rt Deco is a movement defined by a period of time and a myriad of influences rather than a distinct style all its own. It is a “highly diverse style that incorporated many varied, even conflicting, ideals.”1 These conflicting ideals were encompassed in the blending of “ancient imagery—from classicism to the symbolic repertoire of Ancient Egyptian and Aztec art—with the futurist imagery of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon.”2 This sense of blending, of taking two opposing styles—past and future—and creating a balance or harmony between the old and the new is symptomatic of the time period of Art Deco. After World War I the world was in turmoil, particularly in Europe, and the handmade, artisanal quality of design gave way to mechanized, consumerist style. Many people in the 1920s found themselves with large sums of money, and decadence, fun, and beauty seemed like the best way to celebrate the end of the war, and the ushering in of a new, post-war world. Much was being learned about the ancient world, and about distant, exotic lands. The handcrafted quality remained for the upper class and wealthy, but it was combined with a celebration of mechanization, through mass-production, streamlined structure, and applications of geometric shapes to many pieces of design. The skyscraper became the symbol of the times—a testament to moving forward, moving upward, an image of power and magnificence in the modern era. Furniture, graphics, architecture, and clothing were all streamlined and boasted efficiency, simplicity, and geometric sensibility—but with a decorative twist, because the era was about beauty, not austerity. The Art Deco movement took inspiration from movements in the art and the design worlds, as well as the technological advances being made in the time. It was a movement defined by “pizazz and energy… as well as glamour and luxury,”3 one that overlapped and melded with other movements and sought mostly to capture and express the emotions and values of the interwar period. Known by various names connoting the popular design styles of the time, such as “Style Chanel and Style Poiret (after those leading fashion designers); Skyscraper Style, Vertical Style, and New York Style; Art Moderne or Modern (the American term of the late twenties and the thirties); Jazz Style; or simply modernism,”4 the name Art Deco did not come into existence until 1966, when it was retroactively applied to the movement, adapted from the name of the event often described as its defining moment: the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris in 1925.
2
irst seen as “radically opposed to Art Nouveau,”5 because of the evolution from “linear convolutions [to] modulated planes, contorted plant life [to] schematized flowers and animals, a turgid flight of fantasy [to] the distillation of tradition,”6 Art Deco is now believed to be an offshoot of Art Nouveau, because of their similarities in the use of “ornamentation, exotic materials, bright colours and unfailingly high-grade workmanship.”7 However, “unlike Art Nouveau, Art Deco was not conceived or precipitated by independent groups of artists working with common ideals and standards.”8 Instead, it is a catchall applied to the design primarily coming out of Paris in the period roughly between 1910 and 1940, of which the common thread lies in “a mood representing what modernity meant to people in the first half of the twentieth century.”9 Stylistically, Art Deco “encompassed a great variety of influences from Eastern and Western Art, from ancient Egypt to the imagined future, and from the geometric to the non-symmetrical.”10 Serving “as an important channel between radical and traditionalist design responses to twentieth-century challenges,”11 Art Deco “sought to express the vibrant temper of its times; it sought to capture the haunting savor of life in the jazz age, and later it sought to express the upbeat, modish, ‘streamlined’ rhythms in the age of ‘swing.’ It frequently exuded joie de vivre and celebrated progress through technology,”12 seen in the popularity of mechanized, geometric shapes, the design of commercial packaging and advertising, and the celebration of industrial materials and new architectural abilities. It has been described as a movement containing “the ultimate synthesis of styles: it borrowed from the craft traditions of Europe as eagerly as it embraced aspects of ‘the exotic’… its use of rare and unashamedly precious materials was a reminder of the wealth of empires, whilst its geometric imagery celebrated urban modernity.”13 Using the term “Art Deco” to encompass “the tremendous fertility of ideas, culture, and design, beginning in the early 20th century and reaching a peak in the 1920s and 1930s,”14 helps to explain the vast library of styles contained within the Art Deco umbrella, as well as promotes the idea that Art Deco was more of a movement in values, one that “responded to real human needs through the conscious celebration of fantasy, fun, glamour and commerce”15 in a post-World War I world of “devastation and irrationality.”16 Although it actually originated prior to World War I, beginning “in 1910 when Art Nouveau slid out of fashion,” Art Deco’s “zenith was in 1925 at the Paris exhibition.”17 In its inception, Art Deco design contained “luxurious one-ofa-kind masterworks and limited edition pieces,” which evolved post-World War I into a “style of hedonism, of indulgence, of mass consumption,”18 as it came to be applied to everything “from architecture to fashion, film to furniture, graphic arts to dishware, even in the design of trains, planes, automobiles and ocean liners.”19 This extensive variety adds to the difficulty of defining the Art Deco style. However, there is one key element contained in all the various designs categorized under the Art Deco umbrella: “decoration is more important than anything else.”20
3
rt Deco is generally recognized as containing two distinct periods within the movement. Prior to World War I, the style mainly “featured artisan decorative arts, mainly European, and centered in Paris.”21 This period was highly influenced by the Ballets Russes, whose arrival in Paris from Russia in 1909 is the “moment which historians mark as the catalyst of the Art Deco period.”22 The Ballets Russes were highly avantgarde, employing musicians and artists from the avant-garde movement and celebrating exoticism through its themes, costumes, and sets.23 The exoticism of the Ballets Russes combined with the French obsession with “images of Persia and a legendary orient… prompted by popular romantic literature and the performing arts”24 led The ballet russes’ “Le train bleu”, 1924 to the highly colourful, exotic style of the early Art Deco period. This was the period of Paul Poiret’s slim silhouetted Directoire dresses and the advent of the turban and classical bandeaux as popular headwear. It was a time in which “objects, graphics, and fashions were decorated or crafted using painstaking old-world techniques”25 such as lithographic illustration processes, handcrafted furniture, and hand-sewn and painstakingly decorated clothing. Paul Poiret “Directoire” evening dress, 1911
4
George Barbier, “Scéhérazade” magazine illustration, modes et manières d’aujourd’hui, 1914
George Barbier’s “Schéhérazade” 1914 magazine illustration for Modes et Manières d’Aujourd’hui exemplifies this exotic, old-world ideal. The illustration depicts a woman dressed in an elaborate turban, with long chains of pearls and a long, multi-layered dress contemplating a rose. She is drawn in the elongated, slim-silhouetted style of the Art Deco period. The room behind her is equally as exotic as her dress. The column contains gold inlays and tassels, the column itself painted in a jewel-toned purplish-red. The wallpaper depicts an exotic plant in dark colours and a simplified style, creating a sense of richness through the rich colours. On the table behind her stands a Bonsai tree, emphasizing the obsession with all things exotic and Eastern at this time. The back of her head and neck are reflected in the circular mirror behind her, where we can see that her chains of pearls are not hanging around her neck, but rather from her ears, a style that most likely comes from the influence of elaborate Persian jewelry. She is a representation of a typical wealthy woman in her exotically decorated home, and gives her viewer a clear image of the fashion of the time that they should aspire to.
5
fter World War I, when “the machine became the dictator of style, designs changed radically: streamlining, simplicity, and functionality prevailed.”26 However, design did not become austere, and exotic influence was at an all-time high after the war—it was simply rendered in a different way than it had been before. In the 1920s, the Art Deco style exploded with geometric modernism and new materials, and began to spread rapidly around the world. The focus shifted from the artisanal Parisian decorative arts to “a focus on mass-produced industrial arts,”27 and life became about beauty and celebration through decoration. The female silhouette in sautoir in rock crystal, onyx, diamonds fashion became even more slim and and seed pearls mounted in platinum, 1925 streamlined, with dropped waistlines and