Grammar of Ornament
nms.ac.uk
Grammar of Ornament
1–10 of 25 posts
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#2Another take on this book from the V&A:
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/owen-jones-and-the-grammar-of...
Including some details such as:
> Henry Cole, another key figure in design reform, had helped Jones publish The Grammar of Ornament, and in his capacity as first director of the South Kensington Museum, asked Jones to design a series of galleries known as the 'Oriental Courts'. The Oriental Courts comprised of two galleries: an Indian Court and a Chinese and Japanese Court, which showcased the museum's growing collection of objects from these countries.
> The Oriental Courts had closed to the public by the end of the 19th century and unfortunately Jones's designs were later painted over.
Then "The rooms were used as the kitchens for the V&A restaurant for many years. "!
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#3I had this book. It was published tiny. Like 5x6. Not good. If you buy it you need a big one. Like 12". Great book tho. A feast, truly.
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#4I used to have a copy of this book. I hope I still do. Thanks for posting.
Amazing how these cultures developed such intricate and beautiful ornament systems — which is functionally a design system — and the best we get now is all white and plywood.
I know, I know.
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#5I had this book. It was published tiny. Like 5x6. Not good. If you buy it you need a big one. Like 12". Great book tho. A feast, truly.
The Princeton University Press edition looks nice but one of the Amazon reviews slates the printing quality. That said, reviews are often attached to the wrong edition so it might be fine. Can anyone recommend a good edition?
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#6I had this book. It was published tiny. Like 5x6. Not good. If you buy it you need a big one. Like 12". Great book tho. A feast, truly.
The Princeton University Press edition looks nice but one of the Amazon reviews slates the printing quality. That said, reviews are often attached to the wrong edition so it might be fine. Can anyone recommend a good edition?
If you're just curious, you might not need a glossy physical copy.
The Met recommends (https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2018/grammar-...) this scanned version of the 1856 edition at the Internet Archive:
https://archive.org/details/grammarornament00Jone/
As someone with a training in architecture and architectural history, I'd think twice before paying money for an edition of this. Any plate from the book is very recognizable. It's marginally useful as a sourcebook, but you won't learn much from it, and its limitations start to grate pretty quickly.
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#7If you enjoyed this, you simply must play Goragoa [0]. It's a beautiful, intricate puzzle game centered around interlocking logics of ornamentation, crafted over seven years by the creator [1].
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#8I used to have a copy of this book. I hope I still do. Thanks for posting. Amazing how these cultures developed such intricate and beautiful ornament systems — which is functionally a design system — and the best we get now is all white and plywood. I know, I know.
"we"
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#9Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Princeton University Press edition looks nice but one of the Amazon reviews slates the printing quality. That said, reviews are often attached to the wrong edition so it might be fine. Can anyone recommend a good edition?
If you're just curious, you might not need a glossy physical copy. The Met recommends ( https://www.metmuseum.org/blogs/in-circulation/2018/grammar-... ) this scanned version of the 1856 edition at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/grammarornament00Jone/ As someone with a training in architecture and architectural history, I'd think twice before paying money for an edition of this. Any plate from the…
.. as others have mentioned, current practices rival Soviet design .. we are at an all time low in some ways. Anyone who is interested ought to be encouraged IMHO
ref: 1900 architecture texts from Columbia University -- Greek revival at the time
Re: Grammar of Ornament
#10Pre-modernism: "Let's decorate everything!"
Modernism: "Let's think about form and function, and try to use space, structure, and material to convey emotion and express intent without resorting to overt decoration"
Post-modernism: "Let's decorate everything!"
---
See also Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown: “duck” vs “decorated shed”.