Throughout history, new movements of the world of art and architecture have been made that has influenced life and dwelling. Some movements were trendier than others but others lasted beyond their years. One of the trendier movements was Art Deco. What is Art Deco? Art Deco was a movement that started in the 1920’s and became a worldwide design. “Art Deco, also called style Moderne, movement in the decorative arts and architecture that originated in the 1920s and developed into a major style in western Europe and the United States during the 1930s(britannica)”. Art Deco is mostly known for its geometric patterns, straight lines, and detailed vertical elements and height. This movement is still alive and well with today’s 21st century in pop culture appearances.
The beginning of Art Deco started before the name the movement first began by Bevis Hillier he titled his book was “Art Deco”. The term Art deco was named after a world fair in Paris that was called “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes” which means International gallery of Art. This exposition took place in Paris, France and it was like a dream. Artist from all around the world came and showed their work. The inspiration and concoction of the decorative motif style was displayed. The movement was created by mostly by Europeans and other coexisting countries like Germany and France. The style displayed animated colors that used motifs and unique fashion, interiors, and architecture. The inspiration received from art deco was from Art Nouveau. Art Noveau meaning “New Art” influenced artists with graphic work, designs and illustrations. Art Nouveau was apart of the Arts and Crafts movements that architects and artists used from decoration and the ability to be created. Although this period was vivid and expensive it was still a trend and was short-lived movement.
During the time of the 1900’s and 1920’s the technology and industry growth became very popular and grew. Most of the population shifted into Middle Class and got better jobs than just farming. More people wanted fancy buildings and unique furniture. This lead to the Roaring 20’s which was probably the most thrilling time in American history.. “The Roaring twenties swept through other cities, too, including Paris, London, and Berlin. But New York City roared the loudest, and what happened there during that time of social, economic, and cultural prosperity forever altered the way people lived(Wallace)”. The 20’s happened right after World War I and was a sacred time to recover. The factory production became huge and got the economy going a little faster. This was also of time for art, culture, and sexual freedom.
Everyday living rose up greatly, and for the first time, more of the population lived in urban areas, rather than in the rural farms. The decade of 1920 brought forth many positive changes in America that altered it to meet the changes of society. The cultural change impacted American as a whole. The role of science and religion got introduced and Humanity in religion and nationalism came along. New thing innovated and inventions arrived. The industrialization and Mass Production became a popular topic for the economy.
Skyscrapers were big in Art deco in a lot of mainstream cities. New York city being one of the first noticed cities with Skyscrapers. Skyscrapers were the development of new technology and social norms. The new technology came from Britain and were developed with steel this gave commercial need for builders.“ Architects could build taller buildings to house all the new city dwellers, which led to apartments (Lecture Jameson)”.
Skyscrapers was a classic theme that was in the era of the 1930’s. When you think of a Skyscraper you mostly just think about a huge/ tall building up in the air. But skyscrapers are much more than that there a design that was used to fill up space in a commercial setting. A prime example of the skyscraper was New York’s Chrysler Building and Empire State Building. These buildings were designed by William Van Allen and is a great hit of the Art Deco style. The Empire state building was “350 Fifth Avenue, on the west side of the avenue between Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth Streets, block number 835, lot number 41. The building is 102 stories high, 1,250 feet tall— 1,454 feet if you include the television antenna (Tauranac)”. This building was huge with 102 floors, an observation deck, and blimp landings. The design of the building literally went straight up overlooking the whole city.
The second building in NYC was The Chrysler Building, this building was built in 1930 with 77 floors and lots of fan motifs. A fan motif is a fan shaped motif found in any decorative area or placement. The Chrysler building elevator was a perfect example of were you can clearly see a fan motif being displayed. The building was also prominent in Art Deco because of the glitzy Jazz age. The Jazz age started in 1920s and ended once World War II was over. It was influential shift to music and American lifestyle. The focus that women and different ethic groups were able to experience new freedoms and not having the feeling of control in every day life Modernism existed during the time of breadlines is the paradox that sums up the jazz age.
Moving along the Rockefeller Center was also anther amazing design from Art deco. The Rockefeller center was… “ Rockefeller Center, a 12-acre (5-hectare) complex of 14 limestone buildings in midtown Manhattan and New York City. designed by a team of architects headed by Henry Hofmeister, H.W. Corbett, and Raymond Hood. The group of skyscrapers was built between 1929 and 1940 (britannica acamedmic)”. This building had paintings, sculptures, metal work, and wood design. The sculptures were very detailed and defined making it become an urban development style. All of the art in the Rockefeller center have a meaning of education, wisdom, or international trade.
A lot of New York City and Upstate New York had unique archtecture like a ziggurat motif. A Ziggurat Motif was a pattern resembling a stepped pyramid, used in many areas of Art deco. Most of these types of Motifs would be in apartment homes, windows outside the apartment building , some schools and decorations. Another motif used was the fountain motif. The fountain motif was a fountain shaped pattern found in wallpaper, ironwork, or in low relief sculptures.
Transitioning into the West Coast Los Angeles (LA) was another place were Art Deco happened. The Jazz Age also evoked LA in the 1920’s with the geometric patters and clean lines. The 1920’s also bringing in the automobiles for people. The automobiles brought another structure to build such as parking garages and parking lots for people to travel and there car is kept in a safe place.
The popularity of the city brought a different design for LA a classic fit that was edgy yet affordable for commercial building. An example of a natural building was The Coca Cola building that was built in 1939. This building used a lot of metal and streamlined Moderne. Streamline Modern was a type of Art Deco architecture and graphic design that emerged in the 1930’s. The architectural style emphasized curves forms, long horizontal line, and nautical elements. How big The Coca Cola building was allowed more employees to work.
Another building that displayed great art deco archtecture was the Bullocks Wilshire Building was built in 1929. The building was a department store in LA with a vibrant green color at the top a vertical emphasis and full of height and width. The building did look very vertical but the structure of it gave an illusion and it was actually bigger than it appeared to be.
The wrap-around windows was also big in LA. The wrap-around windows was a window that turns a corner without additional stromal support that curves. The wrap-around window allowed the building to become more open. Often building and houses had wrap-around windows. Wrap-around widows also went with stucco. A stucco was a fine plaster that was used for coating wall surfaces for even textures over large areas. Stuccos was very popular in Miami.
Going back down to the east coast down south Miami Beach showed a lot of Art Deco. Miami Beach has an abundant of building of art deco. “The first 20th-century neighborhood to be recognized by the National Register of Historic Places, Miami Beach's Art Deco Historic District is made up of 800+ buildings and structures built between 1923 and 1943 (Franker)” This shows how much Miami’s building was influenced so much by Art deco. Miami beach had more bright colors than LA and NYC put together. The curves of the buildings had a close relationship to streamline Moderne. The pastels, and less metals made the building come out to be very vibrant.
In conclusion Art Deco is seen every where across the country but the main places are the regions I stated in this paper. Art Dec will forever be a wonderful movement that will continue to grow as time goes with it!