Week 9

 Art Deco and Industrial Design (1920’s-1939)

Gina Christopher


The art deco period was the brief exciting period between the two world wars. In this period there was an explosion of art deco in the United States. Art deco originally started in France after World War One. After living in functional design for a while the decorator came into being and people wanted some more spice. There was a nice focus on luxury and flashy interior design. Also, there was a feeling of celebration during this time that only art deco could describe in its style. This was a period of economic progress for the United States, which promoted this playful celebration of style for the world. The two types of art deco design include the more feminine, classical art deco style and the masculine, futuristic style. The elements of this style include exotic materials, high quality materials, hand crafted, geometric styles, ivory inlay, decorative glass, shiny surfaces, lacquered wood, and more.


My favorite architecture/ design/ furniture 

Radio City Music Hall, New York: Donald Deskey 
Donald Deskey was an American interior and industrial designer. He continues to stand out due to his use of materials such as copper, pigskin, linoleum, aluminum and more. His interiors for Radio City Music Hall included aluminum’s wallpaper, which you can see in the photo of the lobby. I particularly enjoy the exotic and rich colors used in this interior, as well as its lighting features in both the auditorium and lobby. The textures on the walls and flooring are also intriguing.




Armchair: Denham Maclaren 
Denham Maclaren’s armchair immediately caught my eye in the textbook. He was interested in exploring new territories and using glass in a structural manner.  This chair is innovative and resists easy classification, but the use of animal skins and glass brings it into the art deco style. I really love the use of glass as arm pieces and legs. 



Ritz Hotel, London: Charles Mewes and Arthur Davis 
The Ritz in London was the first steel-framed building in London. The interiors were developed for early-twentieth- century ocean liners. This included many high quality materials, decorative glass and geometric designs. You can also see the high quality use of electricity and ambient lighting. I really like the interior of the lobby space, you can feel the luxury and richness when you look at these photos.  I also. Like the use of floor designs, heavy drapery and a feminine art deco color scheme.




Current Applications 







One Step Further 

Paul Frankl
Paul Frankl was an architect and furniture maker in the art deco period. He is known for creating furniture using a skyscraper profile. He introduced the use of plywood in his furniture making instead of using solid wood material. He also introduced the use of rattan and bamboo in furniture design. I appreciate his furniture making because they come in such different profiles and designs. I can see his skyscraper pieces being used in a more masculine art deco interior, while his bamboo and rattan pieces could be used in a more feminine design. 





Comments

  1. Cara VeenstraMarch 21, 2025 at 1:39 PM

    Hi Gina! I really like your blog! You had a great summary and I love all the pictures you included. I especially love the images you chose for your current applications. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ruth RamosMarch 21, 2025 at 11:03 PM

    Hey Gina! I really enjoyed the images and examples you selected. The Maclaren armchair is very interesting to look at! Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Grace PekocMarch 22, 2025 at 10:13 AM

    Gina, great job summarizing the information from this lesson and I loved the images you used to describe everything!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Irma HernandezMarch 22, 2025 at 2:23 PM

    Hi Gina your introduction summanry is great and your blog images for current applications

    ReplyDelete
  5. Professor VanderNoordaaMarch 24, 2025 at 8:54 AM

    Gina,
    Your summary was interesting and you provided the elements that made Art Deco so unique, "The elements of this style include exotic materials, high quality materials, hand crafted, geometric styles, ivory inlay, decorative glass, shiny surfaces, lacquered wood, and more."
    Your favorite choices were great. I loved the armchair by Denham Maclaren. Your current applications were perfect. I also appreciated you deeper dive into Paul Frankl who introduced us to the use of bamboo and ratan in furniture. 50/50 points

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Week 13

Image
 Modernism in America (pt.2) Gina Christopher The 1950’s was a time for exploration in furniture design. Furniture of this time was made out of molded plywood, fiberglass, plastic, and aluminum. This is due to the philosophy during this time that good quality furniture can also be affordable for the masses. There were two companies during this time that were the producers of all this furniture: Herman Miller and Herman Miller and Knoll. These companies were all the rage during this time period. Also during this time there was a high push to encourage human movement within furniture design, instead of designing based on perpendicular lines. Also multipurpose furniture and interchangeable furniture were present during this time. There was also a new identify for pieces of furniture, such as the coffee table and lounge chairs. These were created due to the invention of the television, and making people feel most comfortable while watching  television.  My Favorite design/ fu...
Read more

Week 11

Image
 Rise of the Decorator  Gina Christopher During this time period there was a high need for professional to help with outfitting the interiors of the wealthy class’s homes. Before interior decoration, architects would hire craftsmen to complete elements of the interior design. The job of an interior decorator was to furnish an interior including furniture, art, floor covering, accessories and any other aspects needed. Elsie de Wolfe is to be thanked for paving the way for women to enter the interior design profession. It is known noted that while 18 percent of architects are women 69 percent of interior designers are women. Now more than ever women are taking the lead in the field of interiors. The top 5 more famous interiors designers to date are Dorothy Draper, Francis Elkins, Petra Blaisse, Clodagh, and Laura Day. In my blog this week I will address some of these astonishing women and my favorite works of theirs.  My favorite designers/designs  Dorothy Draper ...
Read more

Week 6

Image
Protomodernism  Gina Christopher  The Protomodernism style is a new style, we have not studied something quite like it yet. This movement planted seeds for modernism and rejected historical, ornamented styles. This style is very simplistic and primarily only uses the colors red, yellow, and blue. There was a high emphasis is on flat surfaces with no textures in this style. The designs seen in this period are geometric in form, with emphasis on vertical and horizontal lines (no curvilinear here). The belief during this period was to design simple for the masses, to create inexpensive designs to get out to the people.  My favorite art/design/architecture  Café Museum by Adolf Loos Adolf Loos believed formed developed beauty and not ornamentation. His style was rather simple and paved the way for modernism. I like this work of his in particular because it feels like somewhere I would sit for a while. Most coffee shops today do not hold the richness that this one does. T...
Read more