Biomorphism
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Biomorphism was an art movement of the 20th century. The term was first used by Alfred H. Barr, Jr. in 1936. Biomorphist artists focused on the power of natural life and used organic shapes, with hints of the shapeless and vaguely curvilinear forms of biology. It has connections with Surrealism and Art Nouveau. Biomorphism is also seen in modern industrial design, such as the designs of Marc Newson. Nowadays the effect of the influence of nature isn’t as obvious, instead of objects looking exactly like the natural form they only use slight characteristics to remind us of nature.
Botanomorphism
Although studies are limited, diverse approaches have been used to understand the role of plants in culture. Sommer (1988) begins to explore the use and meaning of plant terms in our language as he focuses on botanomorphism, or the tendency to describe human characteristics through fruit and vegetable metaphors. Bryant carries this exploration further, looking into other uses of plant terms in the American language. -- Diane Relf, HUMAN ISSUES IN HORTICULTURE, HortTechnology April/June 1992
Organic design
Organic design vocabularies--from the ecstasies of baroque ornament to mid-twentieth-century biomorphism--have always gestured toward the erotic, suggesting the curves and movements of the human body. In contemporary design, eroticism is present yet kept at a distance, handled with rubber gloves. The fulfillment of desire and the satisfaction of touch are blunted by protective layers of material. Clothed in latex, vinyl, rubber, or resin, sensual forms are rendered clinical. When love and fear are necessary bedfellows, the plush, dimly lit boudoir gives way to the bright, wipeable surfaces of the laboratory and lavatory. Ellen Lupton
See also
- Casa Milà
- Surrealism
- Friedensreich Hundertwasser
- Isamu Noguchi
- Hotel Gellért
- Carlo Mollino
- Luigi Colani
