Art Deco

Essay by michael1812High School, 11th gradeA, August 2006

download word file, 3 pages 4.3

After World War 1 there was one predominant art style. It was called Art Deco. The war allowed the world to look at cultures vastly different from their own. The artistic trend setters at that time were seen to be New York and Paris. Artists in these places assimilated the ancient art styles of Egypt and Japan to create a new, colour filled, highly modern style which coincided with the development of mass producing technology, which, in the end, proved to be its downfall.

Art Deco was a decorative art style that crossed the fields of visual art, jewellery, furniture and architecture. Unlike its predecessor Art Nouveau, which used sinuous, natural looking curves, Art Deco uses geometric shapes and exotic materials like zebra skin and tortoise shell. A premier timber to the Art Deco period was ebony. Ebony is jet black and was buffed multiple times to create a contrasting, clean look for use in cabinets, beds and the like.

The movement was the first truly international style. Although it began in Europe, the style spread to all corners of the commercial world; pieces of furniture in a Parisian showroom, would be sought after by the maharajas in India. It was accepted in many cultures because it was influenced by them. It took in the primitive styles of Egypt, Africa and the Aztecs and molded them together to create a simple, but effective style the whole world could enjoy.

Art Deco started around 1925, when Paris held the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which means International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts, the style's name being a shortened version of the exposition's title. The style quickly spread to the US in 1928 when construction of the Chrysler Building began in New York. It was completed...