higher hemlines to further lengthen the body and promote the newly liberated female. The slim, lengthened silhouette of clothing was soon complemented by a lengthened style of jewelry. Necklaces were long and beaded, the “sautoir—long necklaces of jewels or pearls with a tassel at the end—were popular, as were bandeaux wrapped around the head,”28 in the early style of Paul Poiret and the Persian influence. Women’s hairstyles became blunt and cropped, which “led to the revival of long pendant earrings, often in the form of jeweled tassels with flexible settings so that the earrings could move.”29 In Edgar Brant, Cobra dressé pedestal in gilt1922, Tutankhamen’s tomb was discovered, creating an obsession with bronze, wrought iron and marble, 1926
6
Jean-Michel Frank, hinged nesting tables 1930 Van Cleef & Arpels, bracelet and shoulder clip, rubies, emeralds, sapphires, onyx and diamonds mounted in platinum, 1924
all things Egyptian. Serpents decorated pedestals, serving trays, and vases; Egyptian art motifs were embroidered on purses, decorated ladies’ jackets, and inset into jewelry. A Van Cleef & Arpels bracelet and shoulder clip of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, onyx and diamonds mounted in platinum utilizes the gemstones to create imagery that would have been found painted on the walls of tombs.Along with Egyptian art motifs, the pyramid was used to symbolize “the future and the contemporary skyscraper,” rendered by Art Deco artists “in a monumental perspective to make it seem even more immense than it actually was.”30 It was often abstracted, rendered geometrically as elongated or truncated triangles, sometimes with strong blocks of colour to promote a sense of three-dimensionality. Triangular and Maison Desny, table lamp 1920s pyramidal motifs were widely used in graphics, architecture, and furniture design, for example in Jean-Michel Frank’s triangular hinged nesting tables; through the use of abstract line decorating the front of Jacques-Èmile Ruhlmann’s cabinet; and for the abstract Maison Desny chromed metal and frosted glass table lamp. H.O. Hofman utilizes the triangular or pyramidal shape to create an abstract image of a stage in his April 18, 1925 New Yorker magazine cover. The triangular shape of the spotlight beaming onto the geometric figures is given a sense of three-dimensionality by the use of dark triangular shapes on either side. The shadows of the figures form an elongated, distorted triangle behind them, and up the right side of the cover runs an upside-down, elongated triangular shape made Jacques Émile Ruhlmann, cabinet, 1925 up of smaller triangular shapes, which, with its strange sense of
7
proportion, creates a shape reminiscent of that seen from looking down from the top of a skyscraper, and the visual distortions that vantage point creates. The stage is also rendered in a triangular shape, offset by one of the only curves in the image, the “spot” of the spotlight curving around the back of the figures’ shadows. The strong diagonal lines created by the triangular shapes draw the eye around the piece in a somewhat jarring manner. This creates a very real sense of the “zigzag” style of the twenties—the abstract, semi-chaotic feeling of movement created by jazz music, the speed and precision of mechanics, and a reference to the strong, simplified graphics of the Bauhaus and Constructivist movements. Another example of pyramidal motifs seen in the Deco movement is the “L’Heure de Rimmel,” perfume label of 1925. The top banner of the perfume, stating the brand name “Rimmel – Paris”, is dominated by a strong motif of overlapping triangles. The triangles are tri-coloured in shades of purple, outlined in what appears to be raised gold leaf. Above the triangles, the banner is coloured a shade of green, with gold curves filling in the gaps H. O. Hoffman, The New Yorker magazine cover, April 18, 1925 between the points of the triangles and a seemingly random gold dot pattern above. Here, the use of the pyramidal shape seems purely for decorative reasons, as it most likely was already a commonly seen motif. It speaks to the trendiness of the Rimmel company and the modernity of the perfume. The lower portion of the label, featuring a stylish twenties woman in what appears to be an underdress, is semi-risque, as she sits at her dressing table putting on her makeup. The whole label taken together, then, through its use of modern imagery of a woman and its celebration of the geometric, pyramidal shape, speaks to both the modernity of the product and the brand, as well as reinforces the ubiquitous nature of the geometric and Egyptian trends.
