 During the late 19th century into the 20th century Artists over Europe and to the West of the world were inspired to create artwork that was heavily influenced by the Japanese culture and traditional artists techniques. This period of art was called Japonisme and became very popular due to the trade restrictions with Japan being lifted in 1858, this therefore created a glimpse into this mysterious and unfamiliar part of the world. Gustav Klimt’s ‘Lady with the Fan’ (1918) has a strong oriental atmosphere when viewed, this is also applicable to his other pieces such as ‘The Kiss’ (1908). Lady with the fan emits the traditional properties of Japanese wood block prints and scroll prints. The distinguishing colours of bold yellows and gold can be found in Japanese artwork dating from years beforehand in scrolls where illustrations were painted on silk, this gives the traditional Japanese artwork it’s glowing foreground which is distinctively bold in this particular piece of Klimt’s work and also in many other works such as The Kiss and Portrait Of Eugenia Primavesi. Japonisme was greatly influential on the Austrian Artist. The composition and layout of Gustav Klimt’s ‘Lady’ is very similar to way female courtesans and geishas were portrayed. An example of the Japanese style I believe holds similarity and influence is by Tsukioka Settei’s hanging scroll ‘Reading by Lantern Light’ (1776-1786). I believe Klimt was recreating the same outlook that the beauty of a Geisha had, replicating the bold and elegant portrayal of these women in his own paintings, when their livelihood was much less than these beautiful pictures would suggest. The single women are both adorned in the beautifully designed kimonos which grasp the viewers eyes in both paintings. The ‘Lady with the fan’ holds strong resemblances of the pale faced geisha’s with the dark hair pinned above the neckline and rose blushed cheeks, creating a strong contrast between the pale faced beauty and the glowing background it’s impossible to miss the sexual suggestiveness of the Lady’s bare shoulder which evokes the hidden Japanese influence of a Geisha’s true prowess. The background of Klimt’s work is beautifully filled with Lotus’s and birds which resemble either a brightly coloured peacock or peafowl, these birds are associated in Japan as symbolism of religion, success and prosperity whilst traditionally Lotus Flowers in Japan are connected through Buddhist symbolism as being enchanting and pure of the mind, body and speech. Another Artist who was heavily influenced by the Japanese culture was Van Gogh. He created many pieces of work during the 19th century in France after collecting Japanese wood block prints and studying their style, composition and structure he then started to incorporate these skills and influences into his own work. Van Gogh even went to re create artwork that had already been done but in his own style, such as ‘Bridge in the rain’ 1887. The artist put his own painting style to use on the original ‘Sudden shower over Shin-Ohashi’ by Utagawa Hiroshigo (1857), this piece of work see’s him create more depth and atmosphere by using dark tones to produce a deeper contrast and adds an additional border of Japanese scripture. Van Gogh took a strong interest and admiration for the Japanese style and culture and from this produced several great pieces. During this time though the early 20th century was not just the Japonisme era, some artists were not influenced by this new phase of inspiration. The world was starting to open up, countries being explored, and new cultures being discovered which other artists took great inspiration from such as Picasso and his African collection which contained tribal masks and quite disturbing portraits but again heavily influenced by different cultures. Paul Gaugin on his exile to Tahiti created beautiful bold and exotic paintings of the local women and Umberto Boccioni was producing structured and cubist paintings such as ‘States of mind: I The Farewells’. Even though Japonisme was a change in the world of art in the 19th/20th century, it is never the only inspiration that graces artists during this time as Art is constantly moving forward and evolving.
 
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 The Evolution of Women’s Sports Attire Brief introduction of Women’s sporting fashion In the late 1800’s women were becoming more interested in physical exercise; however, it was not hard pushing, sweat inducing exertion as we know today. Rather it was more of a social and leisurely event, especially for the ladies of the upper class who played croque and tennis, whereas sports such as cycling, and swimming were becoming more popular for the ladies of this generation. The real milestone in history regarding women’s sports was when women could compete in the Olympic Games from 1900. Times were finally moving forward, except for when you notice the fashion and attire that women had to compete in. Dresswear commonly consisted of a full-length skirt or dress, followed by long sleeves on a blouse or a dress and a high collar- how on earth did they do this?! That’s not even taking into consideration the heeled shoes! Thankfully times have changed drastically, sportswear for women has evolved from being modest and impractical to practical and now a fashion statement. Nowadays the increasing desire to exercise and look after our bodies has finally become the new trend. With a demand for not only practical and reliable active wear on the market but also an ongoing battle between brands to create sporting wear that is seen now as high-end fashion, I am all for it. What makes you feel even better when you are exercising? Knowing that you’re wearing a well-known brand or matching sets, funky patterns or colours the list is endless for women’s choices of what we can wear to exercise in or even wear out to the shops or dinner- stylish leisure wear is the new little black dress. I have gone a little off topic however I found it very interesting researching this history and I didn’t fancy doing a full timeline, so lower down I have featured some pictures of the evolution of women’s sporting attire. My Choice of Clothing: Innov8 Winter Women’s Running Tight I paid £79.99 - RRP £99.99 Key Features
One of the biggest downsides to these leggings were the fact they are not sustainably made. I researched in great lengths into the materials and manufacturing. Ethically speaking the brand is great with a factory in China offering the local area employment and paying above the average salary, no under 18’s are employed and they are also recycling a number of materials such as paper, water, rubber and more. The downside is these leggings are made from 5 different materials; Polyamide, Elastane, Polyester, Polyurethane and TPU Membrane (Thermoplastic Polyurethane Membrane) Only 2 of which are sustainable and do not a harm the environment, these are TPU and Polyurethane. The rest of the materials used to make these leggings are not sustainable, Elastane cannot be recycled. In order to make polyester a great deal of fossil fuels such as coal are used and produce harsh chemicals which can cause serious environmental damage if the harsh chemicals used are leaked into water or untreated air. Polyamide is the least sustainable, a large amount of fossil fuels are used alongside heat and pressure to produce this fabric the worst part is it causes more damage than green house gases from Nitrous Oxide which is 310 times more potent than CO2. After researching into the materials, it left me quite shocked that I was unaware of how much damage the process of creating Polyester and Nylon was doing to the planet, materials which majority of clothing are made from. I could go on but it’s straight forward to understand. Even though I do really like these leggings it has now made me rethink about buying clothes without researching the materials they are made from and instead finding a company that offers the same high quality product but with a more sustainable process even with a higher price tag. |
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