ART DECO

INTRODUCTION
Art deco , is a term that designates a style of design that originated in French luxury goods shortly before World War I and became internationally popular during the 1920s and 30s. Coined in the 1960s, the name derives from the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts, where the style reached its apex. Surviving examples may still be seen in many different locations worldwide, in countries as diverse as the united kingdom, Cuba, the Philippines and brazil. The Chrysler building is a classic example.
Works executed in the art deco style range from skyscrapers and ocean liners to toasters, furniture by designers such as France's mile-Jacques Ruhlmann (1879-1933), and accessories such as the elegant glass works of Ren Lalique. Art Deco experienced a decline in popularity during the late 30s and early 40s, and soon fell out of public favor. It experienced a resurgence with the advent of graphic design in the 1980s.

PHILOSOPHY AND THOUGHT

This movement was, in a sense, an amalgam of many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including neoclassical, constructivism, cubism, modernism, art nouveau and futurism. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, and modern.

After the Universal Exposition of 1900, various French artists formed an informal collective known as, La Socit des artistes dcorateurs (the society of the decorator artists). Founders included Hector guimard, Eugene Grasset, Raoul Lachenal, Paul Follot, Maurice Dufrene, and Emile Decour.
These artists heavily influenced the principles of Art Deco as a whole. This society's purpose was to demonstrate French decorative art's leading position and evolution internationally. It also drew on machine age or streamline technology, such as modern aviation, electric lighting, the radio, the ocean liner and the skyscraper for inspiration.

PERIOD
Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1925 until 1939, Its popularity peaked in Europe during the roaring twenties and continued strongly in the United States through the 1930s. affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, paintings, the graphic arts and films. The growing impact of the machine can be seen in repeating and overlapping images from 1925; and in the 1930s, in streamlined forms derived from the principles of aerodynamics. It was popularly considered to be an elegant style of sophistication in architecture and applied arts which range from luxurious objects made from exotic materials to mass produced, streamlined items available to a growing middle class.

STYL E Art deco is characterized by long, thin forms, curving surfaces,

angular shapes and geometric patterning. chrome, glass, shiny fabrics, mirrors and mirror tiles. stylised images of aeroplanes, cars, cruise liners, skyscrapers nature motifs - shells, sunrises, flowers theatrical contrasts - highly polished wood and glossy black lacquer mixed with satin and furs. The practitioners of the style attempted to describe the sleekness they thought expressive of the machine age. The style influenced all aspects of the era's art and architecture, as well as the decorative, graphic, and industrial arts. Art Deco works exhibit abstraction, distortion, and simplification, particularly geometric shapes and highly intense colors.

ART
Art Deco combined industrial images and geometric lines as well as a sense of glamour and opulence. Tamara de lempicka is probably the best known Art Deco artist. Her paintings such as Auto Portrait, and La Dormeuse, encapsulate everything that is Art Deco. Art Deco images can also be seen in vintage posters by artists like forney.

It was the showcase of a modern society in which tastes and styles were becoming international, shared as much by the key players of the Roaring Twenties in the United States as by Indian maharajahs and the gentry of Old Europe. There was a cross-fertilization of styles either imported from colonial empires and the Orient or borrowed from art history, all were the characteristic signs of this exceptional craftsmanship aimed primarily at a rich international clientele. It was an updated look based on very classical forms. It was a style "at once traditional and innovative".

ARTISTS
Tamara de Lempicka Tamara de Lempicka is best known for her stunning Art Deco paintings that capture the elegance and decadence of 1920s cosmopolitan nobility. Art Deco embraced the machine and progress. The clean lines and neat stylised fashion suited De Lempicka very well who hated the hazy and untidy images of the Impressionist movement.

Portrait de Mlle Poum Rachou

La Dormeuse Portrait d'Ira

Young Girl In Green

Portrait de Madame Allan Bott

Serengeti

Maroc L' Afrique du Nord

Exotic India

Forney prints perfectly capture the nostalgia of the early twentieth century with its timeless art deco style.

ARCHITECTURE
The structure of Art Deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes.Popular themes in Art Deco were trapezoidal, zigzagged, geometric, and jumbled shapes. The bold use of stepped forms and sweeping curves (unlike the sinuous, natural curves of the Art Nouveau).

