Art Deco

Art deco is a design movement that rose to prominence in the mid 1930's but actually started a decade prior in Paris.  Art deco is most commonly recognized for its architecture and interior design, but also had influences in industrial design, fashion and jewelry, as well as visual arts such as painting, film and graphics design. It embraced influences from many different styles of the early twentieth century, including neoclassical, constructivism, cubism, modernism and futurism, many art deco works drew inspiration from ancient Eqyptian and Aztec forms. It is based on mathematical geometric shapes but other popular themes include trapezoidal, zigzagged and jumbled shapes.

One of the most famous and earliest examples of art deco architecture is the Chrysler Building in New York, the Empire State building is also a good example. New York, Chicago, and Detroit have many surviving art deco buildings. An example closer to home is the former Daily Express building in Manchester built midway through the 1930's.

During the summer of 1969, the popular art historian Bevis Hillier conceived organizing an exhibition named Art Deco at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts which then took place in 1971. Interest in art deco increased further with the publication of his book a year later - The World of Art Deco, a record of the exhibition.

Art deco slowly lost patronage in the West after becoming mass-produced, when it began to be derided as gaudy and presenting a false image of luxury. A resurgence of interest in art deco began during the 1960's, and then again during the 1980's with the graphic design. Its association with "film noir" and 1930's glamour resulted in its use for advertisements for jewelry, fashion and toiletries even today.