Art Deco

1910-1939

Art Deco reached its peak between the two world wars. Spanning the boom of the roaring Twenties and the bust of the Depression-ridden 1930’s, Art Deco came to epitomise all the glamour, luxury and hedonism of the Jazz Age and the age of Swing.

It was the style of the Flapper girl, the Charleston, the luxury ocean liner, the Hollywood film and the Skyscraper.

Raymond Hood, American Radiator Building, N.Y. 1924

Natalia Goncharova (Russian) dress

Silk applique. French, 1924-6

Cassandre, Nord Express 1927

Willliam Van Alen, Chrysler Building, New York, 1928-30

Modernism was a movement which was born out of the shock that both the United States and Europe felt at the end of the First World War.

The brutality and destruction of that conflict left society with a real desire to make things better for everyone. Idealistic.

1918-1939 was a very distinct but extremely contradictory period – an age of terrible economic depression and yet one of feverish youthful vitality which tried to ignore what in retrospect seems obvious; the coming of the second world war.Art Deco burst onto the world stage during the Exposition internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels modernes, in Paris 1925 and quickly swept across the globe.

Its influence was everywhere: it transformed the skylines of cities from New York to Shanghai and shaped the design of everything from fashionable evening wear to plastic radios.

Above all it became the style of the pleasure palaces of the age – hotels, cocktail bars, night-clubs and cinemas.

Bakelite 5 valve Radio

Italian, 1940

Foyer of the Daily Express building, London,1932

Hoover factory, London (1932-35)

Art Deco Diner, Miami,1935

Follies Bergiers, Paris

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture

Dominion Cinema, Morningside

Odeon, Clerk Street

White House pub, Craigmillar

Examples of

Art Deco Buildings

in Edinburgh!

Maybury Casino (originally a diner)

ARCHITECTURE

Architecture

The uncovering in Egypt of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922 left its mark on all walks of life. Offices, factories and cinemas showed the Egyptian influence. It also encouraged woman to wear copies of grave goods from the pharaoh’s tomb. The designers followed two rules- they made no attempt to translate any of the religious of symbolic meanings, and not hesitate in modifying the design by adding motifs or materials from entirely different cultures

These elevator doors of the Chrysler Building are decorated with stylized papyrus motif decor

John Storrs (American,

1885-1956).

Scarab Pectoral, from the Tomb of Tutankhamun, in the Valley of the Kings at Thebes, c. 1361-52 BC

Though it originated in one off masterworks or limited edition pieces, Art Deco became synonymous with mass consumption and modernity, and was enthusiastically embraced by taste makers all over the globe, among them Josephine Baker, F.Scott Fitzgerald and the Maharajah of Indore.

Deco was an essentially eclectic style. It drew from European craft traditions as well as from the exotic cultures of Ancient Egypt, Meso-America, East Asia and Africa.

Its use of unashamedly precious materials was a reminder of the wealth of empires, whilst its streamlined and geometric imagery celebrated the machine age and the exuberance of the contemporary world.

Canopy Bed. Silver-covered wood. Indian, 1922

Product Design

BakeliteAlthough aluminium, chrome, stainless steel and other metal

Hybrids were the keynotes of the streamlined era, it was a far humbler material that brought about the biggest revolution in commercial mass-production. Synthetic plastics and earlier Bakelite allowed streamlined forms to take the shape of radios, Telephones, and other household goods. We take these plastic goods for granted today but they only became widespread in the 1920s and 30s

Product Design

In their way the innumerable Art Deco cups and saucers, plates, teapots and cigarette lighters, with their clean colours and clear designs, affordable by almost everyone, mirrored the cheerful optimism and gave a boost to those beset by increasing problems - The Great Depression, the Wall Street Crash, the rise of Fascism.

Industrialisation and marketing could produce and sell in quantity and cheaply. In the USA, the Sears Roebuck mail order catalogue was a hugely successful example.

Product Design

Erik Magnussen (born Denmark), Cubic coffee service, or ‘The Lights and Shadows of Manhattan’, Silver, silver gilt and oxidised silver, American, 1927

Product Design

Jean Puiforcat, Clock- nickel plated bronze and white

marble, French 1932

Jean Goulden, Clock,

Silvered bronze with enamel, French, 1928

Product Design

Christian Fjerdingstad (Danish), ‘Gigogne’ Coffee pot, creamer and sugar, Silver, 1926

Luciano Baldessari,

Luminator, Standing Lamp,

Chrome plated steel, Italian, 1929

Product Design

E. McKnight Kauffer, Metropolis, 1926

A.M Cassandre,

Nord Express, 1927

Graphic Design

Tom Purvis, Harrogate: The British Spa, poster, colour lithograph, British, c 1928

Graphic Design

It was also a period of great vitality and change in the fine arts. The experiments of Picasso and Braque leading to cubism, set up ripples that ran through Cubism to the Futurists in Italy, the Vorticists in England, to de Styl in Holland and Constructivism in the USSR.

