Applied arts

The application of color to these glass cups is an act of applied art since they did not need any colour at all to perform their function.

This street-sweeping machine appears to have been streamlined for purely aesthetic purposes, since it moves only at the walking pace of the operator.

The Normandie Hotel, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was inspired by the ocean liner SS Normandie. The streamlining of static objects was a common theme in Art Deco architecture.

The applied arts are the application of design and decoration to everyday objects to make them aesthetically pleasing. The term is applied in distinction to the fine arts which aims to produce objects which are beautiful and/or provide intellectual stimulation. In practice, the two often overlap.

The fields of industrial design, graphic design, fashion design, interior design and the decorative arts are considered applied arts. In a creative and/or abstract context, the fields of architecture and photography are also considered applied arts.

Movements

• Art Deco
• Art Nouveau
• Arts and Crafts Movement
• Bauhaus

Museums of Applied Arts

• Bauhaus Archive
• Die Neue Sammlung, Germany
• Leipzig Museum of Applied Arts, Germany
• Martin-Gropius-Bau
• Museum of Applied Arts (Belgrade), Serbia
• Museum of Applied Arts (Budapest), Hungary
• Museum für angewandte Kunst Frankfurt, Germany
• Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Cologne), Germany
• Museum für angewandte Kunst Wien, Austria
• Museum of Contemporary Design and Applied Arts (MUDAC), Lausanne, Switzerland
• Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
• Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts (Saint Petersburg), Russia
• Prague Museum of Decorative Arts (Prague), Czech Republic
• Victoria and Albert Museum, London

See also

• Design museum

Further reading

• Dormer, Peter (ed.), The Culture of Craft, 1997, Manchester University Press, ISBN 0719046181, 9780719046186, google books