Art Deco
Art Deco
was a movement in decorative arts and architecture,
deriving its name from the Exposition
Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris
in 1925. It was a major style
in Europe and the US
during the 1930s. The term Art
Deco was apparently not coined until the 1960s,
and its practitioners were not working as a coherent community of stylists. It
is considered to be eclectic, being influenced by a variety of sources, to name
a few
- primitive art of countries such as Africa, Egypt
- the
Russian ballet
- animal motifs and forms
- female forms
- modern
technology such as the radio
and skyscraper.
Corresponding to these influences, the Art Deco is characterised by
use of materials such as sharkskin and zebraskin, zigzag and stepped forms, bold
and sweeping curves(unlike the sinuous curves of the Art
nouveau), chevron patterns,sunburst motif,etc., Some of these motifs were
ubiquitous- for example the sunburst motif was used in as varied contexts such
as a ladies shoe, a radiator grille, the spire of the Chrysler
Building. Art Deco was an opulent style and this opulence is attributed as
a reaction to the forced austerity during the years of World War I. Art Deco was
a popular style for interiors of cinema theatres and ocean
liners such as Normandie.
A parallel movement- the Streamline or Streamline Moderne, was influenced by manufacturing
and streamlining techniques arising from science and mass production- shape of
bullet, liners, etc., where aerodynamics are involved. Streamlined forms began
to be used even for objects such as pencil sharpeners and refrigerators. In architecture,
this style was characterised by rounded corners, used predominantly for buildings
at road junctions.
Some historians see Art Deco as a type of or early form
of Modernism
Though
Art Deco slowly lost patronage in the West, in colonial countries such as India,
it became a gateway for Modernism, and continued to be used well after, even in
the nineteen sixties.
'Noted Art Deco Artists and Designers'\
Noted Art Deco
Architects
Noted Art Deco Designs