We also see crystalline and faceted forms of decorative Cubism and Futurism. Chevron patterns, and the sunburst motif are typical of Art Deco.
Art Deco is characterized by use of materials such as aluminium, stainless steel, lacquer and inlaid wood. Exotic materials such as sharkskin (shagreen), and zebraskin were also in evidence. The "modernization" of many artistic styles and themes from the past distinguishes this style from the rest. You can easily detect in many examples of Art Deco the influence of Far and Middle Eastern design, Greek and Roman themes, and even Egyptian and Mayan influence. Modern elements included echoing machine and automobile patterns and shapes such as stylized gears and wheels, or natural elements such as sunbursts and flowers.

ARCHITECTS
RAYMOND HOOD
Raymond Hood is one of the most renowned architects in the history of the Art Deco period as well as New York City

PERIOD:1881-1934

WORK: Some of his masterpieces include : The Radio City Music Hall auditorium and foyer, NY The RCA Building at Rockefeller Centre, NY The 1929 New York Daily News Building, NY

RENOWNED FOR: His style is recognized through his distinctive use of banding techniques and terra-cotta.

New York Daily News Building

WILLIAM VAN ALEN

PERIOD:1883-1954 WORK: Chrysler building RENOWED FOR: his design of the Chrysler Building in New York City He became known for the design of commercial structures that defied historical conventions.

He was one of the first architects to use stainless steel over a large exposed building surface, as exhibited on the Chrysler Building. Even today, the Chrysler Building's distinctive peak remains one of the Manhattan skylines most recognizable elements.

HENRY HOHAUSER
He was one of the most prominent architects in Miami Beach. He was greatly influenced by the World's Fairs and the Chrysler Building in New York City.

PERIOD:1895-1963 WORK: Some of his projects, of which there were well over 300, included:

Hotel The Park Central (1937) The Cordozo Hotel (1939) The Colony (1935), The Century (1939) The Essex House Hotel (1938) The Edison Hotel (1935).

Hotel The Park Central

RENOWNED :He is best known for working in the Nautical Moderne style.

L. MURRAY DIXON

PERIOD:1901-1949 WORK: These include The Victor Hotel (1937 ) The Raleigh Hotel (1940), The Marlin (1939) The Tides Hotel (1936) The Senator (1939) The Ritz Plaza Hotel (1940) RENOWNED FOR: His work is best known and recognized for its striking use of circles and banding.
The Victor Hotel

EXAMPLES
EMPIRE STATE BUILDING THE ESSEX HOUSE THE GUARDIAN BUILDING ROCKEFELLER CENTER FISHER BUILDING THE PARK CENTRAL HOTEL CHRYSLER BUILDING THE GREYSTONE

Empire State Building

ARCHITECT: Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, William F. Lamb as chief designer (&Gregory Johnson) LOCATION: New York TIMELINE: 1930-1931 TYPE: Office building.

FEATURES
Steel frame 102 floors, 1252 feet, 381 meters high. Effective use of setbacks to emphasize tower. The building is clad in Indiana limestone and granite, with the mullions lined in shiny aluminium. There are in all 6,500 windows, with spandrels sandblasted to blend their tone to that of the windows, visually creating the vertical striping on the facade. The windows and spandrels are also flush with the limestone facing, an aesthetic and economic decision.

Chrysler Building
CHRYSLER BUILDING

The Chrysler Building is considered a masterpiece of Art deco architecture.

ARCHITECT: William Van Alen LOCATION: New York TIMELINE:1928-1930 BUILDING TYPE: skyscraper, commercial office tower

FEATURES
The distinctive ornamentation of the building is based on features that were then being used on Chrysler automobiles The Chrysler Building is also well renowned and recognised for its terraced crown

Composed of seven radiating terraced arches, Van Alen's design of the crown is a cruciform groin vault constructed into seven concentric members with transitioning set-backs, mounted up one behind each other. It has a stainless-steel cladding. It is ribbed and riveted in a radiating pattern with many triangular vaulted windows GROUND FLOOR PLAN

Rockefeller Centre
Constructed by Raymond hood it is America's largest privately owned business and amusement complex of the pre-war period began in 1931. In total, ten different units were constructed on the twelve-acre site, the last of which (the National Cash Register Company's offices) was completed in 1940. It is a skyscraper complex, commercial office tower in New York which has used steel frame and stone cladding. Situated on a block that lies between New York's busy 5th and 6th Avenues and 48th and 51st Streets, the development represents the culmination of pre-war skyscraper design and comprehensive planning. Public and private activities are brought together in the scheme and the whole design creates an atmosphere that is a direct and positive contribution to urban life.

