Art Deco Book

ART DECO

Art Deco is a style characterized by geometric regularity, planar surfaces, rectilinear compositions, and an overall elegant Machine Aesthetic. (Eskilson).

The term was created by Bevis Hillier in 1968. It came from the name of the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes” held in Paris 1925. (Eskilson). This exhibition provided more attention on the “decorative and industrial arts” and an interest in a modern, unified design style.

Willi’s Wine Bar Paris Cassandre Lithograph, 1935

3

The movement began in 1966 and became the definition of the works of different types of designers pursing ‘geometric abstraction’.

(Eskilson). Art Deco serves as the catalyst of the process of modern art styles. Elements of avant-garde art, including futurism, expressionism, cubism, and constructivism, were used to inflect a mass, commercial style with an appealing, uncontroversial modernity. (Friedman). Cubism added fragmentation, abstraction and overlapping images of color. Futurism provided the public with images of speed and power. (Duncan).

Nord Express Cassandre Lithograph, 1927

5

Many philosophical beliefs and social commitments linked to modern art were separated from the styles in which they were created. A commercial message celebrating glamour and the excitement of the modern lifestyle replaced these beliefs, and while some of the modern art ideology remained, the sleek, smooth commercial feel behind the Art Deco style became the main message.

L’Atlantique Cassandre Lithograph, 1931

7

Art Deco was the last truly sumptuous style in the history of the applied arts.

(Duncan). It is seen as an extension of the Art Nouveau in the lavish ornamentation, craftsmanship, and fine materials. The style of Art Deco eludes direct definition because it drew from a diverse and conflicting host of influences, including abstraction, distortion, and simplification. The main iconography consistent throughout the Art Deco movement is stylized flowers, young maidens, and geometric patterns.

Paris Cassandre Lithograph, 1930

9

The elements that highlight the Art Deco style, simplicity, symmetry, planarity, and geometry, create a visual language that affected a large range of artistic styles, forms, and designs. The new design style created new visual forms for the commercial market using rectangular and orthogonal elements, the Machine Aesthetic, and reductive geometric abstraction. (Eskilson).

Art Deco eventually became mass produced, but it began as homemade objects at high prices.

London Cassandre Lithograph, 1928

11

When referring to graphic design it did not constitute a singular aesthetic, but more of a loose set of ideas ranging from reductive geometry, elongated torsos, mannered angularity, petition, and regularity associated with the machine. (Friedman).

L’Intransigeant Cassandre Lithograph, 1925

13

The graphic style evolved in Paris after World War One. Primarily it was inspired by the arrival of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes in 1909, and Leon Bakst’s stage and costume designs.

(Duncan). In the 1920s, commercial art became a profession which established the graphic artists.

Italia-Cosulich, Lloyd Triestino-Adria Cassandre Lithograph, 1935

15

Posters of the time were created to announce theatrical events until the Great War when their use was expanded. Now they promote travel, sports, and art. New and improved manufacturing techniques created a surplus of consumer items which led to supply exceeding demand.

Grand-Sport Cassandre Lithograph, 1931

17

Dynamic design became a crucial part to advertising and attracting customers. Poster designs became the selling point for deciding what to buy.

The designs became simplified and clear, explaining exactly what one would be purchasing and from whom they were buying. They used color and perspective to gain attention.

Nord Express Cassandre Lithograph, 1927

19

The best-known Art Deco graphic designer in Paris was Adolphe JeanMarie Mouron. A Ukrainian immigrant, he took the pseudonym A.M. Cassandre. Cassandre was Art Deco’s foremost poster designer. He studied at Academie Julian in Paris before beginning his career in the graphic arts as a painter, theater designer, and typographer. (Duncan).

A. M. Cassandre 1901-1968

21

Cassandre was close friends with the Purist group and was influenced by their depiction of architecture and clearly delineated forms. Those influences are apparent in his posters as seen in the advertisement for the cafĂŠ cars of the French railroad he completed in 1932. (Eskilson).

The complete, polished look of the bottles and the perfect circle in the composition are reminiscent of the Purist style, as well as the linear, clear architecture.

Cubism is apparent in the way Cassandre collaged the wine bottles on top the parts of the train. The bold text connects the composition and pulls it together.