owever, the geometric elements of Art Deco style were not just influenced by the pyramids of Egypt and the innovation of machinery, they were also based on “the geometric motifs of Aztec and Mayan art and the complex, semiabstract compositions of
8
“L’Heure de Rimmel” perfume label, 1925
the Incan culture,”31 which can be seen in the application of starburst and zig-zag, lightning-bolt style motifs on architectural pieces such as the Chrysler building and the RCA building (now the General Electric Building) in New York City. The top of the Chrysler building is designed with overlapping curves containing within them triangles and lines that promote the feeling of a starburst. These curves gradually become smaller from the bottom to the top, where they culminate in a long, pointed spire. Below this curved, starburst style element, the building is tall and rectangular. Where the rectangular part of the building meets the beginning of the curved starbursts, there are simplified, geometric gargoyles perched at the edge of each tangent, drawing to mind Aztec- or Egyptian-style animal imagery, as well as reinforcing the geometry of Art Deco. The RCA building has more of a gothic sensibility than most Art Deco buildings, but the decorative elements along the façade william van alen, chrysler building, new york city 1928-1931 of lightning bolts, swirled suns, and striped geometric shapes define the building as firmly belonging to the Art Deco. Even the gothic-seeming top of the building, on closer glance, reveals geometric pyramidal shapes, lightning bolts, sunbursts and overlapping curvilinear lines. The gargoyle is rendered simplistically and geometrically, reinforcing the Aztec influence as well as solidifying the geometry of the Art Deco over the lavishness of the Gothic. gyptian, Aztec, Mayan and Incan style were not the only popular exotic elements in Art Deco design—French Pacific colonies were also a large influence, “commonly expressed in Art Deco graphics by stylized flora and fauna, and were manifest in the decorative arts in the form of Oceanic masks and figures as well as exotic woods.”32 This can be seen in the Leroy and Co. wallpaper design of 1925, which features a white cockatoo on a green perch, hanging from the blue branches and leaves of an exotic tree. The image is reduced to simplified shapes that create a sense of texture without using many colours or much detail. The white shapes that make up
cross & cros, RCA Building, new york city, 1931
9
jean dunand, vases 1920s
Paul Colin, “La Revue Nègre” poster 1925
Leroy & Co., wallpaper design, 1925
robert bonfils, “elephant the body of the cockatoo, for heads” 1925 example, create a feather-like raoul dufy, “jungle” 1922 texture out of simple, curved shapes, none of which touch one another. This use of negative space to create division through line creates visual interest and promotes the Art Deco ethos of simplicity and reduction. Instead of miguel covarrubias, vanity fair magazine illustration 1930 the cockatoo being an elaborate illustration rendered in multiple colours as would have been seen in the Art Nouveau, the cockatoo is reduced to its necessary, two-dimensional elements: the shape of its body and its feathers. This wallpaper, with the exotic tree and exotic bird, emphasizes the interest in the French Pacific colonies, and shows how that interest was interpreted in the Art Deco style.
long with the Pacific Colonies, an interest in black Africa started by Picasso’s “attention to African masks in the early years of the century,” evolved into an enormous fascination when “the uninhibited black American singer and dancer Josephine Baker was introduced to the Paris stage in 1925.”33 In fashion, this led to the popularity of flapper dresses with fringedstyle skirts reminiscent of Baker’s stage costumes, like Voisin’s orange and yellow velvet dress with gold beading. In graphics, posters like Paul Colin’s “La Revue Nègre” and illustrations like Miguel Covarrubias’s for Vanity Fair depicted black people in the highly racist, “negro” style of large, smiling red lips, large eyes and wide noses. In ceramics, vases and containers were often painted or inlaid with geometric motifs inspired by African tribal patterns, and textiles utilized images of African animals like cheetahs and elephants, as seen in Raoul Dufy’s “Jungle” fabric of 1922 and Robert Bonfils “Elephant Heads” fabric of 1925. voisin, flapper dress, 1925
10
esides the influence of exotic places and exciting discoveries of the time, Art Deco style was also highly influenced by the art movements of the early 20th century, such as Futurism, Cubism, and the AvantGarde, as well as the design movements, such as the De Stijl, Constructivism, and Bauhaus, occurring around the same time in other European countries. The influence of art is particularly evident in the graphic design of the Art Deco movement post World War I. These graphics contained “a more radical use of geometricism; tension and agitation from the juxtaposition of forms and fragmentation of images; abstraction; rationalization; [and] extreme simplification,”34 which contrasted with the flowing, organic style of Art Nouveau as well as the hand-drawn, illustrative graphics seen in the early period of Art Deco, such as Alex Pozeruriski’s “Après la Danse” magazine illustration of 1915. The influence of modern art and design movements were seen in everything from promotions for cigarettes, perfumes, champagne, chocolate, household products, clothing, travel, railways, alex pozeruriski, “Après la danse” magazine illustration for la gazette du