth century. Both are relatively complex with some of the work appearing as if in a form of filligree. To some extent, this can be explained by the fact that throughout the same period as the production of these two lace designs the designer was also producing both metalwork in the shape of candlesticks, bowls, chalices and candelabra as well as delicate and involved jewellery. Interestingly Haustein was also involved in marquetry work, sometimes on a small scale, but often on much larger and grander scale, during this same period. It would be surprising if none of these disciplines were to affect the production of these particular lace designs. There is to some extent a link between the delicate work of small scale metal and jewellery work and that of the discipline of lace craft. Both are produced by intensive and focused labour, often worked on an extremely small and personally intimate level.

What is particularly interesting is how far Haustein's surface pattern work, to some extent at least, seems influenced by the approach he used in his metal and jewellery work. Surface disciplines the designer worked in were as wide-ranging as rug work, embroidery and wallpaper design, and all showed significant elements of filigree type work or at least an element of open work that can easily be associated with forms of relatively delicate metalwork. This is not to say that Haustein was a metal worker who merely repeated the format in other disciplines, some of which worked, others not. It is more a case of a creative individual who had both innate skills and a unique vocabulary of his own, engineering and using those tools in disciplines that were perhaps unused to them. The designer would have complemented and worked within the rules of each discipline to a certain extent. However, it is the creative approach from outside the traditional craft that is truly the inspiration for others.

Illustration: Paul Haustein. Jewellery design, c1912.

The idea of cross-pollination and cross-discipline is a truly expansive and creative experience. That it was relatively common throughout the nineteenth and well into the twentieth centuries, is shown by the wealth of unusual approaches to particular craft traditions and gave rise, at least in the broad discipline of textiles, to innovations in the textile craft and art worlds that are still with us today. In fact, much of what we see and associate as standard cross-discipline work today, is the product of many small and large scale experiments and creative overlaps, such as the work of Paul Haustein. These experiments were and are invaluable lessons in widening the scope of the personal exploration of all craft disciplines.

Further reading links:
Art Nouveau Jewelry
305 Authentic Art Nouveau Jewelry Designs
Art Nouveau Jewellery from Pforzheim (English and German Edition)
Art Nouveau Jewelry: A Practical Guide to Its History and Beauty, with Pictures of Over 150 Pieces of Jewelry and a Compendium of Internati
Jugendstil Guertelschlieýen / Art Nouveau Buckles: Sammlung Kreuzer / The Kreuzer Collection
The Art Nouveau Style
European art nouveau jewelry,
IMPORTANT ART NOUVEAU JEWELRY & OBJETS DE VERTU APRIL 24, 1971
Modern Style: Jugendstil/Art Nouveau 1899-1905
Jugendstil.
Art Nouveau: Utopia: Reconciling the Irreconcilable (Taschen's 25th Anniversary Special Editions Series)
ART NOUVEAU (LCT)
Art Nouveau Designs (Design Source Books)
Art Nouveau (Dover Pictura)
Art Nouveau: An Anthology of Design and Illustration from "The Studio" (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Art Nouveau (Art and Ideas Series)
Art Nouveau Decorative Ironwork
Art Nouveau, 1890-1914

Latvian Arts & Crafts Exhibition of 1937

Illustration: Latvian Arts & Crafts Exhibition Catalogue, 1937.

1937 saw the first Latvian Arts & Crafts Exhibition. It was held for a month between February and March and was organised by the Chamber of Crafts and Trades. Like most exhibitions of this kind, there were various and sometimes not always immediately apparant reasons for the exhibition. One of the more obvious reasons was as a showcase to highlight home produced modern art and crafts. This inevitably gave the country an opportunityto emphasise to the world at large that they were aware of and part of the contemporary world of art and design. This was more acute as regards Latvia which had only been independent from the Russian Empire for a matter of twenty years. It gave the vulnerable small European state with its now hugely volatile Soviet neighbour, the opportunity to highlight its independence to the rest of Europe. However, there was also ample room to advertise and promote the long history of traditional crafts and the unique contribution of Latvia to art and design. But like many of these exhibitions, it was also hoped that some form of trade would result from the publicity.

The exhibition also highlighted the contemporary work of Latvian artists, craftsman and architects. There was a strong showing by makers of textiles, with an emphasis on weaving skills, and also included wood carving, metalwork, jewellery, and ceramics.

The actual printed catalogue that was produced for the exhibition, contained over two hundred pictures of home produced objects and had an in depth introduction to Latvian arts and crafts, both contemporary and traditional, and a number of supporting essays by various professionals.

