Assignment 4 - Ornament or Nature

I disagree with Adolf Loos' quote “The evolution of culture is synonymous with the removal of ornament from objects of daily use.” Loos thought that ornament does not increase the pleasure of life.  He believed that ornament was a crime and express hatred towards it in his quote “Ornament is not merely produced by criminals, it commits a crime itself by damaging national economy”. Ornamentation was expensive due to the labour and time put into the objects. He believed that ornamentation was a waste of manpower and that it was unnecessary. He expresses this through his quote " If I wanted a piece of gingerbread I will choose one that is completely plain, it tastes better that way".

This picture above of the door handles would be exactly what Loos was against. It was most likely hand made and has a lot of craftsmanship to it. Loos would find it pointless.
I believe that ornament can enhance the aesthetics of a design. It is evidently shown through these door handles. I think the fact that it shows craftsmanship makes it more valuable and meaningful.  I think that our culture is in need of ornamentation still. In correlation to loos quote " If I wanted a piece of gingerbread I will choose one that is completely plain, it tastes better that way"  if i wanted a piece of gingerbread I would want it to be a different flavour every time, its a lot more interesting to contemplate that way.

Link to the picture is here