ART DECO

PRODUCT DESIGN
 INTRODUCTION
 ART DECO 1910 – 1940.
 Art deco was a popular design movement from 1920 until 1939, began in paris as a result of a
large decorative arts exhibition in 1925. it quickly spread all over the world affecting the
decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual
arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film.
 This movement was, in a sense a fusion of many different styles and movements of the early
20th century, including constructivism, cubism, modernism, bauhaus, art nouveau, and futurism.
Its popularity peaked during the Roaring Twenties.
 Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco
was purely decorative. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern
as well. The USA typified Art Deco as glamorous, embraced by 1920’s Hollywood.
 Art Deco celebrated modern life and emphasized luxury and sophistication.
 Art Deco is characterized by use of materials such as aluminum, stainless steel, lacquer,
Bakelite, Chrome and inlaid wood, as well as costly materials like ivory, mahogany and dark
lacquered surfaces. Lacquering was a process that coated materials like wood with many layers
of resins to create hard shiny surfaces.
 When you look at an Art Deco building or object, you see common elements like geometric
shapes, often in the form of zigzags or chevrons (upside down V forms). Art Deco emphasized
vertical lines and smooth streamlined surfaces and often used bold colors and high contrasts.
 Art Deco's development in the 1920s coincided with the rise of machines like
airplanes, automobiles, and trains, and elements of these modern industrial things
can also be seen filtered into decorative arts. The creation of furniture to fit into new
interior spaces figured prominently in Art Deco.
RISE OF ART DECO
• The Roaring Twenties is a phrase used to describe the 1920s.
• The phrase was meant to emphasize the period's social, artistic, and cultural
dynamism.
• 'Normalcy' returned to politics in the wake of World War I,
• Jazz music blossomed,
• The flapper redefined modern womanhood,
• Art Deco peaked
• The spirit of the Roaring Twenties was marked by a general feeling of
discontinuity associated with modernity, a break with traditions.

FEATURES
• Vertical lines, then later a transition to horizontal lines
• Set-back: upper levels of buildings set back in stages from the vertical to allow sun to reach the
sidewalks below - due to New York City zoning laws in the early 1900s.
• Different use of materials: combinations of stone, brick, metals (steel, aluminium, bronze, etc.),
tiles, opaque glass (Vitrolite), terracotta, etc.
 Geometric ornamentation: use of circles, diamonds, chevrons, zig-zags, triangles,
pyramids, spirals, octagons, etc.
 Frequently used symbols/motifs: sunbursts; "frozen fountain reliefs"; plant & animal
life; gears; lightning bolts; relief sculptures embodying justice, truth, knowledge,
industry, labour, man's strength, work ethic, achievement, commerce and bounty.
 Decorative methods: relief sculptures (in limestone, terracotta, metal (iron & bronze)), painted
murals, tile mosaics, decorative metalwork (grills, various covers, railings, door frames), flat-
against- the-wall fluted columns if use
 Common characteristics of Streamline Modern
 Horizontal orientation
 Rounded edges, corner windows, and glass brick walls
 Glass block
 Porthole windows
 Chrome hardware
 Smooth exterior wall surfaces, usually stucco (smooth plaster finish)
 Flat roof with coping
 Horizontal grooves or lines in walls
 Subdued colors: base colors were typically light earth tones, off-whites, or beiges; and trim colors
were typically dark colors (or bright metals) to contrast from the light base.
 SCULPTURE
 Art deco is famous for its sculpture.
 Found at building entrances, table tops .etc.
 Sculpture used material such as bronze, ivory etc.
 Great impact to the era.

ART DECO FURNITURE

 Furniture created during Art Deco's early years
tended to be an expensive luxury. In the 1920s, the
major Paris department stores established decorating
departments to provide consumers with everything
from large furniture pieces to light fixtures and
cocktail sets.
 Decoration was integral part of art deco.
 Beauty in home was essential to mans psychological
well being.
 Art deco was famous due to its long lasting
furnitures made in that era that still can be seen.
 Wood Art Deco Furniture
 Some furniture used rich hard woods like ebony or
macassar, and also featured veneers, or very thin
layers of wood used as a surface covering, of exotic
woods like zebrawood and mahogany.
 A cabinet by Jacques-Emile Rhulmann (1879-
1933), a prominent early French Art Deco furniture
designer.
 Rhulmann used exotic wood to great effect, allowing
natural wood grains to emphasize the light linear
quality of his designs.
 His pieces sometimes incorporate subtle curves and
don't look bulky or heavy.
 Even his decorations, as in this example of an ivory
inlay of a horse and woman, are sleek and geometric
but elegant.
 Inlays, designs made by setting pieces of substances
like ivory, brass or mother-of-pearl flush within a
large surface, were a common element of Art Deco
furniture.
 High contrast and luxury surfaces
 Other art deco furniture incorporated modern
materials like aluminium and chrome.
 Chairs, dressers and cabinets featured smooth, highly
polished surfaces that reflected light, emphasizing
their newness and modernity.
 Bold colors like black and red were popular. If the
furniture was upholstered, it often used
leather, shagreen (which is tanned shark or ray skin),
or exotic furs.
 Example of high contrast in color and style. The
couch and chairs in this smoking room feature leather
upholstery and bold black and white designs. The
shapes are geometric but much heavier than
rhulmann’s furniture.

• Frank t Paul (1882-1957)

• The most famous carpenter of art deco.
• He designs the furniture after getting
inspire from tall buildings and
skyscrapers
• He created the series of furniture ‘puzzle
desk’ with in cooperating materials.