Art Deco
1920
–
1930s
short period like Art Nouveau
Urban Life
development of the city
Exotic Materials
leopard skins & new materials
Machine Aesthetic
Man as Power, Woman as Object
Cubism
•different views of on
object all collaged
together
•art movement
overturning idea of
traditional
renaissance
perspectives
Les Demoiselles
d’Avignon
Picasso
1907
Nude Descending a
Staircase
Marcel Duchamp
1912
•shows general interest
in movement and
motion
•very abstract and
geometricized
cubism’s effect on
decorative arts
Portrait of Picasso
Juan Gris
Italian Futurism
Unique Forms of Continuity
in Space
Umberto Boccioni
1913
It was time for them to create a new art
for themselves, forged out of the beauty
of speed and a glorification of war. Le
Futurisme – Marinetti, 1925
•speed—automobile
•war—worldwide unrest
La Città Nuova,
Antonio
Sant'Elia
1914
•proposed what
the new city of
the future would
look like
•forms are
abstracted and
geometric
Haute Couture
Erte—uses attenuated line to illustrate elegance
Egyptology
King Tut’s tomb discovered in 1925—fascinating images—plays a
role in design
Howard Carter’s discovery brings
about the second Egyptian Revival
bird
Russian Ballet tours
•Bakst—costume designer for
ballet
one of the Vanderbilt’s—just
wanted her portrait done
stage set
Exit the Ballets Russes
1914
•about color & form
•perspective & dimension are
what is really being tweaked
world seems to be getting a little bit smaller
Transportation / Speed
Speed, Harriet W. Frishmuth, 1925 (Radiator
Cap)
blurred horizontal line
Machine Production
see influence in repetitive motifs
Chrysler Building, William Van
Allen, 1929-1931
very rational—machine aesthetic
Ruth Reeves.
Manhattan and
The American
Scene.
Block-printed
cotton.
254 x 94 cm.
American, 1930.
Made by W.& J.
Sloane, New
York.
The Spirit of
Walt
Whitman
John Storrs
1920
•example of “man
as power”
•massive,
powerful,
unyielding
•rigid & muscular
•woman coming out of a number of
skyscrapers—woman as object
•smooth & sleek
•attenuated
Spirit of Modernism
Frankart, Inc.
1930
Art Deco actually began in France
Pavillon d’un
Collectionneur
Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann
1925
•distinct interest in new
technology but with no
theory behind it
•lavish ornamentation
•superb craftsmanship
•fine materials
Pavillon d’un
Collectionneur
Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann
1925
classical rotunda reference—modern attention to materials:
Cuban mahogany, ebony (Indonesia), palisander (Brazil) veneers
Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann
•an ensembliers—French
word for decorator or
someone who creates
ensembles
•ivory, tortoise
shell & horn
inlays
•going all over
the world for
materials
•textiles:
galuchat
leather (small
spotted
dogfish, silk
Asia),
parchment
paneling
rendering by Ruhlmann of room at Pavillon d’un Collectionneur
Paul Poiret
focuses on exoticism of the
East—very fanciful
focuses on
exoticism of the
East—very fanciful
Gibson Hotel Lounge, Cincinnati,
Joseph Urban, 1928
somewhat rationalized—furniture blends into large scale wallpaper
•a little more like Poiret
•handpainted, lavish &
elegant
Roof Garden at St.
Regis Hotel
Joseph Urban
NYC, 1927
•fairly restrained
•elegance comes from
materials
•classical details—ionic
volutes & urn
“Lotus”, Dressing Table
Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann
Oak and mahogany with amaranth and
Andaman padouk veneer; ebony and
ivory inlays; silvered bronze mirror frame
and fittings; mirrored glass. French, about
1919-1925.
furniture by Ruhlmann
Bergeres Gondoles, Maurice Dufrene, 1913
•splayed legs—Klismos influence
•front legs meant to imitate a tassel
•silver satin upholstery
skin of the
spotted
dog fish
Stained beech and galuchat-veneered, meuble d’appui,
Jean Michael Frank, c. 1927
Waterfall and
Stylized Bouquets
classic Art Deco—goes back to repetition of forms
Tea and Coffee Service, Peter Muller-Munk, 1932
shows an interest in simple, linear geometry—animal horn details
Biche
stag or deer—popular motif of era
Salome and Radio
Waylande Gregory
c. 1920s
symbol of
something
powerful—rare
occasion that
female is chosen
Radio
Salome
Greek Dance
Carl Paul Jennewein
1926 (gilt-bronze)
women objectified—just
about her body
New York City
1916 Setback
Zoning Law
•France & Europe
are much more
romantic about Art
Deco
•much more rational
in the U.S.
