Blog Assignment 4

Adolf Loos argued in 1908 that, “The evolution of
culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament
from objects of daily use.” Do you agree or disagree?
Why?

Adolf Loos argued in 1908 that, "The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use." and from a philosophical mind set I believe that this notion can be considered correct. Adolf says "Every period hase its style: why was it that our period was the only one to be denied a style?" By style he is talking about ornament, and by ornament he is loosely tying in the idea that ornament and intricate design goes hand in hand when defining a style of art. To look at [our] period it is clear to see a regression in ornament. Simplification of ornament was the evolution of our current design aesthetic. Adolf comments on the idea that this evolution of ornament was influenced by economics, the idea that time spent on 'ornamation' should reflect the price and value of an item. He describes that ornamenting an item is it not the purpose for creating anymore, that ornamation is retundant in a way because of the way our economy changes aesthetic values. Simplified design is common place in this period because they are faster and easier to make and over-worked embellishments are pointless if the item is be sold. This includes all common place everyday item such as tables, chairs, beds and literally all furniture found inside ones house.

 As you can see by this item Adolf's theory on the progression of ornament is clear to see. This evolution is most definately present in our society and can be viewed in a multiple of ways. Many people find this progression a forward movement in designing the future, others (such as Adolf) see the change as an unstoppable loss of creation and humanity for ornamenting.