The History And Appearance Of The Art Deco Style

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I have chosen question 2 for my essay. I plan to discuss the history and appearance of the Art Deco style. In my essay, I will discuss the work of Adolphe Mouron Cassandre. The artworks I have chosen to analyse are ‘Normandie’ poster, 1935 (Fig. 1) and ‘Dubonnet’, 1932 (Fig. 2). I will discuss why his graphic design should most definitely be considered as Art Deco. I will compare Cassandre with another famous Art Deco designer, Paul Colin.
Art Deco, often called style modern, was a movement in the decorative arts and architecture that began in the 1920s. It developed in to a major style in the United States of America and western Europe in the 1930s. The name Art Deco comes from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels …show more content…

It is ornamental artworks that is geometric or stylized from representational forms. Art Deco is unusually varied, are often made from expensive materials and man-made substances. The characteristics of the style reflected the admiration for the modernity of machines and for the design qualities a machine-made design can have. Designers wanted to pursuit beauty in all aspects of life which would be directly reflective of the newness and mass usage of technology. Art Deco works are symmetrical and pleasing to the eye. The style contrasted with the avant-garde art period, which was about finding beauty in what were anti-traditional images and forms. Art Deco is a modern style that attempts to infuse functional objects with artistic touches. The movement is different from the sculpture and painting of fine art where the object has no practical purpose or use beyond its aesthetical appeal. Streamline Moderne was the American version of Art Deco. The American style was “a stripped-down and sleek version of the more elaborate and often bespoke Art Deco style” (The Art …show more content…

He won first prize at the Exposition in Paris in 1925 for a poster entitled ‘Bûcheron’. He continued creating striking posters throughout this period. Born in the Ukraine in 1901 to French parents, Cassandre moved to Paris and studied art in 1915. He aspired to become a painter and studied at the Écoles des Beaux Arts in Paris. At the age of 22, he had to turn to graphic design as a quick financial fix. He grew to prefer graphic design as an art form because it “gave the painter the golden opportunity to communicate with the large public” (Lynsey Harte, 2013). Cassandre’s artworks should be considered Art Deco because he uses symmetrical, stylized features in his designs. Cassandre “used stencils and an airbrush to create his posters, and drew upon the styles of Cubism and Futurism (an Italian variation of Cubism) for his inspiration” (Arty Factory). Not only was he one of the pioneers of the movement but he also got a reputation for producing posters that were bold, geometric, and having a strong use of typography. Cassandre even invented some new Art Deco style typefaces by manipulating existing ones as well as creating his own. The Art Deco typefaces he designed were: “Bifur” (1929), Acier Noir (1935) and Piegnot (1937). The way in which Cassandre links his typography with the images he uses in his designs is one of his

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