bon ton 1915 and magazine design. The influence of Cubism “added fragmentation, abstraction and overlapping images and colour”; from Futurism came “the new century’s preoccupation with speed and power.”35 Art Deco took a sense of “pure line, form and colour”36 from Design movements such as the De Stijl and Constructivism. The influence of Cubism can be clearly be seen in Léo Marfurt’s “Flying Scotsman” poster of 1928. The figures in this poster are strong, solid, two-dimensional geometric shapes, with visual interest being created by the abstract application of different colours. In the busiest part of the poster toward the left side, where a large group of people waiting to board the train is pictured, the figures become even more abstracted and turn from people into overlapping coloured shapes. This creates visual interest as well
11
as a sense of crowding, which aligns with the idea of a busy train station and creates the effect in a simplified, geometric way that promotes Art Deco values. Complementary colours are juxtaposed against one another in this poster, but used sparingly so that the poster still retains a sense of harmony within the jumble of shapes. The repetition of the colour blue draws the eye from the largest figure to the crowd of people, léo marfurt “Flying Scotsman” poster 1928 effectively promoting the subject—the “Flying Scotsman” train—and helping guide the viewer’s eye around the poster. All the diagonal lines face the same direction, which further adds a sense of harmony and unity within the busy, geometric composition. A.M. Cassandre’s “L.M.S. Bestway” poster of 1928 also utilizes Cubist overlapping techniques, and an avant-garde composition with the close up view of train wheels, but is decidedly Futurist in its promotion of speed. The poster depicts the train by showing its most mechanized and technological aspect—the fast wheels it runs on. A sense of speed and movement is created by the use of abstract shapes in white and grey that seem to blend into one another. This creates the texture of chrome or metal as well as promotes movement, as if the shapes are moving so quickly the human eye cannot see them crisply. Off the wheels comes a mass of horizontal, blurred red lines that draw to mind sparks and again create a sense of extreme speed. Almost all of the lines in the poster are horizontal, with the exception of the chrome glare on the wheels, which runs diagonally. This strong use of horizontal line moves the eye across the page, which emphasizes the speed and movement of the subject. Above the wheels are sans-serif block letters spelling out “L.M.S” with a sparing use of line to create a sense of dimensionality and visual interest, and below that the word “Bestway,” imperfectly curved to give a sense that it is being dragged around with the wheel, and the viewer is seeing it in A. M. Cassandre “L. M. S. bestway” 1928 the split second before it continues its rotation.
12
ith the surplus of consumer goods in the 1920s, “dynamic design [became] an essential tool by which to persuade customers to buy a particular product,”37 and therefore buy into the particular lifestyle being promoted. This led to the poster becoming as important as the radio in terms of advertising mediums, and the design of the poster becoming particularly simplified, “reduced to the essentials of product and brand name. Sharply linear compositions, floating on flat areas of background colour, quickly drew the eye. Other gimmicks helped to gain attention, such as aerial or diagonal willy wilrab “Problem Cigarettes” poster 1926 perspectives.”38 Taking cues from the Bauhaus movement, “new sans-serif type faces streamlined the message,”39 of the advertisements, allowing for greater readability of the essential information. Willy Willrab’s “Problem Cigarettes” poster of 1926 exemplifies this new simplistic style. The poster uses strong diagonal lines to draw the eye from the leftmost corner to the brand name and the product, which are both rendered very simplistically and in few colours against a solid light-blue background. There is no question in this poster as to what is being promoted. The poster only contains images of the brand name and the product, and uses both to fill the entire space. However, what keeps the poster from being boring is the use of diagonal line to create three-dimensionality and the subtle uses of colour, for example in the orange of the O mirrored in the orange of the burning cigarette, to promote unity and echo and emphasize the curved shape. The strong sansserif type allows for the simplified use of line, and gives a modern feel to a product commonly promoted by a sense of elegance and refinement. he growth of women’s rights and leisure activities brought a “wave of liberalism [that] encouraged physical fitness, sport, and travel” arose, and graphic designers found themselves designing “posters, brochures, postcards, and magazine illustrations [that] depicted and reinforced the trend” of “luxurious transportation on railways, in automobiles, and on magnificent ocean liners.”40 The emphasis in graphics created to promote transportation “was given to the speed, magnificence, and comfort of the new methods of transport, particularly in the case of the transatlantic liners.”41 The idea of speed and magnificence was created with the use of extreme perspective, distorting objects to create illusions of size and power, and by the
13
