Art Deco

History:

Art Deco was first introduced to the world in 1925 at the World's Fair in Paris after the completion of World War I. The world's fair was a showcase for interior design. It included furniture, textiles, lamps, and accessories for one's home. This style used sharply angle and cubistic forms. There was a strong use of aluminum, black lacquered wood, and glass. Zigzag patterns were also strongly present to resemble the up-and-coming use of electricity and the radio.

While France was the point of origin, the Art Deco movement didn't really make it over the United States and other European countries until the beginning of World War II. This style was more fashion oriented and strongly decorative. It was not concerned with functionality and technology as it was with modernism. There were lots of skyscraper furniture pieces used throughout spaces that used Art Deco. Just as Art Nouveau, which it was strongly influenced by, the public was often hesitant to accept its unique characteristics.

The furniture designs used a lot of rich materials. Some of these materials included zebrawood with inlays of ivory, ebony, tortoise-shell, leather, polished metals, glass, and mirrors. Textile designs included cubistic themes, zigzags, stripes, plaids, and deco colors.

One of the main ways that the Art Deco movement spread was by radio, especially into the American homes. Cabinets and tables had console-model radio receivers that were made of wood with slick and curving forms. These styles were no longer historically based. The color of blue hinted at the use of electricity as well as black and chrome being used to resemble the new technology up rise.

Another way that the style of Art Deco spread internationally was the French Ocean-liner the Normandie. It was predominately designed by Richard Bouwens and Roger Expert.

There were many influential designers that shined during the Art Deco movement. Some of the most popular ones included Michel Roux-Spitz, Jean Dunand, Maurice Dufrene, Jean-Michel Frank, Eileen Gray, Josrph Urban, Paul Frankl, and Frederick Kiesler. 

Current Applications:

Discussions:

I read Megan Sanderson's blog and I really liked all of her different example pictures that she had of Art Deco. I feel like she really got the entire style in all of those pictures.

I also looked at Allison's blog and like how she focused more on the actual stylistic properities and the core of the history to go alone with her examples.