The source of the Art Deco movement actually predisposes the Paris Exhibition. Some artisans of the Vienna Secession began changing basic style of movement in art as early as 1903. The style was born out of a need to graduate from the serpentine and sensuous curves to the geometric and more abstract influence of many different styles from the Bolshevik Revolution to Asian, Islamic, Indian and The Machine Age.
CHARACTERISTICS
Streamlined, stylized, forms based on machines and abstract art; bright, bold colours influenced by Cubism and Futurism, elements from African art, Egyptian art (after the opening of Tutankhamun’s tomb in 1922); manmade materials including chromium-plated steel and Bakelite
HISTORICAL INFLUENCES
Paris Exhibition 1925 – Vienna Secession of 1903 – The Automobile – Discovery of King Tutankhamun’s Tomb in Egypt – Prohibition – Birth of the Jazz Age – Plastic movement in almost every area of decorating with celluloid and bakelite – Trade agreement with Japan – Stock Market crash of 1929. The Liner SS Normandy launched in 1935.
SOME IMPORTANT DESIGNERS/MANUFACTURERS
German Bauhaus (Art and Design Institue) in 1919 – R.Lalique and Georges Fouquet join movement with their designs turning the flowing movements into more restricted geometric designs – Boucheron, Van Cleef & Arpels, Schiaparelli, Clarice Cliff, add their own flair to the design world – Silver Screen influence from America with styles worn by Greta Garbo and Mae West – American Designers like Trifari and Coro take the stage from the bigger designers and made jewellery affordable for everyone – Chanel makes a fashion statement in Paris and in America
MOTIFS
fashionable women, chevrons (v-shaped band of braid worn on sleeve to designate rank), zigzags, sunbursts, lighting bolts, abstract geometric patterns, Aztec, Architectural, Fu Dogs – Bobbed hair.
ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT
Originated in France; early decorative and luxurious French style evolved into Modern Movement, which discarded ornament
