# What is Art-Deco?



## la bestia kuit (Aug 10, 2005)

the kavanagh building in Buenos Aires is a sample too


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## Kane007 (May 30, 2006)

In support of David from Watford and Christchurch.


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## Liz L (Oct 17, 2002)

Thanks for all the great pictures, folks!! 

Crownsteler, I think what happened is that Art Deco and Streamline Moderne were so close together in time and influenced each other so strongly that Streamline Moderne got tossed together with Art Deco.

I have a number of books on Art Deco, and they include a lot of buildings, furniture, etc., that look like they're Streamline Moderne, or at least strongly influenced by Moderne.

But John Tauranac refers to the Empire State as "Art Moderne (is that the same as Streamline Moderne, I wonder?) with Art Deco touches"...

So maybe it depends on whether or not you want to say Streamline Moderne is a separate style or not....

More later...


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## Yörch1 (Oct 31, 2006)

Two nice pieces of Art-Decó in Mexico City...

National Lotery Building









Beauty Arts Palace









P.S. Do you remember those Batman movies... well Gotham City is totally Art-Decó.


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## tanklv (Mar 14, 2009)

Art Deco is a natural progression from Art Nouveau, and it's main influence was the discovery of King Tut's tomb - with all the Egyptian influences, from the garish colors to the pyamidal and ziggurat forms, which was all the rage at the time. At the same time, the various ancient civilizations of South America were also being discovered at that time, hence the added influence of Aztec and Mayan styles that were also used.

While Wikipedia is an OK source, it's not the expert in anything, because anyone can edit it and there are a lot of errors in their definitions. It is only as good or bad as the persons doing the contributing.


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## kingsc (Apr 7, 2008)

The insides of these buildings are amazing works of art.


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## roballan (Aug 23, 2009)

Here some photos of the Art Deco interiors of the *Place of Beauty Arts in Mexico City* (won't put photos of the exterior, cuz' it is all Art Nouveau)


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## shtoopid (Jun 15, 2010)

it's a style of art, architecture, ect. from the 20s and 30s. it's mostly bold lines, and geometric shapes. sometimes using modern materials, and color schemes that grab your attention.


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## dfwcre8tive (Oct 18, 2007)

Andrew said:


> Napier is a wonderful little city!


Yes it is! We traveled there in June and I have a lot of Art Deco photos in my album here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dfwcre8tive/sets/72157624174722341/


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## dfwcre8tive (Oct 18, 2007)

tanklv said:


> Art Deco is a natural progression from Art Nouveau, and it's main influence was the discovery of King Tut's tomb - with all the Egyptian influences, from the garish colors to the pyamidal and ziggurat forms, which was all the rage at the time. At the same time, the various ancient civilizations of South America were also being discovered at that time, hence the added influence of Aztec and Mayan styles that were also used.
> 
> While Wikipedia is an OK source, it's not the expert in anything, because anyone can edit it and there are a lot of errors in their definitions. It is only as good or bad as the persons doing the contributing.


That's a good explanation. Art Nouveau focused a lot on patterns derived from sinuous forms in nature (and man's connection with nature). Spiderwebs, vines, feathers and a lot of circular shapes were popular choices. There also was an emphasis on asymmetry. Some of these features crossed over into the Arts & Crafts movement. 

Here are some Art Nouveau patterns:



















Art Deco evolved from Art Nouveau, but shifted patterns to very stylized, geometric shapes in symmetrical patterns (fountains, ziggurats, sunbursts, etc). It referenced new industry (man's conquest OVER nature), emphasized vertical orientation and incorporated new building materials (aluminum, concrete). It also referenced historical architectural styles of the past (Egyptian, Mayan, Native American).

Art Deco patterns:



















Of course, there was an overlap between the two styles and regional differences. Early Art Deco structures featured a lot of details (just as Art Nouveau did), but as time went on the detailed patterns were replaced with crisp lines, strong angles and smooth finishes of Streamline Moderne.


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## KGB (Sep 12, 2002)

What an amazingly rich sense of style, design and quality that erupted between the two world wars. I like how it trickled down from the rich to every day design.



