Art DECO

Art Deco

Art Deco Art Deco

Art DECO

Art Deco

Art Deco Art Deco

Art DECO (1925-50s) followed

Art Nouveau and was succeeded by

Modernism (with which it competed as

a style after World War 2).

Art DECO affected ALL FORMS OF DESIGN, from the fine and

decorative arts to fashion, film, photography, transport and product design.

It covered a period of

history that included the

boom of the roaring

1920s and the bust of

the Depression-ridden

1930s, fading in

importance through

World War 2 and

ending in the 50s.

Art deco began in Europe, at the Paris Exposition of 1925

and continued as the main style until the late 1930s.

But … Art Deco ideas started a lot earlier. Campbeltown

cinema opened on 26th May 1913 but includes elements of Art

Deco styling ( as well as Art Nouveau)

The ART Deco style

chrome, glass, shiny fabrics, mirrors and mirror tiles

stylised images of aeroplanes, cars, cruise liners, skyscrapers

nature motifs - shells, sunrises, flowers

theatrical contrasts - highly polished wood, glossy black lacquer mixed with satin and furs

The stepped profile is typical of the art deco shape, found everywhere from uplighters to picture surrounds. Also zigzags, chevrons, key patterns and lightning bolts

Eclecticism

Eclecticism

Eclecticism

Art Deco: Design Influences

Art Deco drew on many sources and designers borrowed

from arts of Africa, Egypt, America and machine imagery

from industrial products

After Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922, Egyptian

pyramids and sphinxes adorned everything.

Tutankamun’s tomb yielded major motifs whose design was

incorporated into Art Deco architecture and engineering as were

other Egyptian forms – scarabs (beetles), jewellery, pyramids ,

furniture – there was even a dress based on mummy wrappings.

It was not just for the elite. By the 1930s, mass production meant

that everyone could live in the deco style. Travel became popular

and trains, boats, planes and cars incorporated the lines of Egyptian

art.

The same lines and forms were ‘re-invented’ as

streamlining for the Coronation Scot designed by William

Stanier in the 1930s

Folk art, heavily influenced Art Deco.

Its appeal represented an authentic ‘tribal’

cultural source, while its simple geometric

patterns were easily modernised.

Maya clothing

The architect Frank Lloyd Wright had a career

that spanned Art Nouveau, Art Deco and

Modernism.

This stained glass motif repeated three times in

this window is called ‘The Tree of Life’ (Yggdrasil’)

It has a narrow central ‘ trunk’ and diamond

shaped ‘leaves’

The geometric patterns owed much to Hopi and

Navajo Native Indian diamond and zigzag patterns

and the designs of Aztec and Maya Arts from

Central America

Zigzags were very popular on buildings and

appeared on many cinema fronts.

This was a boom time for the film industry as

‘talkies’ only emerged at the end of the twenties.

Everybody went to the cinema at least once a

week and TV was in its infancy.

ART DECO – Reinventing Tradition

Geometric Navajo Indian rug design

The Chrysler Building is the most famous Art

Deco skyscraper and includes both rounded and

zigzag motifs. Built 1928-30

Stained glass lamps by Tiffany of New York were

very popular and used many geometric elements and

the bright colours of native art.

The Empire State Building was designed in two

weeks by William Lamb. It is not pure Art Deco but

includes other elements too.

The tiered Empire State Building is reminiscent of

tiered Aztec temples and this borrowing of style is

typical Art Deco

Rounded corners, curved frontages and strong

vertical elements are typical Art Deco as is the

white stucco finish

The White House Edinburgh

Liverpool Philharmonic Building

Trains came to represent prestige, speed and

modernity and streamlined trains, such as the

Gresley A4 – (Mallard was the fastest steam

locomotive ever), went into service in nearly every

country during the 1930s.

The Art Deco age was one of the most

extraordinary in the history of travel. It

marked the expansion of mass travel and the

high point of exclusive, luxury travel like the

Orient Express.

Technology meant ships, planes and trains

were streamlined and air travel expanded

massively through the 30s as did cars.

Art Deco - Travel

.

Art DECO

Art Deco

Art Deco Art Deco

Japanese Government Railways poster, 1937

The most luxurious of the vast ocean liners was

the Normandie, which became the ultimate

symbol of national prestige. Completed in 1933 and

costing over £50 million, she was decorated and

furnished by top French Art Deco designers

Striking designs for posters and marketing material also emphasized speed and comfort as characteristics of the modern

world.

Fritz Lang’s film Metropolis celebrates Art

Deco and Modernist cityscape in a similar

way to the Japanese poster

Japanese Travel poster with Art Deco cityscape and

futuristic elevated rail system

Travel and Film posters were a major feature of the 20s

and 30s as both types of leisure grew enormously

through this period

The number of cars on the roads expanded

enormously in the 30s. This Rolls Royce design was

aimed at the top end of the market for wealthy

customers as a status symbol.

This is actually a RETRO design as it was a later copy

of Art deco styling

Sand-blasted glass panel for Pilkingtons Glass, St

Helens, UK, 1933-38.

ART DECO – Exotic & Modern

Art Deco celebrated black African culture

ART Deco at the time

1912 RMS Titanic sails

1922 Tutankhamun's tomb is discovered

1931 Empire State Building is completed

Film stars - Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich,

Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire

The charleston and tango were the latest

dance crazes, jazz is born

Strong repeated geometric patterns

ART DECO

Fabrics & Wallpapers

Bright floral patterns - often with simple geometry

ART DECO - Lighting

Tiffany – pyramidal and stained glass patterns

Futuristic Machine Age circular forms with reflective

and mirrored surfaces in chrome and glass

Zigzags and twisted flowing metallic spirals

ART DECO - Furniture

Rugs - floors would have been overlaid with a large rug in geometric patterns. These were

often handmade by artists.

Fireplaces - fireplaces should be rectangular

and bold. Often tiled in pink, green or beige.

They were made of concrete - not many

survive today.

Colour - bold colour schemes such as silver,

black, chrome, yellow and red. Creams,

greens and beige, or oyster and eau-de-nil.

Cupboards - cabinets, wardrobes, etc

should be in pale veneered wood and simple

shapes in keeping with the light, airy feel.

ART Deco - influences

La Danse furnishing fabric, c 1920.

Frank Lloyd Wright Dining Room Furniture

he designed the furniture and fixtures as well as the houses

Art nouveau – Art deco retained the natural motifs but simplified the flowing organic shapes and pastels for bolder materials and colours such as chrome and black

Cubism - painters such as Picasso were experimenting with space, angles and geometry. Diamonds and chevrons were ‘borrowed’ from Hopi and Navajo Native Indian tribal art and Aztec and Maya.

Early Hollywood - the glamorous world of the silver screen filtered through to design using shiny fabrics, subdued lighting, and mirrors. Cocktail cabinets and smoking paraphernalia became highly fashionable

The ART Deco look - in the home

Furniture - strong, streamlined shapes for furniture –

and single pieces rather than suites.

Fabrics - plain or geometric fabrics with highlights for

example cushions in one solid block of colour.

Floors - Plain polished wood parquet. Lino in abstract

designs or black and white chequerboard vinyl tiles are

also typical.

Lighting - lights featuring female figures holding the ball

of the lamp are typical using chrome and glass. Glass

would have been etched, sandblasted or enamelled and

tinted (rather than brightly coloured)

http://www.decodevotion.co.uk/art-deco-websites.htm#

This Pop Art Chair from the 1960s is influenced

by Art Deco. This is RETRO style and Art Deco

motifs are still very popular