To be ahead of one’s time, pushing forward, was to be a modernist.

In the profusion of rapidly changing “isms” there was a common tendency towards abstraction. This was of basic significance to Art Deco and helped to unify the various directions within the style.

Tamara de Lempika (born in Poland)- Jeune fille en

vert. 1927

Braque- ‘Houses at La Estaque

1909

Art Nouveau was of central importance to the rise of Art Deco, if only as a style against which to react. Art Nouveau had relied on natural, particularly botanical motifs. Art Deco turned away from the sinuous quality to sharper abstraction and independent colour.

Where nature was used, animals were preferred, although female form continued to play a large role.Art Deco upheld the importance of craftsmanshipbut also benefited from mass production. Objects could be made with expensive, rare materials but copied in cheap alternatives in great numbers.

Marcello Dudovich-Poster. Colour lithograph. 1934

Alphonse Mucha, Job. Colour Lithograph, Czech,1897

Graphic Design

Picasso- ‘Les Demoiselles de Avignon’ ,1907

Many artists- again Picasso above all, were looking at primitive art.

Museums were rediscovering their examples and displaying them for all

to see.

Cartier, pylon pendant. Diamonds and onyx in open-

back platinum setting. French,1913

Auguste Bonaz, necklace. Galalith. French 1930’s

Edward McKnight Kauffer, book jacket for The Bleston

Mystery, London. Colour lineblock. 1928

Dressing Table and bench, red lacquered wood, glass and chromium plated metal. American

c.1929

The style spread rapidly though every aspect of daily life –e.g. in the appearance of cinemas, radios, cars etc. Where Art Nouveau had been complicated, Art Deco was clear and pure. It could be light hearted or strictly serious. A style in a time of unprecedented change, it was flexible enough to perfect that change.

Art Deco was the first truly 20th Century style – it was international- could be adapted to any manmade object – was not governed by cost – arrived when new technology enabled rapid, wide spread communication.

Paul Fuller, jukebox, model 1015, American, 1946. Made by

Wurlitzer

Claudette Colbert wearing Egyptian head dress, bracelet and ring in

Cleopatra, directed by Cecil B. De Mille, 1934

Art DecoThis paved the way for a fundamental change in female dress in 1910. With the beginnings of the Art Deco movement. Influenced by the Russian Ballet and Paul Poiret’s designs, which had a strong Oriental influence because of the production of Scheherazade the costumes for which were designed by Russian born Leon Bakst. The costumes were unrestrained, fluid and the colours were striking, garish and society adopted them with enthusiasm. The old pale pinks and ‘swooning mauves’ were swept away; the rigid bodices and bell shaped skirts were abandoned in favour of soft drapery.

Skirts became narrow at the hem and in 1910 they became so narrow the hobble skirt was the outcome. The hobble skirt made it difficult for a woman to take a step of more than 2 or 3 inches. It was a strange idea as at that time the suffragette demonstrations were taking place and it seemed that woman were enslaving themselves in this type of dress. Harem trousers also were seen at this time but these created such a sensation that only the most daring women persisted in wearing them.

Fashion designers prospered with many working on a romantic oriental theme such as Lucille (Lady Duff-Gordon) and Paul Poiret or tailor made suits derived from men’s suits.Just before the outbreak of the First World War there was another couple of modifications. The first in 1913 was the V-neck blouse. At the time it was akin to indecent exposure and was dubbed the ‘pneumonia blouse’ but in spite of all the protests the V-neck was very soon accepted. The second was a kind of tunic which reached to just below the knee that fitted over the long skirt which was tight at the ankle however, when the war broke out women found the double skirt an encumbrance in the war work in which many of them were engaged but the tailor made suits were very popular.

Pablo Picasso (Spanish), costume for the Chinese conjurer in the

Massine Ballet Parade. Satin and Silver cloth, 1917

The First World War had a deadening effect on fashion and it was 1919 before fashion picked up again. Then in 1925 came a revolution, that of the short skirt! The waist also dropped down to the hip.

Theatre Costume, Paul Poiret, 1911

Green silk gauze and gold lamé with blue foil appliqué and celluloid-bead embroidery, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Erte Costume Designs

A new type of woman had come into existence- the androgynous look was one that girls strove for- trying to look as much like boys as possible. All curves were abandoned and women cut off their hair creating the bob of the early 20’s then the shingle cut which made the coiffure follow much more closely the lines of the head and the cloche hat became universally popular.

