‘Late Age of Print’ - the age began around 1450 - Gutenberg’s printing press - brings humanity out of the dark ages.
- Term comes from the media theorist Marshall Mcluhan.
- Somerset House - opened in 1780 aristocratic institution - art of this time for the rich/ruling class.
- Architecture, music, poetry.
- Separation between fine arts and other art disciplines.
- Only men were allowed to go to these events - gender separation.
- 1780-1832 - industrial revolution 1760 - 1840.
- The making of the english working class.
- Bourgeoisie / Middle class.
- Production stopped becoming about handmade things, was turning to mass mechanical methods.
- More labourers were needed to make more product and producing things in mass.
- There was a noticeable divide between the classes. - The nicer houses are always at the top of the city and the ‘slums’ where the factories are and where the smog is.
- Divide caused by development of industry. Sense of class and place in the world (us and them).
- Working class started to form popular entertainment amongst themselves. They had communities.
- They used the industry to create these. - Created print work - very particular working class culture.
- Identity struggle - working class people coming together and saying ‘why are we living in these conditions, why are we deprived of such benefits?’
- Politicised working class culture.
- John Martin - instead of charging people for paintings, he would charge people entry fees to see the work instead. - very entrepreneurial artist approach.
- People would make money by copying other artists work - running off the back of them. - secondary market. Almost exploiting the market.
- Backlash from writers and theorists from the rich classes who say this is horrific - having cheap knock offs of these artists. (Matthew Arnold 1867)
- Snobiness about the working class culture.
- Culture has always been in minority keeping.
- Popular culture offers addictive forms of distraction and compensation - doesnt refresh your attitude to life, forces you to face the real world.
- One way fine art responds/preserves itself to the ‘popular’ works - saying art as being something internal. It has an autonomy - almost mysterious.
- New technology is using methods of ‘attack’ against traditional art - mona lisa e.g.
- Art of the people (popular art) against high art.
- Eidophusikon - opened leicester square 1781.
- With the invention of photography - overriding portrait paintings. Its cheaper and quicker - ordinary people could have their portrait taken, not just the rich and famous.
- The sublime - philosophic idea, staggered - mixture of fear and excitement. Greater than humanity.
- New markets - new ways of making art. Technologies destabilising art.
- Newspapers began to use images - pieces of art. Cheaply available - evolution of a technology.
- Photography - no need for portrait paintings anymore. (better, more realistic and cheaper).
- Anybody can have a portrait.
- Print Capitalism - images made for profit. - overtake traditional art - making more money.
- Print Capitalism is its own culture. - replaces culture with popular culture.
- Romantic form of anti-capitalism.
- William Morris produced complex, interesting craft and mechanical design. - ‘Art is a fruit growing from the conditions of society’.
- Revolutionary - he wanted a level culture, over through capitalism. - Wanted a culture based on equality.
- Political patterns - desire for a world better than capitalism.
- Mostly focused on nature - which is beyond grasp of capitalism.
- Merton Abbey Mills - run under social principles - a co-operative studio - combined effort (1881).
- Small scale croft - model of alternative to mass production which solely seeks profit.
- Move away from digital to hand made techniques - return to the small scale, collective, progressive. (Glastonbury free press, The print project).
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