Bevis Hillier
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Art Deco was a popular design movement from 1920 until 1939, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film. This movement was, in a sense, an amalgamation of many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked during the 1920s. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern as well.
Art Deco replaced the sinuous curves of its Art Nouveau predecessor with geometric lines and patterns. It has often been dubbed 'modernism for the masses'.
History
After the Universal Exposition of 1900, various French artists formed a formal collective known as, La Société des artistes décorateurs (the society of the decorator artists). Founders included Hector Guimard, Eugène Grasset, Raoul Lachenal, Paul Follot, Maurice Dufrene, and Emile Decour. These artists heavily influenced the principles of Art Deco as a whole. This society's purpose was to demonstrate French decorative art's leading position and evolution internationally. They organized the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Art), which would feature French art and business interests. Russian artist Vadim Meller was awarded a gold medal for his scenic design there.
The initial movement was called Style Moderne. The term Art Deco was derived from the Exposition of 1925, though it was not until the late 1960s that this term was coined by art historian Bevis Hillier, and popularized by his 1968 book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s. In the summer of 1969, Hillier conceived organizing an exhibition called Art Deco at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, which took place from July to September 1971. After this event, interest in Art Deco peaked with the publication of Hillier's 1971 book The World of Art Deco, a record of the exhibition.
See also
- 1933 Chicago World's Fair Century of Progress
- 1939 New York World's Fair
- Aleksandra Ekster
- Corrado Parducci
- Durban Art Deco
- Fisher Building
- Francisco Salamone
- Guardian Building
- International style
- List of Art Deco architecture
- List of Art Deco buildings in Melbourne
- List of Art Deco buildings in Tasmania
- Napier, New Zealand
- Oliver Percy Bernard
- Streamline Moderne
- Vadim Meller
- Wirt C. Rowland