GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the 1920s, the influence of European modernism—the decorative styling of French art deco, or art moderne, and the functional purity of Germany’s Bauhaus school—began to transform American design. Art deco works ranged from the superlative luxury of designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann’s craftsmanship to the use of the latest industrial materials and techniques in the glass production of designer René Lalique. The underlying characteristic was the fusion of historical reference and modern streamlining, giving art deco its unique character. It both symbolized the glamour of the modern age and evoked the mystery of the past, as reflected in the furniture by American maker Company of Master Craftsmen.
Within Germany’s Bauhaus school, designers were encouraged to eliminate all unnecessary ornament, dispense with references to past styles, and create an international expression of the modern age. Innovative materials such as tubular chromium steel allowed for efficiency in production and use and also promoted a vision of a new mechanistic ideal. By the 1930s, utilitarian conveniences such as household appliances were shaped or restyled as glamorous celebrations of speed, flight, and the transformative power of the machine. Industrial designers such as Norman Bel Geddes, Walter Dorwin Teague, and Lurelle Guild became public figures.
Following World War II, designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and George Nelson further explored the possibilities of new manufacturing technologies and materials. Achievements in the contouring of plywood and refinement of plastics made possible the organic, sculptural forms that dominated design during the 1940s and 50s. This aesthetic of biomorphic modernism, with its gently curving amoeboid shapes, quickly challenged the mechanistic geometry of earlier functionalism and streamlining.
Adapted from
DMA Gallery text
NOTES
updated format - JBA 10/1/2017
September 15, 2016- This note is currently located in the CC-Catalogue Essays notebook and I am moving it to the New-In Focus notebook to consolidate all D3C online content. It can be relocated in the future if another D3C feels that a different category is more suitable. This note is currently tagged with internal tags #incomplete and %rules pending. I am adding the Dec Arts department tag and my author tag to this note in order to prevent it from being lost in the cracks.
2/17/17, HAB: I marked this incomplete since there's no rule and I think there are similar CC. I added @Bowling and @Bartsch-Allen to make sure we follow up on this. Moved from In Focus to Time & Place
see this note for possible associations or consolidation: art deco/art moderne/art nouveau
ASSOCIATED CONTENT CHUNKS
AUDIO ASSETS
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
WEB RESOURCES
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
apply to objects where department_id equals 60
apply to objects where date_end lte 1960
apply to objects where date_begin gte 1920
Category
rules_operator
AND
General Description
In the 1920s, the influence of European modernism—the decorative styling of French art deco, or art moderne, and the functional purity of Germany’s Bauhaus school—began to transform American design. Art deco works ranged from the superlative luxury of designer Emile-Jacques Ruhlmann’s craftsmanship to the use of the latest industrial materials and techniques in the glass production of designer René Lalique. The underlying characteristic was the fusion of historical reference and modern streamlining, giving art deco its unique character. It both symbolized the glamour of the modern age and evoked the mystery of the past, as reflected in the furniture by American maker Company of Master Craftsmen.
Within Germany’s Bauhaus school, designers were encouraged to eliminate all unnecessary ornament, dispense with references to past styles, and create an international expression of the modern age. Innovative materials such as tubular chromium steel allowed for efficiency in production and use and also promoted a vision of a new mechanistic ideal. By the 1930s, utilitarian conveniences such as household appliances were shaped or restyled as glamorous celebrations of speed, flight, and the transformative power of the machine. Industrial designers such as Norman Bel Geddes, Walter Dorwin Teague, and Lurelle Guild became public figures.
Following World War II, designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and George Nelson further explored the possibilities of new manufacturing technologies and materials. Achievements in the contouring of plywood and refinement of plastics made possible the organic, sculptural forms that dominated design during the 1940s and 50s. This aesthetic of biomorphic modernism, with its gently curving amoeboid shapes, quickly challenged the mechanistic geometry of earlier functionalism and streamlining.
Adapted from
DMA Gallery text
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
updated format - JBA 10/1/2017
September 15, 2016- This note is currently located in the CC-Catalogue Essays notebook and I am moving it to the New-In Focus notebook to consolidate all D3C online content. It can be relocated in the future if another D3C feels that a different category is more suitable. This note is currently tagged with internal tags #incomplete and %rules pending. I am adding the Dec Arts department tag and my author tag to this note in order to prevent it from being lost in the cracks.
2/17/17, HAB: I marked this incomplete since there's no rule and I think there are similar CC. I added @Bowling and @Bartsch-Allen to make sure we follow up on this. Moved from In Focus to Time & Place
see this note for possible associations or consolidation: art deco/art moderne/art nouveau
rules
Apply To
Objects
department_id
Equals
60
source file
time_and_place-0021.xml.nores