Restaurez-Vous au Wagon-Bar Cassandre Lithograph, 1932

23

In 1926, Cassandre published an essay on poster design in Revue de l’Union de l’Affiche Francaise. (Eskilson).

He invoked the ancient tradition of communicating meaning through images; something he wished to accomplish in his own work. He was committed to the graphic design traditions, but not the avant-garde movements, and as a result he took stylistic elements from various contrasting modernistic groups and remade them to symbolize elegance and wealth. He saw his work as separate from traditional painting, which shows in the way he takes modern art and turns it into useful stylistic elements, completely detached from their original meaning. (Eskilson).

United States Lines Cassandre Lithograph, 1928

25

One of Cassandre’s most memorable posters was the advertisement for Dubonnet liquor. His use of images to convey meaning captures the Art Deco style perfectly. The three forms of the man drinking with the wine flowing through him, symbolically filling him as his form fills with color. Cassandre created the serial poster with this advertisement, where successive images expand on a concept. (Eskilson). The repetition of the images symbolizes the modern world of mass production as well.

This poster fulfilled Cassandre’s vision of creating a work that has instant visual impact and can be understood in a short amount of time.

He comprehended the true value and use of the poster. He expertly eliminated extra details in order to sharpen the message. He relied on simplification to convey the message. (Duncan).

Dubo Dubon Dubonnet Cassandre Lithograph, 1932

27

Cassandre was a founding member in 1925 of the Union des Artistes Modernes (UAM), a trade group of modern architects and designers.

(Eskilson). UAM was a group of likeminded designers and artists who sought to advance the modernist style as a unified design language appropriate for the modern world.

(Eskilson). They rejected pre-war design, trying to erase the memory of war. Instead of using pre-war styles, they advertised the excited spirit and idealism of machinery of the Art Deco period. UAM was the closest group to creating a bridge between commercial design and fine art groups.

Pivolo Cassandre Lithograph, 1925

29

One of Cassandre’s most famous works is his poster for The Normandie.

The Normandie symbolized the elegance and wealth of the consumers of Art Deco style. Designed

by Vladimir Yourkevitch and launched in 1932, it was the first French ship over 1,000 feet long that matched the British liners in speed and contended for the Blue Riband awarded for the fastest crossing of the Transatlantic. (Eskilson).

Normandie Cassandre Lithograph, 1935

31

The Normandie is an example of streamlining, the use of clean, sweeping curves to create a sense of movement. (Eskilson). The use of streamlining in design became less a functional element to more a decorative design. Cassandre created a poster advertising the Normandie, capturing the element of streamlining perfectly.

‘Étoile du Nord’ Cassandre Lithograph, 1927

33

Cassandre designed many typefaces throughout his career. Bifur, introduced in 1929 by the foundry Deberny & Peignot, is an example of the stylized, reductive geometric abstraction of the Art Deco style. (Eskilson). The letters are reduced to their fundamental shapes with shaded areas characterizing the smaller details.

Cassandre designed the typeface acknowledging the streamlined curves and decorative flourishes stylish at the time.

Bifur Typeface 1929

35

Peignot, however, was Cassandre’s most successful typeface. Introduced in 1937 and named after Georges Peignot, the typeface was a huge success at the 1937 exhibition in Paris, the last great World’s Fair before World War Two. (Eskilson). The sans-serif font was intended to be legible while retaining the geometric style of Art Deco.

Peignot Typeface 1937

37

Art Deco was a result of Modernist designers struggling to transform society with their utopian ideals. It combined simplicity and energy to create a style that depicted glamour, luxury and extravagance. Utilizing modern materials, it was the first mass produced style to find acceptance with nearly everyone. Its influence brought graphic design into the modern era and established it as proper profession.

La Route Bleue Cassandre Lithograph, 1929

39

Duncan, Alastair. Art Deco. Thames and Hudson Ltd, 1988. Eskilson, Stephen J. Graphic Design: A New History.

2nd ed., Yale University Press, 2012.

Friedman, Mildred, and Phil Freshman. Graphic Design in America a Visual Language History. Walker Art Center, 1989.

Grand Sport Cassandre Lithograph, 1925

41