KGB


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## Rizzato (Dec 13, 2006)

Aert deco skyscrapers r the best. Art nouveau is pretty damn nice design type
learned about Guimard in school, and those subway signs for the Metro
the world need more art nouveau


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## minneapolis-uptown (Jun 22, 2009)

The ST PAul City hall has a GREAT lobby:


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## Northsider (Jan 16, 2006)

...anything you'd see in a noir film. That's what I think of.


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## Chong (Jun 27, 2008)

Art Deco in a nutshell, is associated with floral motifs and geometrical patterns, sometimes imbued with sunbeams and cosmic imagery as well as human or animal figures. The wild fantasies and imaginings of the human mind of the first half of the 20th century.


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## tim1807 (May 28, 2011)

Most of that buildings are more beautiful and have more detail inside than outside.


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## pabloagus (Feb 5, 2011)

Andrew said:


> ...London Daily Express building...


Is this building new?


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## balthazar (Jul 19, 2007)

la bestia kuit said:


> the kavanagh building in Buenos Aires is a sample too


nice!


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## EricSulit (Oct 14, 2011)

Art Deco was an ornamental style, and its lavishness is attributed to reaction to the forced austerity imposed by World War I.It was suitable for modern contexts, including the Golden Gate Bridge, interiors of cinema theaters (a prime example being the Paramount Theater in Oakland, California) and ocean liners such as the Île de France, Queen Mary, and Normandie. --fom wikipedia

sample of art deco


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## redbaron_012 (Sep 19, 2004)

This is a Melbourne, Australia version of Art Deco...The Capitol Theatre in Swanston st.



Uploaded with ImageShack.us


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## Cloudship (Jun 8, 2005)

One of the reasons why it is so hard to define Art Deco is because the term itself has only been around for 30 or 40 years - at the time there was no such thing as "art Deco".

Art Deco really came out of the Art nouveau movement (think floral motifs, very organic lines) but was more concerned with looking forward. It got it's foothold in Paris, with the Exposition D'arts Moderne, but was never really considered a specific movement unlike Art Nouveau or Modernism or Constructivism. Therefor, it really took on all sorts of characters from wherever it was used. While we often point to the very geometric forms popular in places such as Miami and New York, it also encompasses neo-Egyptian themes and Moderne. Moderne, in particular, developed a life of it's own, often called streamline modern because of its heavy use in industrial design particularly vehicles. 

So it is easier to describe Art Deco less as a physical style, but rather a collection of styles that marked the transition from traditional ornamentational design to the more form based modern styles, which means you talk more about when than what. Early Art Deco is an applied ornamentation on conventional buildings that used modern, usually geometrical, motifs unlike the traditional design elements of earlier styles. In that sense some craftsman styles could also be considered Art Deco. Later Art deco still used applied ornamentation, but usually fairly discretely on modern forms. Thus the transition from streamline modern to modern was less the form itself as the complete removal of applied ornament.


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## meaburroperomerio (Aug 26, 2008)

gonzo said:


> *I know the Chrysler building and Empire state are 'Art Deco'.....but what makes them Art Deco?
> 
> Is it the 'layered' and 'angular' architecture?...the fact that they 'taper' near the top?
> 
> ...


El Art Deco como también el Art Noveau son movimientos considerados como "El modernismo temprano" es un estilo arquitectónico YA CONSIDERADO dentro de la arquitectura moderna pero que funciona como intermedio entre el modernismo en si y el clasicismo anterior... durante el desarrollo del mismo se buscaba una oposición a " lo que no se necesita" Virasolo por ejemplo, se oponía a todos aquellos elementos que no le eran propios al edificio en el plano de la estructura, como manera de "representarlo" se dejaba a la vista las losas, se quitaban elementos o se agregaban como una manera de exponer que los mismos no le eran propios a la estructura del edificio sino que eran simple ornamentación... Se discutía por ejemplo diseñar balcones con apoyos a 45° ( a la vista) que en realidad eran de hormigón... Es decir, que no necesitaban ese apoyo sino que funcionaban empotrados....
Es considerado dentro del movimiento moderno ya que se opone al modelo anterior tratando de "simplificar" todo aquello que estructuralmente no le era propio sino que funcionaba de ornamento.... fingiendo estructuras que no habían... TAMBIÉN comienza a APLICAR ELEMENTOS DE FABRICACIÓN EN MASA...


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