This must have been a difficult time for Latvia politically and culturally. It was literally wedged in between the Soviet and Nazi spheres and would have had difficulty treading a path between the two opposing though mutually dogmatic systems. The Arts & Crafts Exhibition of 1937 gave Latvia a chance to underline their distinctive and unique culture which was independent of both the dominating Russian and German cultures. By emphasising not only the contemporary, but the long history of traditional crafts of the country, Latvia must have hoped to be recognised on the international stage as having a legitimate and memorable European identity, rather than, as the Soviet regime saw them, an aberration that would be re-incorporated into Russia at the earliest opportunity.

The hoped for heightened profile didn't work. After a mere twenty years of independence, Latvia was re-occupied by the Russians, only to be occupied by the Germans a year later and then re-occupied by the Russians again three years later. The Russians were to stay for the next forty five years.

Further reading links:
Latvian Heritage - Culture, History, Perspectives
Lonely Planet Estonia Latvia & Lithuania (Multi Country Guide)
Exile From Latvia: My WWII Childhood - From Survival to Opportunity
The Food and Cooking of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania: Traditions, Ingredients, Tastes and Techniques in 60 Classic Recipes
Latvia, 5th (Bradt Travel Guide)
A Joy Forever: Latvian Weaving: Traditional and Modified Uses
Latvian Mittens: Traditional Designs & Techniques
LATVIAN DREAMS, Knitting From Weaving Charts
Latvian Weaving Techniques
Folk Knitting in Estonia: A Garland of Symbolism, Tradition and Technique (Folk Knitting series)

Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Magazine

Illustration: The Craftsman magazine cover, January 1904.

The first issue of Gustav Stickley's The Craftsman magazine was produced in 1901. From its inception it was meant to be seen as a vehicle to promote the philosophy of the English Arts & Crafts movement across North America. This can be seen quite clearly with its first issue, which was dedicated entirely to the recently deceased William Morris, while the second issue was dedicated to the also recently deceased John Ruskin.

However, as the magazine matured it gradually took on a more native, home-grown element, promoting the by now burgeoning American Arts & Crafts movement. The magazine took the basic ideas behind the English Arts & Crafts philosophy and moulded them to suit an American environment.

The magazine promoted an all-encompassing simple life philosophy, which included in its remit, architecture, interior design and decoration, gardening and lifestyle. This largely home-grown idyll had elements of colonial reminiscences, so while the English movement tried to foster links with the English and European medieval period, the American tried to forge links with its own historical infancy. Of course, it must be admitted that most of the Arts & Crafts linkage with past eras was based largely on a fictitious nostalgia, but in the end that really is not that important. What is important is that the American Arts & Crafts movement which was a fairly broad grouping of elements from a number of disciplines including architecture, furniture, metal, ceramic and textile design, was making the first steps towards a recognition of American cultural uniqueness.

The gradual independence of the American Arts & Crafts movement from the European and particularly English movements, helped to foster the idea of America as a separate entity in its own right.

The Craftsman magazine by highlighting and encouraging the home-grown elements of the Arts & Crafts philosophy, helped to embolden the differences rather than the similarities between the two continents. Although the international aspect of the Arts & Crafts movement was tangible and many of the different national groups around the world did share a similar philosophy, the great strength of the Arts & Crafts movement was that it was adaptable to any number of native customs and cultures. It did much to bolster a reconnection that those cultures had with their own native history and traditions, which were then transmitted into contemporary architecture, design and craft. 

The Craftsman magazine ceased publication in 1916. The impending threat of American involvement in the First World War and the general disruption of markets and finances caused by that war put an end to the magazine. However, during its fifteen years of publication it had become the most read magazine of its type across North America and had helped to foster a dynamism within American mediums like architecture, interior decoration, furniture, metalwork and ceramics, which was to long outlive its short publication run.

Further reading links:
Gustav Stickley: Craftsman Home
Stickley's Craftsman Homes
Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Homes and Bungalows
Craftsman Bungalows: 59 Homes from "The Craftsman"
More Craftsman Homes
Making Authentic Craftsman Furniture: Instructions and Plans for 62 Projects (Dover books on woodworking & carving)
Gustav Stickley's Craftsman Farms: A Pictorial History
Gustav Stickley, the Craftsman
Craftsman Houses: The 1913 Catalog
Craftsman Furnishings For The Home
Stickley Style: Arts and Crafts Homes in the Craftsman Tradition
Gustav Stickley and the American Arts & Crafts Movement (Dallas Museum of Art Publications)