Art Deco Complete: The Definitive Guide to the Decorative Arts of the 1920s and 1930s

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Based on this style, the Art Deco movement was less connected to the traditional supposedly superior forms of art that were made up of painting and sculpture. Completed in less than two years, it was said that approximately four floors were built each week, which was a surprisingly rapid fast for the types of machinery that was available at the time. A decorative style of bold geometric shapes and bright colours, it encompassed furniture, textiles, ceramics, sculpture and architecture. The term ‘Arts Decoratifs’ (later shortened to Art Deco in the 1960s) was coined after the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriel Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern and Industrial Decorative Arts) held in Paris in 1925.

Spirit of the Wind” or “Victoire” mascot by Lalique, 1928; Ingrid Taylar from Seattle, WA, USA, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia CommonsBased on this, the Art Deco definition described the movement as one that was made up of bold geometric shapes and strong colors that were used in a variety of art forms, most notably in architecture and objects. The use of lines to denote movement, made famous by Futurist artists, was used by Art Deco creatives in the form of parallel lines and narrowing forms to indicate the concept of balance and streamlining. Within this traveling cohort, Hoover included important figures from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Institute of Architecture, as well as several individuals from The New York Times. This trip to Europe went on to inspire an almost instantaneous expansion in artistic innovation and creation in the United States. Seen as quite a structured style, Art Deco took on a very Gatsby-esque self-indulgence based on the types of works created. Adopting features from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, The Great Gatsby, the Art Deco style celebrated the flamboyance, frivolity, and decadence that emerged during the 1920s in America. Just as the characters within Fitzgerald’s book were fixated with the glitz and glamour that was synonymous with the lifestyle at the time, Art Deco celebrated everything that was considered to be luxurious and forward-thinking.

Another prominent feature of Art Deco art was the furniture that was produced during the movement’s era. It was not until the late 1920s that the concept of furniture was even explored, with the avant-garde Art Nouveau furniture designs going on to inspire the up-and-coming Art Deco creatives. The types of furniture that were then created under the new Art Deco style proved to be more basic and less arched in design, with modernity existing as the main message. Despite that, the Art Deco period was an incredibly influential one, with its decorative manner going on to inspire a variety of other artistic styles. Art Deco-style Hall of the Mirrors inside the Carew Tower, Ohio; EEJCC, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Ruhlmann’s lavish style produced different reactions from a number of different Art Deco designers and architects. Le Corbusier, in particular, responded to the types of artworks produced by Ruhlmann by calling for the creation of uncomplicated and more practical furniture pieces instead. However, Ruhlmann strongly believed that the preservation of art relied entirely on the upper class, with his designs going on to perfectly capture the sensational and magnificent spirit of the time.

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Although he was restrictive when it came to ornamentation, Ruhlmann fashioned his furniture pieces out of the most exotic materials at the time. As a firm favorite of the post-war bourgeois classes, Ruhlmann designed furniture that was able to display the newfound wealth and taste of the recently emerging aristocratic society. Delaunay was fascinated with the idea of geometric design, which proved to be modern and essentially fashionable between 1920 and 1930. As a textile designer, in addition to being a painter, Delaunay produced some of her most notable fashion pieces during this time. Color was a major aspect that featured in her works, which she defined as “dynamic art”. In response to this, he sent a group to France to assess the artworks at the Exposition and to bring home any ideas that could be applied in a modern American artistic and architectural sense. Art Deco building elements also featured in some engineering projects, most notably in the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.