ART, SCIENCE, NATURE AND MACHINE_

In Britain, the effects of the industrial manufacture had been about since the 1840s, but it wasn't until late 1800s that architects, designers and artists began to look for new approaches to design and decorative arts. This led to the foundation of the Arts and Crafts movements.
Modernism was not conceived as a style but rather a loose collection of ideas. It was a term that covered a range of movements and styles that largely rejected history, and which embraced abstraction. It flourished in Germany and holland, as well as major cities such as new York. Modernists had a utopian desire to create a better world, and believed technology was the key to achieve social improvements.
These two movements had opposing views of the role of design in society, they wanted to transform it in their own ways. But the movements were not just about what they produced, but were combined with cultural and political beliefs.  

The built environment that we live in today was largely shaped by modernism. Modernism lay the idea that the world had to be fundamentally rethought, and the carnage of the first world war lead to a belief that the human condition could be healed by new approaches to art and design- more spiritual and sensual. The desire to connect art and  life led to a collaboration between artists and designers. They focused on the basic elements of daily life- housing, furniture, clothes. They saw the machine and industrial production as ways of creating greater equality, a better world. 
Products of the modernist movements lacked decoration yet were enforced by Industrial design, function, machine and technology. Unlike the art and crafts movement, modernism was commercialised and lead by consumerism.

The arts and crafts movement of William Morris did not agree with machine production. He  was a committed socialist and designer who despised the exploitation of industrial capitalism and saw only misery in machine production. the movement was often inspired by nature, and featured hand carving, decoration and embroidery. 'Art should meet the needs of society'. The movements aim was to bring back the tradition of craftsmanship lost in the industrial revolution, and workers enjoying their chosen field of work. It also created something that could be kept, that was respected for its beauty and made from quality materials. Morris wanted quality goods to be created for everyone, not just the wealthy. But he soon discovered his aims were at odds with each other, a dilemma we still face today- hand made goods are generally more expensive than machine/ mass produced products.  

We still face this 'man-made vs hand-made' debate today especially within fashion. We are after all consumers, looking for a fast fix. The fashion industry has become highly dominated by mass consumerism, or 'throw away fashion'. The high desire for cheap fast fashion will never die as it allows the consumer to have the latest trend. But high street fashion does not have the same beautiful quality of a handmade, haute couture/designer garment.