•race to verticality
•set back by 8
degrees to let light
in
•wood frame to lighten weight
•limestone veneer
•emphasizes the vertical line—all the
way up
William Van Alen
NYC, 1929-31
Beaux Arts Ball, Hotel Astor, NY, 1931
architects dressed as their buildings
•almost a waterfall
motif
•chevron—popular
motif
•vertical line pulled
forward
•Gargoyles are like
hood ornaments
Art Deco emphasizes
the vertical
•really interested in how
it looked at night
•moved past Louis
Sullivan and exposed
bulb
gargoyles
automobile motif
entry inspired by King Tut’s tomb
•chevrons
•zig-zag motif
(lightning)
•glitzy
•clean, almost
futuristic
“Energy and Man's
Application of It”
Edward Turnbull
•lobby ceiling mural
•elaborate and confusing
•contains large image of the
building, a plane, workers,
and decorative patterns
waterfall motif mimicking set-back law
•wonderful time for elevator
doors
•fan motif—two-toned woods
•wonderful time for elevator
doors
•clouds & atmosphere
•air return (HVAC) reflection
of the building
•sunburst—popular motif of the period
•drafting tools are really playing a role in these interiors
Rockefeller Center,
Raymond Hood
1920-30
•considered to be single
largest real estate
development in the world
•viewed as almost a city within
a city
one of the entries—Atlas—male
figure demonstrating power
•Asian inspired mural
•abstracted musical
instruments on carpet
•neon becoming very
popular
Radio City Music Hall—design details put focus on stage
looks like this today
sunburst repetition & waterfall motif
little added
ornamentation
—all about
materials &
form
waterfall motif
•have to be within a couple inches in height
•all same color hair—seem to be machine generated
•guitar, cigar & pipes
in wallpaper
Donald Deskey, NYC, 1920s
Deskey seated in the Interior of
Radio City Music Hall Smoking Room
American Industrial Design objects and interiors
by Raymond Lowey, 1930s
one of most famous rooms—
cherry wood paneling, ceilings are gold leaf, brushed aluminum
Living Room in
Apartment for L.L.
Rothafel above the
Radio City Music Hall
Donald Deskey
1931
Cherrywood paneling, lacquered
and veneered wood, bakelite,
brushed aluminum
•room emphasizes verticality
•furniture emphasizes
horizontality
•all about surfaces
Interiors and furniture by Donald Deskey, NYC,
1920s
shiny surface—bakelite; tubular steel—bauhaus influence
Deskey piece of furniture
Men’s Smoking Room
at the American
Designer’s Gallery
Exhibition
Donald Deskey
1928
(steel, pigskin, aluminum, glass,
cork walls)
Where does light come from?
Table Lamp
Donald Deskey
1928
Women’s Lounge, Union Terminal, Jean Bourdelle, 1933
similar to smoking lounge in Radio City Music Hall—jungle theme
a commentary that women are out of control or wild
•geometry—disk
•surfaces—fancy veneers
•reflection of glass
•no applied ornamentation
•with set-back included
•architecture was a significant force in
interiors
Skyscraper
Paul Frankl
1920s
Union Terminal, Ronald A. Wank, Cincinnati, 1929-33
Chrysler Building, William Van
Allen, 1929-1931
•Art Deco/Streamlined Moderne—clocks area of interest in deco
•simple geometry—gradating repetition
Chrysler Building, William Van Allen, 1929-1931
Exterior Detail
•garden space
•limestone veneer
Cincinnati Glory Girls, 1950
shows love of train & train travel
Pantheon inspired oculus—sunset coloration
mural goes from arch to arch—provides history of transportation
development in Cincinatti
train travel—new way to the west
Raymond
Loewy
development of new profession—father of industrial design
responds to idea of motion—horizontal lines/racing stripes—
almost bullet shapes
Loewy
Graffco Pencil
Sharpener, 1920
George B. Graff
Co.
Boston, MA
Loewy
Loewy—also a
graphic designer
racing cars becoming a popular past time
speaks of interest in
speed
An Industrial Designer’s Office, Loewy, 1934
vignette at an exhibition—dominant racing stripe—clock
embedded into design
Greyhound bus station, Louisville, Kentucky (1938)
in contrast to verticality of Art Deco—
horizontality of Streamlined Moderne
Coca-Cola Bottling Company Plant, Los Angeles,
Robert Derrah, 1936
portholes for windows—transportation’s influence on design
Zephyr, Kim Weber, 1933 (brass / copper)
reflective qualities—curved corner & streamlined racing stripe