utilization of a sense of motion in the graphics, through strong horizontal lines and a blurring of edges to promote the idea of movement and speed. An excellent example of the extreme use of perspective used to promote magnificence or power in poster design is W.F. Ten Broek’s “Holland-Amerikalijn” poster of 1937. This poster depicts a transatlantic ocean liner, rendering it in an extreme sense of perspective so a. m. cassandre, harper’s bazaar the viewer feels he or she is looking magazine cover october 1938 up at the ship from below. Broek utilizes the format to promote this sense of immensity and power by making the ship bleed off the edges w. f. ten broek “holland amerikalijn” poster of the poster, as if it were too big to 1937 be contained. The ship is rendered in the simplistic, solid-colour style of the time, with an emphasis on shape rather than detail. The text is placed below the ship in the blue assumed to be the water, and is rendered in large, block sans-serif type for readability. This poster, like Willrab’s, uses only the image of the product and the product name, which creates clarity about what the poster is promoting as well as heightens the sense of majesty about the ship, because it is the largest image on the page and takes up two-thirds of the poster. Another of the foremost graphic designers of the Art Deco period, whose work reflected this modern emphasis, was A.M. Cassandre, whose “architectural style, characterized by a. m. cassandre “nord express” poster 1927 simple design, clean lines, and bold colour, influenced designers worldwide.”42 Some of his most famous designs include those for various railway companies, such as the previously discussed “L. M. S. Bestway” poster and his “Nord Express” poster, as well as his advertisements depicting the Dubonnet Man and his 1938 cover for Harper’s Bazaar. Graphic designers like Willrab, Broek, and Cassandre represented the modern age, reflecting “what industrial ingenuity brought to society… [they] grasped the changes and incorporated them into their designs… [carrying] the spirit of modernity into the cultural mainstream”43 through their utilization of simplicity and geometry to celebrate modern A. M. Cassandre, dubonnet advertisement and poster inventions and promote them to the masses. 1935
14
albert cheuret, mantel clocks 1925
owever, despite the simplicity of the previously discussed designs, Art Deco remained inherently about decoration, unlike the De Stijl and Bauhaus movements where function was the ultimate driving force and decoration was seen as extraneous and unnecessary. Although “undecorated, largely concrete structures in the Bauhaus, Modernist, Modern Movement or International School vein are often simply called Art Deco because of their boxy, rectilinear shapes, [the] lack of any outstanding ornament, polychromy, distinctive lettering or ornamental metalwork generally disqualifies them from being classified under the Art Deco rubric,”44 proving the intrinsic quality of decoration to the Art Deco movement. The difference between decoration in Art Deco and decoration in prior movements such as Art Nouveau is that Art Deco is primarily defined by the conscious use of simplicity and the promotion of streamlining subjects and reducing objects to their essential features. In Art Nouveau, decoration was often the driving element behind design, whereas, in Art Deco, design returned to “purity of form and refinement. Designs were simplified, and carved detailing scaled back,”45 seen, for example, in Albert Cheuret’s mantel clocks of 1925 in gilt and silvered bronze, and in the understated yet still decorated Charlotte Perriand buffet circa 1927 of mahogany wood, veneered with bois de violette, chromed metal and sandblasted dale de verre panels. The clocks promote simplicity through their form of simple geometric shape and solid material, however, they are still very much decorated in their use of line and
15
Charlotte perriand, buffet 1927
in the Aztec, pictograph-style of the numbers on the clock face. The clocks are not overly decorated, but are interesting visual pieces that go beyond their mere function to become objects of beauty that can proudly be displayed. In their sleekness and smooth curves, the clocks start to look almost DecoStreamline, fitting in to the repackaging concept of Streamline design in their new presentation of a common household item. Their use of machinery-esque material promotes the interest in technological innovation at the time as well as gives them sleekness and sets them firmly apart from the elaborate, grandfather clocks of previous eras. Likewise, the buffet is not extraneous in its decoration, and is very boxy and geometric in shape. However, it still makes use of decorative elements to add visual interest, such as in the glass panels in the center, and the use of chromed metal at the bottom of the cabinets to add contrast with the dark wood and tie in with the gold and silver decoration on the glass. The chrome and glass also open up the rectangular shape and reflect light, preventing the piece from becoming heavy due to the dark wood and the solid shape. Despite the simplicity of the piece, the sense of decoration is upheld, albeit less extremely than what was seen in the Art Nouveau, because “beauty in the home, it was argued, was essential to man’s psychological well-being.”46 This sense of beauty as essential to wellbeing can be seen in more than just interiors and furniture—it can also be seen in graphics and fashion, in their attempt to promote a particular “lifestyle or attitude, such as elegance, refinement, sophistication, [or] optimism,”47 through colourful graphics, beautiful beadwork and fabrics, and intricate geometric forms across all design mediums.
