Art Deco

This art movement originated in the 1920’s in France, with the name Art Deco evolved from the “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes”; an exhibition held in Paris in 1925, which was dedicated for modern decorative arts to be displayed. It had different designs from different places, and it was the first phase of Art Deco, as it was the first exhibition for this style.

The Exhibition Poster

The designs of Art Deco represented modernism developed into fashion with the products being both individually crafted luxury items and mass-produced goods. The aim of this movement was to create a sleek and antitraditional elegance that signify abundance and composure.

Features of the style are: clean shapes; with a smooth look, geometric ornaments or stylized from representational forms, and as materials used by the style were: expensive materials which had man-made substances in them together with those natural materials. Such materials included were: Bakelite plastics, vita-glass, ferroconcrete, jade, silver, ivory, obsidian, chrome and rock crystal. Even for machine-made objects, Art Deco reflected admiration for the innovation of the machine and for the built-in design qualities of it. Some examples of this; planarity, symmetry, relative simplicity and unvaried repetition of elements.

Art Deco was influenced by other movements such as: Art Nouveau, Cubism, Bauhaus and Russian Ballet Company (Ballets Russes). Its decorative ideas came from American Indian, Egyptian, and early classical sources as well as from nature. The characteristics concepts included in Art Deco were; abstract forms of: nude female figures, animals, foliage and sun rays.

A number of designers in different areas used to design individually crafted or limited-edition items. Some of these designers (one from each area):

Furniture Designer.

Maurice Dufrene: Born in France in 1876 and died in 1955. Since he was young he used to collect scrap pieces of wood, fabric and cardboard from the wholesale commodities business of his father and used to work his own creations. By time he learned how to decorate with marquetry floral medallions in boxwood ebony and ivory after attending to Ecola Boulle (school).

Maurice Dufrene

Maurice Dufrene's work

Architect Designer.

Eliel Saarinen: Born in Finland in 1873 and died in 1950. Before he moved to the US where his architectures could been notable for his influence on modern architecture particularly on skyscraper and church design, he was widely known in Europe and also being the foremost architect of his generation in Finland for his work.

Eliel Saarinen

Eliel Saarinen's work

Metalsmith:

Jean Puiforcat: He was born in France in 1897, and died in 1945. He was a sculptor but he used to work on metal work.

Jean Puiforcat

Jean Puiforcat's work

Glass and Jewelry Designer:

Rene Lalique: Born in France in 1860 and died in 1945. He had an important contribution in Art Nouveau with his designs in both jewellery and glass during the beginning of the 20^th century.

Rene Lalique

Rene Lalique's work

Fashion Designer:

Erte: Born in Russia in 1892 and died in 1990. He used to design dresses and accessories for women, he also used to design costumes sets for dramatic productions, opera and ballet shows.

Erte

Erte's work

Jewellery Artist:

H.G. Murphy: Born in Kent (England) in 1884 and died in 1939. Since he was young he already had an interest in jewellery and when he got a bit older he was offered an apprenticeship by a jewellery designer where he spent some time working for this designer until he set up his own workshop. He started to work in silver but after some time he started to work with gold and with expensive gems.

H.G Murphy

H.G Murphy's work

Sculptor:

Demetre Chiparus: Born in 1886 and died in 1947. He was a Romanian sculptor who created bronze ivory sculptures which were inspired by Russian dancers from Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes.

Demetre Chiparus

Then there’s the fashion designer Paul Poiret and the graphic artist Edward McKnight Kauffer whose work reached a larger audience than the others.

Paul Poiret

Edward McKnight Kauffer

This art movement wasn’t being used anymore/wasn’t popular as before in most places during the World War II (1939-1945), but in the late 1960s the interest in Art Deco continued again. In today’s century (21^st) Art Deco’s inspirations continued in areas such as: decorative art, fashion and jewellery design.

Graphic Design Examples:

Art Deco Style Poster and Cover

Britannica, 12^th December 2014, Art Deco (online):-http://www.britannica.com/art/Art-Deco (Accessed 28th November 2015)

Vam, 27^th March-20 July 2003, Art Exhibition in Paris 1925 (online):-http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/the-1925-paris-exhibition/ (Accessed 28th November 2015)

Art Deco Designers (blog), 9^th October 2009, Maurice Dufrene (online):- http://art-deco-designers.blogspot.com.mt/2009/10/maurice-dufrene.html (Accessed 28th November 2015)

Britannica, n.d, Eliel Saarinen (online):- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Eliel-Saarinen (Accessed 28th November 2015)

Artcyclopedia, n.d, Jean Puiforcat (online):- http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/puiforcat_jean.html (Accessed 28th November 2015)

Britannica, n.d, Rene Lalique (online):- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Rene-Lalique (Accessed 29th November 2015)

Britannica, n.d, Erte (online):- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Erte (Accessed 29th November 2015)

Favourite Collectables, 21^st January 2012, H.G Murphy (online):- http://www.favouritecollectables.com/a-short-history-of-jewellery-designer-henry-george-murphy/ (Accessed 29th November 2015)

Vsemart, n.d, Demetre Chiparus (online):- http://vsemart.com/art-deco-era-sculptor-demetre-chiparus/ (Accessed 29th November 2015)

The Bauhaus

This school was founded by Walter Gropius a German architect, in 1919 in Weimar. His vision was to “utopian craft guild combining architecture, sculpture and painting into a single creative expression.” In 1925, from Weimar, the Bauhaus moved to Dessau where the building of the school was designed by Gropius himself and it had some features that later on, they became the trademark of modernist architecture. Such features included: steel-frame construction, glass curtain wall and an asymmetrical pin-wheel plan.

