Charles Rennie Mackintosh was an architect, designer and painter whose major work was influential around the end of the 19th century and the early 20th century. His work is a paradox of reduction and enrichment combining the rational with the expressive, and he unified the crisply rectangular with delicate curves. His Glasgow School of Art is considered the first great monument of modern architecture and a fortuitous combination of industrial Glasgow with touches of contemporary Japan. He utilised the new technologies of central heating and electric light, plate glass and machine-finished timber, yet the decorative elements give it the appearance of hand craftsmanshhip.
The structure of my book however is based on the design of his cabinets which show his use of reduction and enrichment and the influence of Japan, and which are displayed with the top doors open and look like the shape of a Japanese kimono.
I started with a French door book and cut white PVC to size.
I made the central page of text with lines and grids on it's covers and cut out some of the squares.
I drew some Mackintosh roses (which he often used as stained glass)
and covered with lines with gilding mix
Added gold leaf to suggest the lead lines
The roses were painted the customary Mackintosh pink and the upper lift-out pages of the book were put into place on the PVC, after the folds had been reinforced with Ramieband tape. They were attached to the book back.
The centre page was put into position over the top page assembly.
and the front covers were attached
The next post will include the last two books in the series, the two book sculptures Le Courbusier and Libeskind.
6 comments:
Well, Helen, you've done it again- another stunning production of someone I've long admired.
(An aside - David Austin, also an admirer, named one of his roses for Mackintosh.)
Oh this one is really beautiful! I love the cabinet that you chose to interpret.
REALLY looking forward to seeing what you've done with Corbusier - he's also a favourite of mine.
Very impressive blog. It discuss all the features of designing with the very beautiful designs. To get more information visit Design Agency Glasgow. Thanks for this blog.
what a fascinating interpretation - again I'm stunned by your use of materials --- and yes I admit that I found myself staring for a long time at the piccie of the tape - I've never heard of it before --- yes I'm a product nerd (sorry dear!)
Thanks Di, I could be tempted to plant a garden of Mackintosh roses, but on reflection I think I'll stick to the low maintenance stained glass variety!
Thanks Amanda, Mackintosh made equally gorgeous brown wooden and stained glass cabinets with the same open door idea.
Thank you for your comments Johnson.
Sorry ronnie, that tape is a bit obscure - I bought it here at the Bookbinders Guild and it is a great improvement on using cotton/linen tapes for sewing a traditional codex. I found it a very good thin material for re-inforcing those folds - I could also have used thin Japanese paper.
Just happened on your blog and first off I must commend you on how accomplished your artistry is. Usage of materials, design properties and sequential compositions are elegant.
I am a visual artist and lover of all things that stimulate the little gray cells into producing good work and like yourself (with this project), I too find Rennie's work fascinating. You can see the influence he had on Frank Lloyd Wright. Especially the Prairie Period. What makes them similar also, is how they defined interior spaces to be congruent with the exterior.
Thanks for the post. . . good work here.
Micros
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