BCX)l(S designer; theatre producer, and prominent writer and critic. He was a design reformer of considerable stature who perhaps more than any other designer embodied the aesthetic conscience of Britain between 1865 and 1885, yet his reputation had slipped into oblivion. It is to Godwin, through his tile and wallpaper designs (and to William Burges) that we should ascribe principal responsibility for the assimilation of Japanese art into the mainstream of European decorative design whereas it was to France that we would look for that influence on the visual arts. The radical internal decoration of Godwin's own house in Bristol in 1862 had bare floors, plainly coloured walls, a few Persian rugs, a few Japanese prints and a few pieces of antique furniture (the antithesis of High Victorian style). The White House for Whistler in Tite Street, Chelsea in similar vein, which followed in 1878, marked him as an original mind and a challenging, witty and capricious architect. Without a strong grounding in Japanese art it is impossible to see how Godwin might have designed the avant-garde London studio houses for which Pevsner later gave him so much credit. This was pioneering work, but after 1880, Japanese influences spread beyond architects and artists and into more popular culture, such as Gilbert & Sullivan's operatic fantasy The Mikado. Is Godwin a genius who did not live up to his early promise? He is certainly one of the most colourful characters of the latter 19th Century. This book is an affirmation of that genius and was published to coincide with a major re-evaluation of his work through an important exhibition at The Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts held in New York in November last year. All the aspects of Godwin's career are thoroughly examined in separate lengthy and thoroughly illustrated chapters: his lives as aesthetic polymath, antiqua1y and architect; his promotion of Japonisme, his later progression to furniture, textile, wallpaper and ceramic designs and his work for the theatre, particularly in costume design (for which he had not just a passion but a keen academic interest) and in drama criticism. Architecture and furniture receive pride of place, and the illustrations are of a high calibre and highly informative; indeed the design of the book is also most attractive. The book concludes with a chronology of Godwin's working life, a checklist of the exhibition material and a massive bibliography which demonstrates the significance of Godwin's achievements. This book triumphantly restored his position as a key figure not just of 19th Century design, but as an avantgarde designer of furniture did much to herald the simplified structured functional design thought to be exclusively the product of early 20th Century Modernism. It rescues Godwin from the fate of being merely a footnote in the development of modern culture. Bob Kindred THESIGNIFICANCE OFTHEUNFAMILIAR Opus 18 - John Fowler, Benjamin Baker- Forth Bridge by Ian Boyd White & Angus J Macdonald. 60pp. 27 colour & 23 b+w illus. English text. ISBN 3-930698-18-8; Opus 28-Alte Volkinger Hiitte by Lucius Burckhardt, Georg Skalencki & Johann Peter Li.ith 72pp. 51 b+w illus & 5 plans. German/ English text. ISBN 3-930698-285. Opus 29 - A/veld by Peer Zietz. 60pp. 41 colour & 13 b+w illus. German/English text. ISBN 3-930698-29-3. All hardback. 280 x 300mm. Publisher Editions Axel Menges,Stuttgart&London 1997. Context has not reviewed books from this publisher before although they are renowned for a catalogue specialising in modern architecture and industrial design and are characterised by being particularly well designed and illustrated. These three books from the Opus series represent three distinct aspects of historic building conservation, one iconically familiar, the other two probably unknown to a British readership. The large format illustrations are of exceptional clarity, but the texts are especially Continued on page 52 SITUATION VACANT 50 NORTH HERTFORDSHIRE DISTRICT COUNCIL POLICY AND COMMUNITY DIRECTORATE II 2 CONSERVATION OFFICER POSTS We need two enthusiastic, committed and wellmotivated people to join the existing Principal Conservation Officer. North Hertfordshire has a rich and varied architectural history with its 3 mediaeval market towns, the World's First Garden City, Letchworth, and a large rural area with many fine villages, country houses and historic CONSERVATION/HISTORIC BUILDINGS AT RISK OFFICER (COP 2217) PO1 - £20,955 - £22,581 plus essential user car allowance Temporary 3 year contract - funded jointly with English Heritage You will be involved in dealing with individual Listed Buildings, proposals in Conservation Areas and design issues, with specific responsibility for re-assessing and advising on the protection of Buildings at Risk. You will be expected to have experience of this work. parks and gardens. Forty Conservation Areas and about 2,750 Listed Buildings provide a large and varied workload dealing with Listed Buildings, Buildings at Risk and Conservation Area reviews and with development proposals. The Council also operates schemes to grant aid the repair of Listed Buildings and a biennial Civic Awards. CONSERVATION OFFICER (COP 2218) Scale 4/SO1 £12,912 - £17,838 (depending upon experience) plus essential user car allowance Preferably, you will have some experience dealing with Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas. You will be involved in a variety of work, but will have specific responsibility to progress the review of Conservation Areas. Both posts require a postgraduate conservation qualification with !HBC membership, a thorough knowledge of architectural history, relevant legislation and understanding of philosophies of building conservation together with good communication and negotiation skills. You will both need to work effectively on your own and as part of the team. For an application form and other details, please Lesley Montogomery, Policy and Community Directorate, North Hertfordshire District Council, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth, Herts SG6 3JF. Tel: 01462 474412. Completed applications should be returned by 13 March 2000. Interviews: 21 March 2000 for Conservation/Historic Buildings at Risk Officer 23 March 2000 for Conservation Officer Context65 March2000
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjgyMjA=