Art Deco

The Art Deco movement was started in the 1920s by a group of artists in Paris but lasted only for not more than two decades following an initial rapid acceptance. It acted as a fresh whiff alternative to the dominant Renaissance, Gothic and Victorian architectural styles. While most other styles were influenced by some or other political movements, Art Deco used eclecticism, neo-classism, modernism, and romanticism as its prominent feature. Liberal use of symmetry and geometry is evident in most of its forms. Art Deco influenced not just architectural styles but also fashion, ornaments, jewelry, motifs, furniture, cars, watches, pottery, and luxury products. Art Deco was fancied purely as a visionary romantic and artistic movement, which celebrated art as its chief form. And it succeeded briefly in resilience to the austerity methods employed after World War I. In architecture, it was widely used in Railway stations (eg. Jodhpur Railway Station), hotels, and cinemas (eg. Regal Cinema, Bombay). The movement was a huge success in US while in India it, for a while, provided an alternative to the monotonous and prominent Indo-Saracenic and VictorianGothic styles. Princely emblems, motifs, and interior designs heavily borrowed from Art Deco. Art Deco style died pre-maturely after a couple of decades, later seen as being too gaudy and overbearingly decorative. It rose to prominence again for a brief while in the ‘80s. Bombay is said to have the largest number of Art Decos after Miami. The writer, oblivious to his neighborhood Art Deco surroundings realizes its significance only after he sees a resemblance of the style in Miami. While in US he see these buildings to be properly preserved, studied and documented, he observes that the same architecture-style in his home town of Bombay suffers ignorance and is taken for granted. The book explores the Art Deco styles, motifs, and local influences in the Art Deco region of Bombay. You see everything, which most probably went un-noticed for its importance, ranging from Asiatic Library, Azad maidan, Eros, Regal et cetera with a new perspective. With beautiful and esthete pictures, a delight for all architecture buffs and anyone interested in the history of city. Navin Ramani’s work is probably the first attempt to document the Bombay Art Deco heritage.

Art Deco architecture was first and foremost considered to be decorative - ornamental and beautifying. Buildings,hotels, cinemas, railway stations, etc. were all embellished with quintessential Deco patterns like zigzags, sunbursts, Egyptian motifs and similar geometric patterns all in the name of beauty. Post-war society very quickly fell in love with the style, as it was a representation of all that was modern, luxurious and beautiful. The 1920s were a time of joy and hopefulness and the masses embraced this new look withopen arms. It was symbolic of the strong economy and it inspired hope for a prosperous future. Unfortunately, architectural purists and critics absolutely hated it! They "sneered at the...'modernistic' applicationof Art Deco ornament, which they saw as 'commercial.'" (Benton, 2003) In essence they felt it was too much glitz and not enough substance. (What were they thinking!!??) "More recently, however, architects and critics have begun to re-evaluate the importance of the decorative in architecture, seeing it not only as a popular reflection of rapidly changing conditions but as a rich and profound expression of human feelings." (Benton, 2003) (I'm glad they have finally come to their senses.)

Resurfacing of the ancient

art Deco buildings have many of these features:

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Cubic forms Ziggurat shapes: Terraced pyramid with each story smaller than the one below it Complex groupings of rectangles or trapezoids Bands of colour Zigzag designs Strong sense of line Illusion of pillars

Although art deco looks ultra-modern, it dates back to the days of Egyptian tombs.

Art Deco - The Marriage of Art and Engineering in the Machine Age Art Deco architecture was a complete break away from older architecture. It was meant to reflect a style of its own: Modern. It embodied all that was thought of as "modern." It represented the modernity of the machine age - - - all the amenities of modern society brought on by the industrial revolution. It represented modern simplicity, strength, forward motion, achievement, technology. Gone were the remnants of fancy, traditional, classic design/ornamentation:   

No more Ionic, Doric or Corinthian columns. No more fancy classic, frilly window casings and pediments. No more fancy shields/cartouches, urns, olive branches, garlands, swags, medallions and reed bundles.

In its place were:   

Simplicity of design and understated ornamentation. Buildings with vertical lines, and the birth of skyscrapers. A focus on geometric and abstract ornamentation where it was used.

Bottom Line: A Celebration of Man and His Modernity Characteristics In classic Art Deco, rectangular blocky forms were often arranged in geometric fashion, then broken up by curved ornamental elements. But always the aim was a monolithic appearance with applied decorative motifs.

Materials Art Deco materials included stucco, concrete, smooth-faced stone, and Terracotta. Steel and aluminum were often used along with glass blocks and decorative opaque plate glass (vitrolite).

Roof Art Deco designers adorned flat roofs with parapets, spires, or tower-like constructs to accentuate a corner or entrance. Decorative curiosities such as chimneys were added to further enhance the design.

Windows Windows usually appear as punctured openings, either square or round. To maintain a streamlined appearance for the building, they were often arranged in continuous horizontal bands of glass. Wall openings are sometimes filled with decorative glass or with glass blocks, creating a contrast of solid and void forms while admitting daylight. Many large apartment buildings found aesthetic success with decorative embossed spandrel panels placed below windows. The Kennedy-Warren Apartments is an example.

Entrance Doorways are sometimes surrounded with elaborate pilasters and pediments, and door surrounds are often embellished with either reeding (a convex decoration) or fluting (a concave decoration). The quality and extent of the decorative motifs vary by project and designer.