Art Deco

By: Katie Kaywood

 

 

Art Deco was in France in 1925, it came to the United States and other European Countries at the beginning of the world war II. It was a fashion oriented style, strongly decorative and was influenced by Art Nouveau. The public was hesitant to accept this design style because of its timing with the war. The main architect of Art Deco was Michel Roux-Spitz from Paris. In his art deco design he often used chevron shapes, zig-zags, African tribal art, large mirrors and prominent light fixtures that drew a lot of attention to its modern materials.  



 

Art deco design was not only abstract shapes but also was used with rich materials such as; ebony, tortoise-shell, zebrawood with inlays of ivory, polished metals, leather, and glass. Which helped make the design rich, bold and extravagant. One of the art deco designers that used such materials in his furniture design was Jean Dunand. In his design he used geometric forms in the 1920s when he produced screens, cabinets, chairs, and tables.

 

A designer in this period named Eileen Gray stuck out to me, she was very original in her designs in furniture that really caught my attention, her work was beautiful. She was an expert in lacquer before World War I, she also did lamps and colorful geometric rugs. Her chairs designs had great dimension and stuck out from your normal chairs.

 

Art Deco isn't just furniture, it is throughout the entire room. It can be on the floor, on the walls, in the carpet or in the textile used. The most distinct attribute of this design is its use of crazy shapes, zig-zags, stripes, plaids, colors and cubistic themes like I stated shortly above. A very well known designer for this is Sonia Delaunay.

 

When Art deco came over into the US three major designers were Paul Frankl, - he introduced plywood instead of using solid wood in his designs, Joseph Urban, and Frederick Kiesler. All three amazing designers that brought new additions to the Art Deco design.

 

What kept the design carried on was the invention of the Radio and it helped carry art deco into every American home. The New York Rockefeller Center was designed in this Art Deco period in 1935 as well as 19 other commercial buildings. 

This style of design is still pretty prevalent today, I see it everywhere in wallpaper designs, floor designs, furniture etc. I feel it is used a lot in modern style spaces through pillows or subtle features that really pop out.

 

Current Applications:

 

When reading Natalie and Justine's blog I learned more about how prevalent and wide ranged the Art Deco furniture is and still is used today. In Natalie's blog she showed a lot of different designers chair/ furniture designs as well as discussed the style of each helping distinguish the true style and common features of the Art Deco style.

 

Here is a video to learn more on Art Deco :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amVvYPU4Gw8