The outstanding revolutionary design talent of the Twenties was undoubtedly ‘Coco” Chanel, only rivalled a few years later by Elsa Schiaparelli.

Chanel evening dress. Sequins on chiffon, French 1932

These two women were not merely dress designers; they formed an important part of the whole artistic movement of the time.

Jeanne Lanvin, Embellished Robe, 1920s

Coco Chanel

1883-1971The key to Channels success was her use of lightweight fabrics which gave woman unprecedented freedom of movement

TEXTILES

Elsa Schiaparelli

(1890 – 1973) was a surrealist artist in the world of high fashion

'Tear' Evening Dress, 1938(Fabric designed by Salvador Dalí)

Shoe hat

Eyelash hat

TEXTILES

As the decade drew to a close skirts suddenly became long again and the waist resumed its normal place and it symbolised a return to more serious thinking as in economic terms there was the Great depression, in political terms there was the rise of Hitler and Fascism.

The cloche hat, which had ruled over the style for nearly ten years, was abolished and women were free to grow their hair long again.

1930’s fashion designs

Wide shoulders and slender hips seemed to be every woman’s ideal, exemplified in the figure of famous actress Greta Garbo.The silver screen and Hollywood was a big influence at this time and film actresses were at the forefront of fashion, their costumes created by designers such as Gilbert Adrian.The Back became the new erogenous zone.The main lines of women’s clothes in the early 1930’s were dresses were slim straight, being sometimes wider at the shoulders than at the hips. Tall girls were admired; all the tricks of the couturier were employed to give the impression of increased height.

The Depression helped to bring the clothes of different classes

closer together and a new process had begun which

brought the creations of the Paris design houses within the reach of nearly every woman.Before 1930 buyers (especially

American buyers) tended to purchase several dozen copies of

each selected model shown in Paris and resell them to a

wealthy clientele. But after the Slump the American authorities imposed a duty of up to 90 per cent on the cost of the original model. Toiles (i.e. patterns cut out in linen) were allowed in

duty-free. Each toile was supplied with full directions for making it up, and although the original dress may have cost a

hundred thousand francs, it was now possible to sell a simplified

version for as little as fifty dollars.

With the growing use of synthetic fabrics even the factory girl could now afford to purchase artificial silk stockings.

In the summer of 1939 as there were many different styles and silhouettes in Vogue but all had a tiny waist in common, held in by super light weight boned and laced corsets. Perhaps, if peace had been preserved, women in the 1940’s would once more have been confined their waists in a rigid cage.

History, however, decreed otherwise as the Second World War had begun.

Art Nouveau Fashion/Textile Designers:Charles Frederick WorthJacques DoucetDoeuillet and Drecoll Paul Poiret

Art Deco Fashion/Textile Designers:Coco ChanelJeanne LanvinElsa SchiaparelliPaul PoiretMariano FortunyThe Ballet Russes - devised by Sergei DiaghilevLeon BakstSonia DelaunayJean PatouMadeleine VionnetChristian BerardStepanovaPopova

Key PointsSimple, unadorned designClean unfussy linesDynamic, powerful imageryStreamlining i.e aerodynamic shapesOcean liner detailsMotifs- sunbursts, lightning bolts, zig

zags, leaping gazellesOrder, color and geometry: the essence of Art

Deco vocabulary

Characteristics of Art Nouveau / Art Deco Styles

Art Nouveau

Sinuous, curving quality of line

Organic growth (plant forms, intertwining tendrils)

Lack of symmetry

Whiplash Line (swirling, weaving)

An artificial style, often asymmetrical

Use of flowers, leaves, insects, female nudes

Art Deco

Eclectic style- drawn from Africa, Asia, Mexico, Egypt amongst others

Angular, rectilinear rather than curvilinear

clear and pure

Symmetrical

Tendency to abstraction

Works embrace naturalistic, geometric or abstract surface decoration

Assertively modern style

Art Nouveau/ Art Deco

Task: Choose one designer from Art Nouveau and one designer from the Art Deco movement. Use at least two examples of work from each designer, describe these in detail and use your observations to validate your opinions on both designers’ work.

Start with an outline of the main features of each movement – dates, influences, aims, sources of inspiration etc – set the movement in it’s period and context in time.

Use the Visual elements and Design Issues in your descriptions of each example and give your own reasoned opinions of the work of each designer. Provide good illustrations/colour pictures of the pieces you describe.