Art deco

DEFINITION

An art style of the 1920s and 1930s based on modern materials such as steel, chrome, glass and a style of "machine-inspired geometry", Art Deco influenced American architecture, interior and industrial design, crafts, graphics, painting and sculpture. It was a stylistic successor to the popular Art Nouveau, with its flowing, non geometric lines. With Art Deco, flowers became stylized and formal and much influenced by Egyptian designs. Examples of Art Deco architecture are New York&#39;s Chrysler Building and Radio City Music Hall, whose interior design was overseen by Donald Deskey. Art Deco sculptors include Boris Lovet-Lorski, Alfonso Iannelli and Wilhelm Diederich. Among Art Deco painters are John McCrady and Louis Icart. Edward McKnight Kauffer was known for his boldly colored posters that could be read quickly, and Helen Dryden did fashion illustrations for "Vogue" magazine, which reflected a changing era embodying both Art Deco and Art Nouveau. Romain de Tirtoff is credited with helping define the new Art Deco look because of his cover designs for "Harper&#39;s Bazar", beginning 1915. The name, Art Deco, derives from the 1925 Paris L&#39;Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris and credited with launching the design rage for Art Deco. In New York, May 2005, "Decophiliiacs" or "Decomaniacs" gathered for "New York Art Deco Week" in honor of the eighth world conference on Art Deco. Organized by members of the 25 year-old Art Deco Society of New York, special galas were held at the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center and at a Jazz Age Harlem nightclub. Sources: "The Britannica Encyclopedia of American Art"; Dan Klein, "All Color Book of Art Deco"; AskART database; "Art & Antiques", April 2005; Walt Reed, "The Illustrator in America". <br><br> Design style prevalent during the 1920s and 1930s, characterized by a sleek use of straight lines and slender form.