DDD10001: 20th Century Design

Week 5
Modernity, modernism, art deco and
the moderne

This weeks tutorial looks at

modernism, Art Deco and the
moderne between the two
world wars, from 1918 to 1939.
Throughout the inter-war period
there were a wide range of design
movements and design practices
that reflected the experience
of modernity, and the everyday
experiences of people in the
modern world.
Some of the modernist design
movements such as De Stijl in
the Netherlands and the Bauhaus
in Germany were little known by
ordinary people at the time but
were highly intellectual responses
to modern times that influenced

designers around the world.

Art Deco on the other hand was
fashionable, popular and widely
understood by the public almost
everywhere. Moderne refers to
design that had some modern
qualities, modern materials, a
lack of ornament, but was either
too luxurious and expensive
to fit with Modernist theories
or modern in materials and
function, but retaining elements
of expressiveness that didnt
conform to modernist ideas.

Left Above: Northfields The Garden

Capital of Victoria (1936) <http://bit.
ly/1azayJ6> and Right Avbove: Oscar
Schlemmer triadic ballet costumes (n.d.)
<http://bit.ly/196N1UN>

Norma Shearer by George Hurrell (1934)

<http://bit.ly/KuuLKr> and Saarinen House
dining room 1928-30 (n.d.) <http://bit.
ly/1i8SwTt>

There were various cultural

responses to the machine age
and the changing pace of life in
big cities in the inter-war period.
Some artists, writers, architects,
designers and filmmakers
were enthusiastic about the
changes and celebrated them
in their work. These modernists
embraced the idea of a Utopian
future and design as instrumental
in its construction. They sought
new materials, new technology

and new approaches to designing

all kinds of commodities, spaces
and communications. They
thought that design should be
socially instrumental, that it
should improve peoples lives,
particularly the working classes.

Art Deco = Modern,

decorative arts,
conspicuous consumption,
detail, style, display and
wealth, craft and art.

Mitchell House (2012) <http://bit.

ly/19WCiKZ> and Alkira House (n.d.)
<http://bit.ly/1hpWDNk>

More socially conservative designers and architects

looked back to earlier times and reproduced the
design of the past; their approach is described as
historicism. A third group of designers and architects
attempted to bring the past into the present while
exploring elements of contemporary technology,
materials, or experience.

Designers of Art Deco

occupied this last category.
They used elements of past
styles (historicism), imagery
and decorative traditions
combined with new technology,
manufacturing and materials,
an approach we can describe
as eclecticism. They also used

techniques borrowed from art,

design and the material culture of
a range of non-western sources
for novelty and fashionability.

Hotel Tassel in Brussels (1893) (2012) <http://bit.ly/1cEfBYy> and

Kings Cinema foyer (2008) <http://bit.ly/1i8ZVSKfigcaption>

Right: Utopian - New industrial materials, decorative,

eclectic-historical. New York
Now we turn our attention to the emergence Art
Deco in Paris, which began as a luxury craft-based
style and how it intersected with modernist design in
Europe. Well look at some of Art Decos influences
and how it spread to the US and across the world as
a popular mass-market taste. Next well talk about
De Stijl, originally the name of a publication that we
use for an avant garde modernist design and art
movement in the Netherlands. Then well look at
some Australian designers and architects of the
inter war period and how they used range of ideas
from the Modernist movements in Europe and Art
Deco style.

The Chrysler Building NYC (2011) <http://bit.

ly/19LkDbu>

Designers of Art Deco occupied this last category.

They used elements of past styles (historicism),
imagery and decorative traditions combined with
new technology, manufacturing and materials, an
approach we can describe as eclecticism. They
also used techniques borrowed from art, design
and the material culture of a range of non-western
sources for novelty and fashionability.

