Surviving Examples of Art Deco - Essay Example

  Art Deco Art Deco is a dominant visual arts motif technique which initially started in France in the 1920s, developed globally in the 1930s and 1940s and then faded after the World War II. Art Deco is a diverse art technique which merges customary craft designs with innovative materials and imagery. Art Deco contains lavish ornamentation, bold geometric shapes, and rich colors. Moreover, Art Deco surfaced from the period of interwar when fast industrialization was changing people’s way of life. Art Deco has an attribute of including technology. Its ability to incorporate technology in its works differentiates it from Art Nouveau. Bevis Hiller defined it as a modern technique that was symmetrical instead of asymmetrical, focusing on the rectilinear instead of curvilinear. This means this art style adapted to the demands of mass production, new material, and the machine (Bayer 12). This paper will look at Art Deco. In its initial stages, it highlighted faith in technological and social progress, luxury, exuberance, and glamour. The term Art Deco became popular in 1966, in a French exhibition, in 1925. In this event, the term helped to differentiate French art works of the Belle Epoque from art works of the time. In addition, it describes a number of crafts developed in the Entre Deux Guerres period, and also developed by the Bauhaus. Nonetheless, since it started in France, there is a claim that it should be utilized to works associated with the French and those made in nations with direct influence from France. The Art Deco period has lasted from 1925 during an event to exhibit novel concepts in applied arts (Lucie-Smith 26). Its inspiration largely came from ancient art from all over the globe. In the 1920s, inexpensive means of travel allowed direct contact to several, societies, communities, and cultures. In addition, there was a common interest in archeology because of excavations in areas, for example, the tomb of Tutankhamun and at Pompeii, Troy. Designers and artists incorporated Machine age elements with decorations from ancient Greece, Oceanic, Egypt, Asia, Mesopotamia, Rome, and Mesoamerica. Also, Futurism, Constructivism, Modernism, Functionalism, and Cubism contributed to its development (Lucie-Smith 29). The sculptor, the cubists and other art workers worked together to decorate a Studio House in 1927, with a number of them designing the staircase, others the fountain, others the Cubist rug, and others the fireplace mantel. Art Deco also highlights geometric forms, for example, sunburst, spheres, chevrons, polygons, zigzags, trapezoids, and rectangles motifs. There is an organization of the components in symmetrical designs. There is also utilization of modern materials, for example, plastics, aluminum, chrome, stainless steel, and Bakelite. In addition, there is also the use of lacquer and stained glass inlays. Its colors also appear to be high-contrast and vivid. Moreover, it was a popular international style that influenced a large field of design. It was also largely utilized in consumer goods, for example, clocks, automobiles, jewelry, furniture, textiles and electronic goods, for example, jukeboxes, radios, and telephones (Bayer 14). Additionally, Art Deco influenced cinema, architecture, graphic arts, interior design, fashion, and industrial design. Amusement parks, public works projects, movie palaces, and ocean liners also employed Art Deco during the 1930s. Nevertheless, the negative effects caused by World War II made Art Deco decrease in reputation. A renaissance of attention started in the 1960s. Moreover, there has been the development of a style associated with Art Deco referred to as Streamline. This style started in the beginning of 1930. Streamline got its inspiration from contemporary principles of aerodynamics to decrease air friction at soaring swiftness. Manufacturers used the elements to buildings, cars, gas pumps, trains, refrigerators, and ships. The Chrysler Airflow of 1933 was one of the first vehicles manufactured from this style (Vincent 76). Streamlining had a fast impact on the automotive design. The new designs continued to be fashionable after World War II. There have been a number of surviving examples of Art Deco in different areas of the world, such as United States of America, Latin America, and Africa. The United States has a number of Art Deco architecture in Detroit, Chicago, and New York. The skyscrapers are the most famous forms of Art Deco in America. Nonetheless, Art Deco structures can be traced in several neighborhoods. In Detroit, the most famous Art Deco architecture is the Guardian and Fisher buildings. Both these buildings are National Historic Innovations. Another Art Deco architecture is Wilshire Boulevard, found in California. This building went through significant construction events in the 1920s. These buildings have undergone renovations in the near future. Florida also contains a significant amount of Art Deco structures dating from the 20s to the 40s (Long 31). Art Deco was also influential in the final stages of in the theatre construction of the movie palace era, for example, the Fargo Theatre. Dallas, Fair Park also contains a significant number of Art Deco architecture. This state has several structures in existence, for example, the First National Bank Building, Houston City Hall, Kyle Building, and the Jefferson County Court House, among others. The Kansas City Power and Light Building illustrate the Great Depression and its impact on Art Deco architecture (Long 33). The initial design was to construct a twin tower on the west location. Nevertheless, its construction failed to continue because of financial issues. The result is a large tower with a bare west side and lacking windows. In Latin America, a number of the existing forms of Art Deco works can be found in Cuba, mostly in Havana. The Bacardi Building contains an Art Deco design. The style can be witnessed in the architecture of private homes, residences, utensils in public buildings, businesses, furniture, hotels, and significant pieces of decorative art. Africa’s most notable illustrations of Art Deco can be traced in Eritrea and have been in existence since the colonial period. A large number of buildings exist in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Other forms of Art Deco can be found in Egypt, Morocco, Mozambique, and Angola. Art Deco still continues to influence artists and designers in the contemporary world. Works Cited Bayer, P. Art Deco Architecture Design, Decoration and Detail from the Twenties and Thirties. New York: Thames & Hudson, 1999. Print. Long, C. Paul T. Frankl and Modern American Design. New York: Yale University Press, 2007.  Lucie-Smith, E. Art Deco Painting. New York: Phaidon Press, 1996. Print. Vincent, G. K. A History of Du Cane Court: Land, Architecture, People and Politics. California: Woodbine Press, 2008. Print. Read More