Hopes and Fears for Art

A series of five lectures defines the decorative or lesser arts and argues they cannot be cleanly separated from architecture and the fine arts without loss of dignity and intelligence. The author contrasts communal, craft-based production of the past with contemporary industrial and fashion-driven methods that render decoration trivial and mechanical. He criticizes elitist art-for-art’s-sake attitudes and urges an inclusive art that elevates everyday life. The lectures consider social and moral implications of design, warn about commercial and imperial pressures on artistic traditions, and end with practical reflections on improving decorative practice and the prospects for architecture in civilized life.