The inspiration for the architectural project highlighted in yesterday's post came from biology. This discipline can undoubtedly inspire fashion, after all we have seen in previous posts how the shapes, silhouettes and configurations of some modern creations sometimes do have a scientifical, biological or medical derivation.
If you're looking for intriguing inspirations for both garments and accessories, try rediscovering the work of German-born biologist, naturalist, philosopher, physician, professor, marine biologist, illustrator and artist Ernst Heinrich Haeckel (1834 - 1919).
He discovered, described and named thousands of new species and became well-known for his work on radiolaria (sadly he was also a controversial figure and his theories on the evolution of human civilization fuelled racism contributing to Nazism and Fascism).
Between 1859 and 1866, Haeckel worked on many phyla such radiolarians, poriferans (sponges) and annelids (segmented worms). During a trip to the Mediterranean, Haeckel named nearly 150 new species of radiolarians.
Radiolaria (or Radiozoa) are protozoa of diameter 0.1-0.2 mm that produce intricate mineral skeletons (made of silica), with a central capsule dividing the cell into the inner and outer portions of endoplasm and ectoplasm.
They are found as zooplankton throughout the ocean, and their skeletal remains make up a large part of the cover of the ocean floor as siliceous ooze.
Some radiolarians are particularly fascinating as they resemble regular polyhedra (think about the icosahedron-shaped Circogonia icosahedra).
Traditionally radiolarias are divided into four groups - Acantharea (with skeletons of strontium sulfate), Nassellaria, Spumellaria (they both produce siliceous skeletons and were therefore grouped together in the group Polycystina) and Phaeodaria (now considered to be a Cercozoan). Ninety percent of radiolarian species are extinct, but, to discover more about them, you can check out Haeckel's volume Die Radiolarien (1862).
Haeckel also produced finely detailed drawings of radiolaria in Kunstformen der Natur (Art Forms in Nature, 1904), a book that features multi-colour lithographic plates of organisms, animals and sea creatures such as jellyfishes, starfishes, calcareous sponges, star corals and barnacles.
There are some fascinating shapes in this volumes, from spiralling ammonites to delicate jellies, at times illustrated in visually striking colours. Many artists associated with Art Nouveau were influenced by Haeckel's images, including René Binet, Karl Blossfeldt, Hans Christiansen, and Émile Gallé.
Taschen will released a volume in October entitled The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel that celebrates the biologist and illustrator. This collection will feature 450 prints, drawings, watercolors, and sketches, but in a way it could be considered as a redundant publication as Haeckel's works are now in the public domain and you can easily find them all over the Internet.
If you want to check some of Haeckel's works out, but don't feel like surfing the net, click on the links between brackets to download PDF versions of Die Radiolarien (Download EHaeckel_Die Radiolarien) and Kunstformen der Natur (Download EHaeckel_Kunstformen der Natur) and let yourself be inspired by the art forms of nature.
Comments