ART DECO MOVEMENT

The period termed "art deco" was a popular design movement & manifested itself roughly between the
two world wars, or 1910 to 1939.

Many actually stretch this period back to 1900 and even as far as the late 1950's, but work of this time is
generally considered to be more of an influence to the Art Deco style, or having been influenced by the
style.

As with many other art movements, even work of today is still being influenced by the past.

This period of design and style did not just affect architecture, but all of the fine and applied arts as well.
Furniture, sculpture, clothing, jewelry and graphic design were all influenced by the Art Deco style.

Its popularity apexed during the 1920s. Although many design movements have political or philosophical
roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative.

At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, ultra modern.

Traditional forms in stylistic manner were married to veneers of modernism using new techniques of
construction.

Art Deco buildings with their surface treatment of projected vertical & Horizontal banding in contrast
colour suggest attractive gift wrapping of the building. Public buildings were more lavish than residential
buildings. Ancient forms of domes, buttresses were married to modern skeleton of the building.

Popular themes

One can easily detect in many examples of Art Deco the influence of Far and Middle Eastern design,
Greek and Roman themes, and even Egyptian and Mayan influence.

Modern elements included echoing machine and automobile patterns and shapes such as stylized gears
and wheels, or natural elements such as sunbursts and flowers.

Design influences were expressed in fractionated, crystallined, faceted forms of decorative cubism &
futurism, other popular themes in Art Deco were trapezoidal, zigzag, geometric & jumbled shapes Which
can be seen in many early pieces.

Art Deco is characterized by use of materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, lacquer, inlaid wood,
sharkskin (shagrin), zebraskin. It also features the bold use of zigzag stepped forms & sweeping curves
unlike the sinuous curves of Art Nouveau, chevron patterns & sunburst motifs. Sunburst motif is used in
spire of Chrysler Tower, also in auditorium Of Radio city music hall.

So what distinguishes this style from all of the rest? Basically it was a "modernization" of many artistic
styles and themes from the past.

The term 'Art Deco' was coined in 1966, following a retrospective exhibition entitled 'Les Annexes '25',
held at the Musée des Arts Decorates in Paris.
This commemorated the 1925 Paris 'Exposition Internationale des Arts Decorates et Industrials
Moderns'.

Originally planned for 1915, but postponed on account of the First World War, the 1925 Exposition was
distinctive from previous international exhibitions for two reasons. For the first time, the decorative and
applied arts held a centre stage.

The criteria for inclusion in the Exposition also emphasized the modern, to the extent that well
established decorative artists might be excluded because they were seen as representative of a previous
generation.

In 1926 the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a retrospective exhibition to which original contributors
were asked to send material.

The American contribution to Art Deco is known as Streamlining modern and is characterized by clean
lines and strong curves.

It was applied to the design of cars, architecture and furniture. It was also applied to new mass-
produced goods such as refrigerators and radios.

In their attempt to reach new consumers from around 1930, manufacturers took iconic elements of the
Art Deco styles and simplified them for mass production.

Married to modern machine age materials such as bakelite and chrome, this style heralded an era of
'modern' design for mass consumption of affordable consumer goods.

The 1925 Exposition had a major influence on the decorative arts in America. Although the United States
was not represented, many Americans visited the exhibition.

The dominant style of the twenties and thirties, its exuberance and eclecticism were reactions to the
austerity of the war years. In many ways the exhibition consisted of ‘modern’ versions deriving from
earlier periods, e.g. Egyptian or Roman, but given a less ornate, almost geometric style as could be seen
in the twentieth century art movements: Cubism, Futurism.

Emily Jacques Ruhlmann, french designer & exponent of Art Deco style of design designed some of the
most lavish interiors of public & commercial places with coloured leather sofas, urns, wall paintings a
modern maximalist design.

Art Deco remains one of the most popular movements of the twentieth century. The 2003 exhibition
held at the Victoria and Albert Museum, entitled Art Deco 1910-1939, (the descriptive catalogue for this
is in the Fine Art Library at NK780, for reference only) registered an attendance of 360,000. In the
same year the Titian at the National Gallery in London attracted over 260,000 visitors and the Monet at
the RSA in Edinburgh 170,000.