Art Deco

I love walking into an Art Deco building, it takes my breath away. I lived in an art deco apartment in San Francisco, there are many. It is amazing how many worldwide, major structures, hotels, theatres are out there.  The patterns, the sleekness, the gold, the curves, the glamour, the opulence, the clothes! 

This video is a great description. He mispronounces Poirot ;( , someone pointed it out in the comments.

What are the main characteristics of the Art Deco style? 

Arguably, Art Deco cannot be seen as one style. Encompassing Art Deco Jewellery, Art Deco Furniture, Art Deco Architecture – and even Art Deco Painting and Sculpture style – it is an extremely broad movement, which puts together various influences from a combination of diverse sources. In fact, it has been described as a ‘Pastiche’. 

Art Deco was directly inspired by the colours of Fauvism and forms of Cubism, Constructivism, Bauhaus, De Stijl and Futurism. In particular, this ‘pastiche’ of styles has a particularly strong connection Cubist artworks, with geometric forms, strong angles and vivid colours.

Furthermore, as well as combining historic European movements and the contemporary Avant Gardes, it also takes from Russian ballets, traditional folk art, iconography and motifs from a variety of cultures. 

Specifically, Art Deco artists appropriated ancient motifs - especially those from Egyptian culture after the discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. In fact, when looking at the objects, designs, prints and artworks produced in this period we can clearly recognise decorative patterns from Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Asian, Mesoamerican and African Art. 

Despite the myriad of diverse influences and references, Art deco does have a clearly recognisable aesthetic, directly referencing the urban imagery of the machine age. Taking from the different movements, it reflects speed, time and space, by using geometric bold forms and vivid shades. 

Machine-made objects became the central inspiration for Art Deco, through simple surfaces, symmetrical compositions and repeated themes. The features of Art Deco artworks reflected those typically attributed to mechanical objects and serial production. However, Art Deco pieces were rarely mass-produced. 

Art Deco is famous for priming simplicity as a luxury. It was as a celebration of progress according to a modern aesthetic, representing the 20th century. 

It focused on decorative elements: geometry, symmetry, continuous vertical lines, fragmented forms and abstraction - decorative pieces with plain forms and shapes with clean, geometrical lines. 

Art Deco was inherently ornamental and decorative. Nevertheless, as it was strongly related to other art movements and even taking from diverse cultural influences, Art Deco’s clean shapes, bright strong colours and use of expensive materials demonstrate a strong relation with Modernism’s break with the past.  

A guide to Art Deco

FAMOUS ART DECO HOTELS – GET THE LOOK! 20’s Art Deco Style: What, When, Where, and How The most beautiful Art Deco buildings in Los Angeles

Art deco treasures in far-flung corners, here are some examples from that story. 

Charles Comfort’s bas-reliefs in CN’s Central Station in Montreal.

One of W. George Smith’s two Streamlined Moderne houses in Corner Brook.

The brass doors on Vancouver’s art deco Marine Building.

This educational video by Matthew Bird made me long for my art deco stuff and to see more.

 

I had several Tamara de Lempicka posters framed in my apartment, this one my favorite - “Self Portrait in a Green Bugatti”, 1929. Via Widewalls.

Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles

Designed by Sir Edward Brantwood Maufe and made by W. Rowcliffe, Desk, 1925, Courtesy of the Victoria and Albert Museum © Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2021.

I bought so many wonderful, affordable art deco items at the Goodwill in the late 1980's. Coffee pots, a bunch of bakelite clocks and radios, a dutch oven that I never used but loved with all of my heart, coats, nightgowns - satin cut on the bias, dresses, chairs. Each object for daily use was a work of art. 

All are sadly gone, given away through all of my moves. I had so many clothes, determined to deconstruct and make new patterns. The only way I could give these away is imagining some magical person is going to love them as much as I did when they spot them at the Goodwill. Especially the dutch oven, something I just recently parted with.

If you are not completely exhausted listening to art deco videos, here is one more that is really informative by Professor Lynne Porter 

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