16
he Art Deco was a movement defined by the values of the modern era. Although it began in France it soon spread across the world, melding with design movements from other countries, such as Bauhaus, Constructivism, De Stijl, and Streamline, to create a sense of design with many different facets and styles. The Art Deco umbrella encompasses a variety of design motifs and elements, but the unifying factor of the importance of decoration and the promotion of the modern age are inherent in all Deco designs. The simplest Art Deco designs may seem to fit in to the movement only by virtue of the period and place of their creation, but in their utilization of bright colours, geometric shapes, or exotic motifs, (however sparingly), these designs display a flair for the decorative mostly unseen in the designs of other modern movements. The great variety of pieces within the Art Deco movement reflects the variety of the era. It was a time of attempting to balance seemingly opposing ideals—simplicity with decoration, the ancient and exotic with modern innovation, happiness and glamour with post-war devastation—many of which were difficult to reconcile, leading to interesting combinations not seen before in design. Perhaps this visual interest and discordant harmony are really the unifying factors of the movement. Regardless, Art Deco resulted in some of most visually interesting and beloved designs of the 20th century. Although the movement ended after the second World War, when the frivolity of decoration and the celebration of life seemed impossible after massive death and destruction, Art Deco continuously cycles back into fashion, a testament to human nature’s intrinsic desire to celebrate glamour, beauty, and joie de vivre through design.
17
1 Patricia Frantz Kery, Art Deco Graphics (New York: Thames & Hudson, 2002), 18. 2 Richard Striner, “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis,” Winterthur Portfolio vol. 25 no. 1 (Spring 1990), 22. 3 Stanley Meisler, “Art Deco: High Style,” Smithsonian vol. 35 no. 8, (2004). 4 Kery, Art Deco Graphics,18. 5 Alastair Duncan, Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s (New York: Abrams, 2009), 6. 6 Penelope Hunter, “Art Deco: The Last Hurrah,” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series vol. 30 no 6 (June-July 1972). 7 Duncan, Art Deco Complete, 6. 8 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 18. 9 Ibid.18. 10 Duncan, Art Deco Complete, 6. 11 Striner, “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis,” 21. 12 Ibid. 21. 13 “Art Deco 1910-39,” 84. 14 Striner, “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis,” 34. 15 “Art Deco 1910-39,” 86. 16 Striner, “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis,” 25. 17 “Art Deco 1910-39,” 86. 18 Ibid. 84. 19 Meisler, “Art Deco: High Style.” 20 Ibid. 21 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 18. 22 Suzanne Lussier, Art Deco Fashion (London: V&A Publications, 2003), 6. 23 Ibid. 6. 24 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 30. 25 Ibid. 18. 26 Ibid. 18. 27 Ibid. 18. 28 Mitchell Beazley, “Jewellery,” Miller’s Antiques Encyclopedia (London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003). 29 Ibid. 30 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 30-31. 31 Ibid. 30. 32 Ibid. 30. 33 Ibid. 30. 34 Ibid. 18. 35 Duncan, Art Deco Complete, 133. 36 Ibid. 133. 37 Ibid. 133. 38 Ibid. 133. 39 Ibid. 133. 40 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 31. 41 Mitchell Beazley, “Posters,” Miller’s Antiques Encyclopedia (London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003). 42 Ibid. 43 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 17-18. 44 Patricia Bayer, Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties (New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999), 8. 45 Duncan, Art Deco Complete, 14. 46 Ibid. 14. 47 Kery, Art Deco Graphics, 20.
18
“Art Deco 1910-39.” Craft Arts International, no. 59. (2003): 84-87. Bayer, Patricia. Art Deco Architecture: Design, Decoration and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999. Beazley, Mitchell. “Jewellery.” Miller’s Antiques Encyclopedia. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003. Credo Reference. Beazley, Mitchell. “Posters.” Miller’s Antqiues Encyclopedia. London: Mitchell Beazley, 2003. Credo Reference. Duncan, Alastair. Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s. New York: Abrams, 2009. Hunter, Penelope. “Art Dèco: The Last Hurrah.” The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series vol. 30, no. 6 (June-July 1972): 257-267. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3258967 Kery, Patricia Frantz. Art Deco Graphics. New York: Thames & Hudson Ltd, 2002. Lussier, Suzanne. Art Deco Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 2003. Meisler, Stanley. “Art Deco: High Style.” Smithsonian vol. 35, no. 8 (2004): 56-61. Academic Search Complete. Striner, Richard. “Art Deco: Polemics and Synthesis.” Winterthur Portfolio vol. 25, no. 1 (Spring 1990): 21 34. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1181301
19