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thumb, built 1928-1930,]]
thumb's Beau Brownie camera]]
Art Deco (French: Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes) was a twentieth century movement in the decorative arts, that grew to influence architecture, design, fashion and the visual arts.

History

The name Art Deco derived from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, a World's Fair held in Paris, France in 1925, though the term was not used prior to the late 1960s. Art Deco was influenced by many different cultures, particularly pre-World War I Europe. The movement occurred at the same time as, and as a response to, the rapid social and technological advances of the early 20th century.

Paris was at the center of the high end of Art Deco design, epitomized in furniture by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, the best-known of Art Deco furniture designers and perhaps the last of the traditional Parisian ébénistes, and Jean-Jacques Rateau, the firm of Süe et Mare, the screens of Eileen Gray, wrought iron of Edgar Brandt, metalwork and lacquer of Jean Dunand, the glass of René Lalique and Maurice Marinot, clocks and jewelry by Cartier.

The term Art Deco was coined during the Exposition of 1925 but did not receive wider usage until it was re-evaluated in the 1960s. Its practitioners were not working as a coherent community. It is considered to be an eclectic form of decorative Modernism, being influenced by a variety of sources. Among them were the "primitive" arts of Africa, Egypt, or Aztec Mexico, as well as machine age technology such as the radio and skyscraper. These were expressed in fractionated, crystalline, faceted form of decorative Cubism and Futurism, in Fauvims' palette.

Sources and attributes

thumb City Hall, 1926–1928 epitomizes the American Art Deco style.]]
Corresponding to these influences, Art Deco is characterized by use of materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, lacquer, inlaid wood, sharkskin (shagreen), and zebraskin. The bold use of zigzag and stepped forms, and sweeping curves (unlike the sinuous curves of the Art nouveau), chevron patterns, and the sunburst motif. Some of these motifs were ubiquitous — for example the sunburst motif was used in such varied contexts as a lady's shoe, a radiator grille, the auditorium of the Radio City Music Hall and the spire of the Chrysler Building.

Art Deco was an opulent style and this lavishness is attributed to reaction of the forced austerity caused by World War I. Its rich, festive character fitted it for "modern" contexts including interiors of cinema theaters and ocean liners such as the Ile de France and Normandie.
A parallel movement called Streamline Moderne or simply Streamline followed close behind. Streamline was influenced by manufacturing and streamlining techniques arising from science and the mass production shape of bullet, liners, etc., where aerodynamics are involved. Once the Chrysler Air-Flo design of 1933 was successful, "streamlined" forms began to be used even for objects such as pencil sharpeners and refrigerators.

Decline

In popular culture

Art Deco designs frequently appear in modern art, architecture, entertainment, and media when a "retro" look is sought after. Some of the more pronounced examples include:

* The Batman animated series from the early 1990's was heavily influenced by art deco. The creators of the show pushed Art Deco a step further into a form they refer to as Dark Deco
* The computer game Sim City 4 makes heavy use of Art Deco buildings.
* The architecture and design in Grim Fandango, a computer game from LucasArts, are in the Art Deco style.
* The film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow takes place in an almost entirely Art Deco environment.
* The opening and closing titles of Peter Jackson's King Kong are designed in an Art Deco style, as was the film's website.
* Most Regal Entertainment Group cinemas are designed with an Art Deco theme.
* Much of the recent development in the city of Long Beach, California has been in an Art Deco-like postmodern style.
* Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California has an Art Deco-themed section.

Noted Art Deco artists and designers

Noted Art Deco architects

right
*Albert Anis
*George Coles
*Ernest Cormier
*Banister Flight Fletcher
*Oliver Hill
*Charles Holden
*Raymond Hood
*Ely Jacques Kahn
*Edwin Lutyens
*William van Alen
*Wirt C. Rowland
*Giles Gilbert Scott
*Joseph Sunlight
*Ralph Walker
*Thomas Wallis
*Owen Williams

External Links

*V & A Art Deco exhibition, 2003
*Article on Anzac Memorial with photos
*Art Deco architecture tour of Chicago landmarks *large collection of photographic examples
*Art Deco in Ireland
*The Art Deco Trust of Napier, New Zealand
*The Art Deco Society of California

Category:Architectural styles

ast:Art Decó

nrm:Art Déco