Canopy bed of
silver-covered wood, 1922. Indian, attributed to craftsmen from
Udaipur, Orissa. Talisman Antiques.
LONDON - The Victoria and Albert Museum is presenting "Art Deco
1910-1939." The show will be the first to explore Art Deco as a
global phenomenon affecting cities as far apart as Paris, New
York, Bombay and Shanghai.
Art Deco brought an exotic, vibrant style to the most precious
and exclusive works of art as well as to mass-produced objects
that were widely available. Art Deco flourished between the two
world wars and the exhibition will trace the development of the
style from its beginnings in Europe before the First World War to
its global popularity in the late 1930s. Art Deco will be
presented as an eclectic and exciting response to modern-day
demands.
After the presentation at the Victoria and Albert Museum, "Art
Deco 1910-1939" will travel to the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto
(autumn 2003); the California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San
Francisco (spring 2004); and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
(autumn 2004). Four books will be published by V&A
Publications to coincide with the exhibition opening.
"Art Deco 1910-1939" captures the spirit of the period with
important master works from public and private collections
worldwide. It includes more than 300 works of paintings,
sculpture, architecture, furniture, textiles, glass, metal,
jewelry, graphic art, product design, fashion, film and
photography.
Highlights of the show include original architectural elements
from the foyer of the Strand Palace Hotel, London, one of the
most celebrated Art Deco interiors of the period, a selection of
important works from master furniture designer Jacques-Emil
Ruhlmann's influential Art Deco Grand Salon, exhibited at the
Paris Exhibition of 1925 and brought together for the first time
since 1925; Cartier Art Deco jewelry; paintings and sculpture by
some of the most important artists of the Twentieth Century,
including Fernand Leger, Sonia and Robert Delaunay and Constantin
Brancusi; and fashion by designers such as Jeanne Lanvin, Coco
Chanel and Elsa Schiaperelli.
Ghislaine Wood, chief curator of the exhibition, said, "For much
of the Twentieth Century, Art Deco was dismissed as a purely
hedonistic and frivolous style. The exhibition will explore how
Art Deco in fact represented new values and responded to human
needs through the conscious celebration of fantasy, fun, glamour
and commerce. It became a universal phenomenon transforming the
look of everything from factories and cinemas to fashion land
photography. Art Deco was arguably the most popular style of the
last century and one that has enormous appeal for people all over
the world today."
The Deco period began in 1910 when Art Nouveau slid out of
fashion. Its highpoint was in 1925 at the Paris exhibition, the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels
Modernes, and the style culminated at the New York World's Fair
in 1939. The term Art Deco was coined in 1966 and was taken from
the Paris exhibition in 1925. Before this the style was known by
terms, including "Jazz Moderne," "Streamline Moderne" or simple
"Moderne."
"Art Deco 1910-1939" will feature a wide range of works by
leading artists and designers, including Edgar Brandt, Susie
Cooper, Henry Dreyfus, Jean Dupas, Josef Gocar, Eileen Gray,
Josef Hoffmann, Rene Lalique, Raymond Loewy, Pierre Legrain,
Tamara de Lempicka, Gio Ponti, Jean Puiforcat, Andre Sue and
Walter Dorwin Teague.
The presentation is divided into sections: "The Style and the
Age" presents a series of iconic Art Deco objects from around the
world to show the defining characteristics of the style. Objects
range from paintings and fashion to industrial design. "The
Sources" explores artifacts from ancient Egypt and Greece,
Meso-America, Africa, Japan and China. "The 1925 Paris
Exhibition" was the high point of the first phase of Art Deco. A
group of important works exhibited in Ruhlmann's influential
Pavilion d'un Collectioneur at the 1925 exhibition, including
Jean Dupas' famous painting "Les Perruches (The Parrots)" are
reunited. "The Spread of Art Deco" explores two of the main
approaches to Art Deco in Europe, the Exotic and the Moderne. The
first focuses on exotic imagery and materials used to create
exciting modern design while the second reveals how designers
responded to the stock market crash of 1929 by using new
materials -- plastic, chrome, aluminum -- that changed the look
of Deco.
"The Deco World" shows the global development of Art Deco. Cars,
trains and ocean liners, all symbols of the modern world, helped
spread the style around the globe, as did the popularity of
Hollywood films. During the Depression, Streamlining emerged as a
symbol of speed and efficiency. Applied to everything from
buildings and cars to radios and fashion, it represents the last
and arguably the most glamorous phase of Art Deco.
The Victoria and Albert Museum is on Cromwell Road, South
Kensington. For information, 44207 942 2000 or www.van.ac.uk.
