Decoration

Decoration is that aspect of art which considers, after the elements of design are created or taken into account, the embellishment of an object with additional esthetic or esthetic-symbolic elements. Decorative art, as a genre, is thought to be concerned only with esthetic embellishments. However, cultural analysis of art with such limited intentions shows how, in fact, 'mere' decoration reflects the material and behaviourial culture in which it is created. This is notably true in decorative applied art whose object is to produce art commodities or esthetically designed articles of everyday use whether coat hangers, salt shakers and pepper mills, or candlesticks, etc. Decoration is a term particularly reserved for surface enhancement by colours, patterns, carvings, incisings, ornamentation, etc. While such decoration may indeed be esthetically superficial, it may also complete the design of the object and be an integral part of it. Decoration may also be functional, according to anthropologists and ethologists, as indicators of how humans (or animals) should relate to an object. These various distinctions are illustrated by human clothing. A particular example might be the design and decoration of a matador's costume including his red-lined cape. Decoration is one of the most abused of the arts. One of its gravest excesses is in commercial use to sell inferior products. This is particularly true regarding clothing.