The Park Central Hotel

One of Miami South Beach's most famous landmarks, this building was constructed by Henry Hohauser in 1937. It is located in the heart of the Art Deco district at 630 Ocean Drive. Some of the most notable features are the three octagonal windows above the entrance, which leads to a grand lobby with excellent examples of etched glass and terrazzo floors. Just around the corner, tycoons such as Harvey Firestone and J.C. Penney constructed mansions on a three-mile stretch known as Millionaires Row. an Art Deco classic with lavender, blue and mint green exterior and portal windows. The hotels lobby builds on the Art Deco theme with custom-designed furniture,

The Greystone

This whimsical building located at 1926 Collins Avenue is another one of Henry Hohauser's masterpieces. It has dual flagpoles and circular disks, and the two "porthole" windows beside the entrance. An excellent example of Miami South Beach's sea-side art deco style architecture.

The Essex House

This beautiful hotel located at 1001 Collins Avenue is yet another one of Henry Hohauser's best designs that was completed in 1938. This building also features three porthole windows beside the entrance which makes this a classic example of Nautical Moderne. The lobby features wonderful examples of etched glass windows, terrazzo floors, and a lovely Art Deco mural above the fireplace.

Fisher Building

The Fisher Building (1928) is an ornate skyscraper in the new center area of detroit, michigan constructed of limestone, granite and marble. Financed by the Fisher family with proceeds from the sale of Fisher Body to genral motors, the structure was designed to house office and retail space.

Standing on the corner of West Grand Boulevard and Second Avenue in detroit, michigan.
The office building rises 30-stories with a roof height of 428 ft (130.5 m), a top floor height of 339 ft (103.6 m), and the spire reaching 444 ft (135 m). The building has 21 elevators. Designed by albert kakn and associates with joseph nathaniel french as chief architect, it has been called Detroit's largest art object, and is widely considered Kahn's greatest achievement. The year of its construction, the Fisher building was honored by the architectural league of new york as the year's most beautiful commercial structure. The opulent three-story barrel vaulted lobby is constructed with forty different kinds of marble, decorated by Hungarian artist geza maroti, and is highly regarded by architects.

The Guardian Building The Guardian Building, is a

skyscraper in downtown Detroit, Michigan. Today, the building is owned by Wayne County, Michigan and serves as its headquarters. Built in 1928 and finished in 1929, the building was originally called the Union Trust Building and is a bold example of art deco architecture. At the top of the Guardian Building's spire, is a large american flag, complementing the four smaller flags atop nearby 150 west jefferson. The building has undergone recent award-winning renovations.

The main frame of the skyscraper rises 36 stories, capped by two asymmetric spires, one extending for four additional stories. The roof height of the building is 496 ft (151 m), the top floor is 489 feet (149 m), and the spire reaches 632 ft (192.6 m). The exterior blends brickwork with tile, limestone, and terra cotta. The building's interior is lavishly decorated with mosaic and pewabic and rookwood tile. The semi-circular exterior domes are filled with pewabic pottery; mary chase perry stratton worked closely with the architect in the design of the symbolic decorations. its nicknamed, Cathedral of Finance, alludes both to the building's resemblance to a cathedral, with its tower over the main entrance and octagonal apse at the opposite end and to new york city's woolworth building. Wirt c. Rowland, of the smith hinchman and grylls firm, was the building's architect, corrado parducci created the two sculptures flanking the Griswold Street entrance. The building includes works by muralist ezra winter. Roland's attention to detail was meticulous. He supervised the creation of bricks to achieve the desired colour for the exterior and designed furniture for the bank's offices. His attention went as far as

DECLINE

Art Deco experienced a decline in popularity during the late 30s and early 40s, and soon fell out of public flavour. It experienced a resurgence with the advent of graphic design in the 1980s. Art Deco had a profound influence on many later artistic movements, such as MEMPHIS and POP ART.