| The social and artistic culture of Vienna at the turn of the century was deeply rooted in a tradition of "dressing up." Expanding textile and tailoring industries, the nationalistic display of folk costumes and embroidery, imperial court festivals, and carnival masquerades were the context for a modern program of artistic reform that revolved around the language and mechanism of fashion and disguise. This dissertation explores the social and theoretical origins of the Vienna Secession of 1897 and its related educational and commercial ventures before World War I. Gottfried Semper's theory of "dressing" was the foundation for the subsequent work of Otto Wagner, Adolf Loos, and Josef Hoffmann, each of whom related the architectural "cladding" of their buildings to the process of "clothing" the human body. The Secessionists, including Gustav Klimt, Josef Hoffmann and Kolo Moser, were influenced by contemporary architectural theory in their turn towards the applied arts---an interest reflected in their style of exhibition as well as in the establishment of the Wiener Werkstatte (Vienna Workshops) in 1903. After 1899 the Secessionists became increasingly interested in fashionable interior design inspired by the traditional women's embroidery used to decorate household linens and upholstery, as well as by the introduction of the "artistic dress" to the Vienna fashion world in 1902. Experiments with dress designs by Klimt, Hoffman, Moser and their women partners and collaborators led the Wiener Werkstatte to establish a highly successful fashion division in 1911. By examining this aspect of the modern art movement in Vienna in written texts, catalogues and reviews of exhibitions, and visual motifs of transformation through dress, this dissertation presents a new model for understanding the Secession. This study asserts that the Secessionists found the rejuvenating modern visual language they sought in the very processes of "dressing up."... |
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