Art deco
Art deco is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in
the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s and into the
World War II era.The style influenced all areas of design, including
architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and jewelry, as
well as the visual arts such as painting, graphic arts and film.The term
"art deco" was coined in 1966, after an exhibition in Paris, 'Les
Années 25' sub-titled Art Deco, celebrating the 1925 Exposition Internationale des
Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (International Exhibition of Modern
Decorative and Industrial Arts) that was the culmination of style moderne in
Paris. At its best, art deco represented elegance, glamour, functionality and
modernity. Art deco's linear symmetry was a distinct departure from the flowing
asymmetrical organic curves of its predecessor style art nouveau; it embraced
influences from many different styles of the early twentieth century, including
neoclassical, constructivism, cubism, modernism and futurism and drew
inspiration from ancient Egyptian and Aztec forms. Although many design
movements have political or philosophical beginnings or intentions, art deco
was purely decorative.Art deco experienced a decline in popularity during the
late 1930s and early 1940s, but had a resurgence during the 1960s with the
first book on the subject by Bevis Hillier in 1968 and later an exhibition
organised by him in Minneapolis in 1971. It continued with the popularization
of graphic design during the 1980s. Art deco had a profound influence on many
later artistic styles, such as Memphis and pop art.Architectural examples
survive in many different locations worldwide, in countries as diverse as
China, India, Latvia, Colombia, and the United States. In New York City, the
Empire State Building, the Chrysler Building, and Rockefeller Center are among
the largest and best-known examples of the style.