Ruimin Hui's Blog Post 1

The Love of Nature

        The Pre-Raphaelites are interested in capturing nature. William Morris chooses plants as the motif of his design. In the Larkspur wallpaper and Pimpernel wallpaper, Morris combines leaves and flowers and follows the tradition of realistic depiction of the P.R.B.

        Morris' use of plants reminds me of Islamic decorative art, which plants also plays an important role but quite different in many aspects. In the Dome of the Rock, a sacred mosque constructed on the order of the Umayyad King to preserve the Foundation Stone, plants decoration is widely used as well. The walls of the Dome of the Rock are decorated with trees and leaves made by golden mosaic. The leaves are twisted to geometric pattern that makes it hard to identify. Also, there is no sign of detail geometric pattern on the leaves. However, the major color in Morris' wall paper is green, the color that is closely related to nature. He repeats the same pattern of leaves, branches and flowers over and over in both wall paper. Furthermore, Morris' decoration is less abstract as those in the Dome of the Rock.  Viewers can recognize the flowers, and the leaves from Morris's wall paper and it seems possible to tell what breed the leaves are.

        Such difference results from different creator's different purpose. Morris creates in a more realistic way for his patterns to demonstrate his love of nature while the decoration on the wall of the Dome of the Rock is done by more abstract way since the King wants to create a heaven like scene which cannot be seen in the real world. To achieve this, the artists have to use more abstract pattern to make the decorative plants deviate from the real ones. Morris' wall paper is dominated by green, which makes viewers feel that they are in real nature but the one at the Dome of the Rock has a golden background to show the power of the king. This comparison shows me the difference in purpose can lead to different treatment of the same motif.

        As conclusion, artists in different purpose treat the same object in different way. Morris' work is more realistic since he wants people to enjoy the nature. However, the Umayyad one is more abstract and splendid in order to create a heaven.