Art Deco

Art Deco

Art Deco started in the early decades of the 20th century, to be precise in the 1920’s and it was a very famous movement, but it decreased its popularity in the 1930’s and 1940’s just after World War 2.

At that time, many countries started to develop in industry, science and technology that were a big part of the society and economy because with these the world increased work for people and there were more money turning around. This also had some changes on the people's calm life, because of the economy life came faster, speedier and more hectic one. A lot of people felt the change but the world was turning a new page in its history. More and more factories were opening and there was work for people, and even lower class people worked to get some money. Therefore, this art movement was directly influenced by what had become these people's everyday life. Due to the ongoing progress economically and politically, the line which separated the social classes started becoming more blurred, and soon the working class began mixing with the high class.Now, all could afford to make use of the train, and cinema and every household owned a radio.

Therefore, this style appealed to all tastes and people of all walks of life. It was both simple and opulent and appeared very stylish and attractive. Art Deco posters are very simple but still effective in the way the composition has a lot of lines and at first site one would know that it has a large influence from Cubism. Art Deco posters represented in itself an illusion of speed and light thanks to the use of streamlined form, the light blending of colours, and the subject of the posters themselves.  

 

Art Deco had developed its roots from influential art movements that had surfaced previously such as Cubism, Futurism and Constructivism due to the common feature of the use of linear and geometric shapes.

Archaeological findings, being unearthed at the time in various parts of the world had left a large impact on the designer's inspiration. Many people turned working to sculptures, ornaments cause of the influence of the architecture from ancient Rome, Greece, Aztec, African and Egyptian art and remains.

They made use of contrasting textures such as that of marble, hardwood, metals, plastic, glass and crystal as well as that from exotic sources like ivory, bone, and animal skin and furs of the interior of especially rich families, politics, and expensive hotels.

Other than the use of materiels they compose their posters out of drawing geometric shapes, straight lines, and make use of bold curves. The posters are commonly designed to be either in full vibrant colours, grayscale, or monochromatic. Colours blend subtly in lighter or darker tones to represent light and speed.

Bibliography:

Art Deco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 2015. Art Deco - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [ONLINE] Available at:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Deco. [Accessed 29 January 2015].

Philip B. Meggs, Megg’s History of Graphic Design, 2012, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey