Art Nouveau: the nature of dreams (Exhibition and Exhibition Catalogue)
- Submitting institution
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The University of East Anglia
- Unit of assessment
- 32 - Art and Design: History, Practice and Theory
- Output identifier
- 186152796
- Type
- T - Other
- DOI
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- Location
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- Brief description of type
- Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts
- Open access status
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- Month
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- Year
- 2020
- URL
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- Supplementary information
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- Request cross-referral to
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- Output has been delayed by COVID-19
- No
- COVID-19 affected output statement
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- Forensic science
- No
- Criminology
- No
- Interdisciplinary
- No
- Number of additional authors
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0
- Research group(s)
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- Proposed double-weighted
- No
- Reserve for an output with double weighting
- No
- Additional information
- The project comprises the exhibition Art Nouveau: the nature of dreams and an accompanying book The Nature of Dreams: England and the formation of Art Nouveau. These aim to reposition design debates in England within a European context. The project has two agendas.
1. It explores the role of English designers from 1860 onwards in the formation of Art Nouveau after 1890.
2. It examines the interface in Art Nouveau of the ongoing heritage of Naturalism in relation to the growing significance of Symbolism. The proximity of Naturalism to Symbolism, it is argued, made Art Nouveau an ‘unstable compound’.
Through a re-examination of key design debates, the research demonstrates a new position with regard to the role of English practice in the unfolding intellectual agenda in Europe. It re-assesses the influence of England on Art Nouveau cultures.
The exhibition is the latest in an ongoing series of research-driven exhibitions which include Art Nouveau: from nature to abstraction (2012); Art Nouveau: sense and sensuality (2014); and Alphonse Mucha: in search of beauty (2017). These brought together works from the Anderson Collection, held at the Sainsbury Centre, with loans from other museums and private collections. The current book, edited by Greenhalgh, includes essays by Greenhalgh and leading European authors, including Aubry (Brussels), Bessac (Paris), and Bosch (Barcelona). It makes a substantial contribution to knowledge on European Art Nouveau and our understanding of fin de siècle culture.
The exhibition, delayed for several months due to Covid 19, opened late at the Sainsbury Centre, UEA, on July 7th 2020 (to January 3rd 2021). All three touring venues, in Newcastle, the Lake District, and Bournemouth, and the plans for public engagement were cancelled due to Covid 19. Research was disseminated through the publication, limited access to the exhibition, and online including the Sainsbury Centre website.
- Author contribution statement
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- Non-English
- No
- English abstract
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