Walter Gropius

Bauhaus Building as designed by Walter Gropius

After changes in the director position for various times, in 1930 the Bauhaus was moved by the present/last director to Berlin because of the political situation in Germany and the uncertain financial state of the Bauhaus. But in 1933 Bauhaus was closed down because it was working on a reduced scale which wasn't enough to keep on going.

How Bauhaus as a school worked?

When entering the Bauhaus, students who used to come from different backgrounds both in education and in social, used to start with preliminary course which often would be taught by visual artists such as: Paul Klee, Vasily Kandinsky and Josef Albers. Apart the theory lessons, they had the practical lessons as well, which were called as workshops. Such workshops included; metalworking, cabinetmaking, weaving (textile), pottery, typography and wall painting with all the workshops having their own studio and their own director.

Among all of the workshops that students used to study/do, these were the most popular and their objects done usually they were used in the Bauhaus campus.

Metalworking: the director was Laszlo Moholy – Nagy but he was replaced by Marianne Brandt who was the first women to attend this workshop. One of the things that she created and remained popular among others is the silver and ebony teapot.

Laszlo Moholy - Nagy

Marianne Brandt

Silver and Ebony Teapot

Cabinetworking: the director of this workshop was Marcel Breuer, and in this studio they used to work things that has to do with furniture. The thing that Breuer created was a lightweight chair which he was inspired by the extruded steel tubes of his bicycle after he theorized that a chair can become outdated. Eventually to set up the Bauhaus (Dessau) theatre they used some of these chairs.

Marcel Breuer

Marcel Breuer chair creation

Weaving (textile): the director was Gunta Stolzl with the student being primarily women, here they created textiles which is abstract that also was used for the Bauhaus environment. Stolzl used to encourage her students to work with unorthodox materials such as cellophane, fiberglass and metal. Thanks to these objects done from this studio Bauhaus earned a lot of funds because the objects were commercially successful.

Gunta Stolzl

Gunta Stolzl work

Typography: the director was Herbert Bayer and although it wasn’t the priority of the Bauhaus, by time Bayer gave it its importance of usage; to corporate identity and advertising. Infect the promotional materials of the Bauhaus were done in this workshop with the use of sans serif typefaces and also the incorporation of photography.

Herbert Bayer

Herbert Bayer typography for Bauhaus

Graphic Design Examples:

Bauhaus Style Poster

Bauhsaus Style Poster

MetMuseum, August 2007, Bauhaus (online):- http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bauh/hd_bauh.htm (Accessed 18th November 2015)

Russian Suprematism and Constructivism

As we continue the modern movement of the 20^th century it’s time to talk about the two Russian trends that were post WW1, early in the 20^th century. These are:

Suprematism:

This art movement was founded by Kazimir Malevich during the First World War. In 1913 he introduced his first designs with his own ideas for an opera performed in St. Petersburg that eventually by time these ideas became the type that Suprematism work with.

Kazimir Malevich

The aim of this movement was to be suprematist to all the art of the past, and that is why Malevich named the movement Suprematism because that was his belief. This style featured an array of geometric shapes suspended above a white or light-coloured background. In these compositions a sense of depth is created with different shapes, sizes and angles, with certain shapes appear to be moving in space.

Some artist within this movement:

Kseniya Boguslavskaya: Russian painter, graphic artist, stage designer and poetess.

Kseniya Boguslavska

Kseniya Boguslavskaya's work

Ivan Klyun: Russian artist and art theorist.

Ivan Klyun

Ivan Klyun's work

Ivan Puni: Russian artist (painter and graphic designer).

Ivan Puni

Ivan Puni's work

Olga Rozanova: Russian artist (painter).

Olga Rozanova

Olga Rozanova's work

Graphic Design Examples:

Suprematism Style Poster

Suprematism Style Poster

Constructivism:

This movement was founded by Vladimir Tatlin after he presented his model for the ‘Monument for the Third International’ exhibition in 1919-20. This project was of an inspiration to other artists who joined Tatlin in this movement.

Vladimir Tatlin

The aim of this movement in the beginning was to work in painting and sculpture but by time they decided to work also in the applied arts (textiles and ceramics). Although it was developed side by side with Supermatism it had its own style and this was to use real materials in real space in their work and also to base their work on the social/political episodes that were happening.

Some artists within this movement:

Alexander Rodchenko: a Russian artist, sculptor, photographer and graphic designer. He was also one of the first artist who helped Tatin begin the movement.

Alexander Rodchenko

Alexander Rodchenko's work

Aleksandra Ekster: a Russian-French designer and painter.

Aleksandra Ekster

Aleksandra Ekster's work

Lyubov Popova: a Russian artist, painter and designer.

Lyubov Popova

Lyubov Popova's work

Alexander Vesnin: a Russian architecture.

Alexander Vesnin

Alexander Vesnin's work

Graphic Design Examples:

Constructivism Style Poster

Constructivism Style Poster

The art story, 2015, Suprematism (online):- http://www.theartstory.org/movement-suprematism.htm (Accessed 13th November 2015)

Russia-ic, n.d, Kseniya Boguslavskaya (online):- http://russia-ic.com/people/general/b/803 (Accessed 14th November 2015)

Britannica, n.d, Ivan Klyun (online):- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Vasilyevich-Klyun (Accessed 14th November 2015)

Britannica, n.d, Ivan Puni (online):- http://www.britannica.com/biography/Ivan-Albertovich-Puni (Accessed 14th November 2015)

Wiki Art, n.d, Olga Rozanova (online):- http://www.wikiart.org/en/olga-rozanova (Accessed 14th November 2015)

The art story, 2015, Constructivism (online):- http://www.theartstory.org/movement-constructivism.htm (Accessed 15th November 2015)