Arts and Crafts finds beauty in simplicity

that valued simplicity, efficiency, and quality. Their solution was to elevate the skill of hand-craftsmanship to an art form by the production of tasteful ar- chitecture and household goods, rang- ing from textiles to furniture, in which the refined design would morally uplift the consumer. The Arts and Crafts movement advocated the view that social reform could be achieved through art.<br><br> The movement did not flower in America until after Morris 9s death in 1896, but once it reached this side of the Atlantic the style quickly took off. A number of famous American Arts and Crafts proponents, most notably Gustav Stickley, attempted to inject Morris 9s political and social reform into the American Arts and Crafts movement, with only modest success. Most con- sumers in England and America simply liked the Arts and Crafts clook d and largely ignored the call for reform.<br><br> Indiana was no different in this re- gard. The Arts and Crafts movement came to Indiana in the 1890s through the efforts of local advocates like Hoo- sier Group painter Richard Gruelle, artist Brandt Steele, and secondary school teachers like Harry Wood and Roda Selleck. These proponents took the idealism of Morris to heart and denounced the dehumanization of In South Bend, the 1910 Burke House combines Arts and Crafts with the best high-style Prairie tradition.<br><br> The house pairs horizontal banding characteristic of the Prairie style with Arts and Crafts signatures including wide eaves and multipaned windows. Todd Zeiger The 1917 Parker House in Rensselaer features brown bricks and a green tile roof 4earthy colors favored by the Arts and Crafts movement. The low-pitched roof and wide eaves, plus interior ap- pointments including oak woodwork and a built-in mahogany buffet, make the Parker House a classic example of Arts and Crafts design.<br><br> Indiana Preservationist #6 November/December 2004 5 In Madison, tapered porch piers sup- porting the porch roof and port cochere on the c.1920 bungalow at 750 West Main Street are prominent Arts and Crafts elements. The house also dis- plays exposed rafters under its low roofline, with wide eaves that cast dramatic shadows. No Arts and Crafts tour of Indianapolis would be complete without a visit to the The Meridian Park neighborhood, including Tuckaway, famous for its carefully preserved Arts and Crafts styling and its colorful history.<br><br> Brazil 9s McCrea House boasts original hand-painted murals and stencils. Featured in national magazines includ- ing Old House Journal and This Old House , the home earned the admira- tion of art wallpaper expert Bruce Bradbury, who calls the interior castonishing. d industrialization. Hoosier consumers, however, lapped up machine-made Arts and Crafts wares at department stores without a twinge of guilt.<br><br> The movement 9s philosophy aside, the Arts and Crafts style thrived in America until World War I. Describing Arts and Crafts presents a problem because the style defies classification. In the broadest terms, the style repre- sented the shared values among de- signers of truth to material, simplicity, usefulness, and beauty.<br><br> The style also emphasized the then- innovative idea of total integration, wherein a building, its furnishings, textiles and other décor all embodied the Arts and Crafts ethic. Total integra- tion called for the use of local materi- als, which Arts and Crafts proponents argued were not only cheaper, but would ensure a better blend with the surrounding environment. Lastly, the work had to be chonest, d meaning that the method of construction should be readily apparent.<br><br> Exposed timbers in ceilings, the insertion of recesses and alcoves demonstrating wall thickness, visible dovetail joints in furniture and the staining of wood rather than paint- ing all became the Arts and Crafts stan- dard of beauty. These exposed ele- ments were the cornaments d in the Arts and Crafts vernacular, as they show- cased rather than hid the construction. In America, Arts and Crafts 9 exteriors found many suitable forms, from simple Craftsman bungalows and foursquares, to high-style Prairie designs.<br><br> Arts and Crafts architecture in Indi- ana is chiefly residential. The bunga- low, typically a one-story home with a full-length porch, endures as one of the most common vernacular styles to em- brace Arts and Crafts features. Located on Pennsylvania Street in the Meridian Park neighborhood, Tuckaway repre- sents the quintessential Indianapolis bungalow.<br><br> The simple gable-front house retains its original cedar clap- board siding, and includes Arts and Crafts touches such as exposed rafters and beams, and wide eaves. Though its exterior may be more fairly called Mission Revival, the interior of the 1910 McCrea House in Brazil is one of best examples of a preserved Arts and Crafts décor in the state. Every room on the ground floor still shows period colors, with original hand- painted and stenciled friezes portraying garlands of grape vines, garden land- scapes, and abstract Art Nouveau mo- tifs.<br><br> The house is currently being re- stored. Arts and Crafts experienced a rebirth in the 1970s, when the burgeoning environmental movement and renewed appreciation of nature offered clear connections to the Arts and Crafts phi- losophy. Today, the revived interest includes no implicit ties to political reform, but focuses solely on the style.<br><br> As a result, machine-made reproduc- tions proliferate, since most of us today have made peace with industrialization. The Arts and Crafts revival shows no signs of slowing, so go ahead 4buy that reproduction Mission coffee table for your bungalow or modern condo. If your wallet allows, search for the au- thentic Stickley rocker, Rookwood pottery, or Old Hickory settle.<br><br> Marsh Davis Mark Dollase Mark Dollase Greg Sekula

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