Art

eco designs have

roots ail over the worl

THE ART Deco era was
extravagant, opulent and
thoroughly modern — in
style as well as lifestvle. It
was an extended celebration
and, in retrospect, 2 dance
on the voleano.

The party started around 1918,
at the end of World War L. and
became more frantic as World War
If approached.

It was Charleston time, the era
of jazz and Louis Armstrong’s
trumpet, gambling saloons, Iuxuri-
ous ocean liners, and Josephine
Baker dancing in Paris, dressed in
little more than bananas.

Women shortened their hem-
lines and their hair; they were
coquettish and elegant, they wore
long flowing gowns with tassels
and pearls.

In the earlier Art Nouveau style
women had a supporting role —
their figures supported lampshades
and were entwined in twirling tree
roots.

They seemed lifeless and bone-
less, just body and hair. A striking
-contrast to women in Art Deco fig-
urines. We see them dancing on
pedestals, provocative and self-

assured.

There was also a dark side to the
era: the stock market crash of 1929
wiped out fortunes and left indus-
tries crippled. It led to the Great
Depression of the 1930s: hunger,
desperation and homelessness.

Edith
Saatkamp

DESIGN OF THE TIMES

Government and industry strug-
gled until the late “30s, the onset of
World War IL, when wheels started
rolling again.

The name Art Deco is an abbre-
viation coined during the exhibition
of decorative and industriai aris
held in Paris in 1925. The style is
difficult to define because its roots
are so varied.

It was not inspired by a fascina-
tion with one single topic — the
floral and animal motifs of nature
— as Art Nouveau was; it did not
spring from the intellectual design
philosophy of a handful of people
as Bauhaus did.

Some say that Art Deco was

simply it reaction to the sinuous
curves of Art Nouvedu, an effort to
straighten dines and to produce sim-
ple and functional! designs that
could be manufactured by machine.
rather than crafled by hand.

But Art Deco design reflects a
multitude of other influences: Pablo
Picasso’s cubism aud the stark and
meticulously balanced squares of
Piet Mondrian’s paintings, African
and South American tribal art and
images from Tutankhamen’s tomb
in Egypt.

It was also influenced by motifs
from the Far East and the brilliant
colors of stage and costume designs
for the Ballets Russes in Paris.

One of my favorite artists from
the era is Erte, a Russian immigrant
to Paris who died recently at the
age of 98. He created spectacular
theatre scenery and costumes of
delightful fantasy. His covers for
Harpers Bazaar are collectors”
items now.

As the name implies. Art Deco
was a decorative style with an ele-
ment of fun, decadence and exuber-
ance.

Most of all it was a total style
that extended from art and architec-
ture to loasters and radios, movie
posters, fabric. china, glass, fashion
and jewelry.

Art Deco buildings tend to be
imposing and formal. They empha-
size straight. vertical lines and are

See Art Deco page 15

NEWS photo Mike Waketleld

THIS ART Deco reproduction of The Red Dancer by F. Preiss
can be found at Deelers Antiques in Park Royal.

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