La Tour Eiffel en 1925, lors de lExposition des Arts Dcoratifs Paris (1925) <http://bit.
ly/1eARptq> and Pavilion Lalique (1925) <http://www.sekaimon.com/i400414262615>

Art Deco is a term we use

for a style in decorative arts,
architecture and graphic design
that is quite different to modernist
design for social reform. Before
World War I numerous designers
of the decorative arts and interior
design were beginning to move
from the Art Nouveau style
with its sinuous lines, motifs
from nature and influences of
French Symbolist art to a more
geometric style, reviving elements
of classicism. It took some time

for the style to develop because

of the impact of World War I. In
1925 the French government was
able to stage a much delayed
exhibition of decorative arts in
Paris with the aim of reasserting
the countrys leadership in
producing luxury goods and in
style and taste.
Above: 1925 Exposition modern
decorative arts, Paris.

Le Corbusier: Pavilion de lEsprit

Nouveau (1925) <http://bit.
ly/19Lx5bk>

It showed some French modernist design,

particularly the architect Le Corbusiers Pavilion
de LEsprit Nouveau, and modernist design
from other countries including Russia and
the Netherlands that subsequently influenced
architects and designers the world over.
Le Corbusier: Pavilion de lEsprit
Nouveau Modernist

The Empire State Building NYC (2010) <http://bit.ly/1bM27tO>

and Tikal Temple (n.d.) <http://bit.ly/1cx46Wn>

Pavilion de Collectionneur, by Pierre Patout

(1925) <http://bit.ly/1ibxP9k>

But this was a side-show at the

time compared to the emergence
of the mainstream Art Deco
style which was brought to the
attention of the world through this
exhibition.
Art deco - classical, simple,
decorative and commercial.
British historian of architecture

Art Deco designers introduced

flat bold shapes, modern
typefaces and stylised glamorous
images into graphic design.
The Ukranian-French artist and
designer Cassandre was a leading
graphic design in Paris whose
work exemplifies the Art Deco
style. He produced advertising
products featuring railways and
luxury cruise lines to alcohol and
cigarettes, including packaging,
print ads and posters. Another
French graphic designer Jean
Carlu was brought to America
to illustrate magazines including
Vanity Fair. In turn American
production designers in the film
industry used Art Deco style to
create a sense of modern luxury
that in turn spread out across

the world to influence consumer

goods and communications of all
kinds.
Art Deco influenced American
architects of skyscraper buildings
in Chicago and New York. Two of
the most famous are the Empire
State and Chrysler buildings.
While the skyscraper was a
modern building with its steel
frame technology, and required
modern lifts to make it work, Art
Deco style created a popular
acceptance of such a radical
new approach. As design theorist
Adrian Forty argues, the purpose
of design was often to make
modern technology and modern
types of goods and services
acceptable to the public (1986).

Art Decos eclectic influences included

Vienna Secession design, Cubist art, African
tribal culture, jazz music, the Russian ballet,
ancient Egyptian arts and the Mayan culture
of Mexico and central America.

Les Demoiselles dAvignon (1907) <http://

bit.ly/1lys9Jo> and poster for the Bal Negre
(1927) <http://bit.ly/1drGhgm>

Art Deco became the

language of cosmopolitan
modernity during the inter
war period. Cosmopolitan
metropolises developed lively
consumer cultures, a vibrant
nightlife and a sophisticated
film industry with the assistance
of advertising and magazines.
Art Deco introduced a language
of modern progress and
consumption. It promoted ideas
of leisure the cinema and
fashion and the modern woman.
Right: Eclectic, exotic, modern
luxury - Eileen Gray Rue de
Lota apartment

Eileen Gray, Rue de Lota Apartment (1919)

<http://bit.ly/1gaN6WD>

Modernism in
advertising, despite the
brutish reality of the
Depression.

American Way (1937) <http://bit.ly/1dLPvHE>

and Normandie by Adolf Mouron Cassandre
(1935) <http://bit.ly/18jsRnU>

Bally Shoes by Bernard Villemot (n.d.) <http://bit.

ly/1ic7TdP> and PiVolo Apertif (1925) <http://bit.
ly/1aCGUTx>
<http://bit.ly/1gaN6WD>

Art Deco in Melbourne

A number of Australian architects

admired Art Deco style and
developed designs in the style.
Above: Art Deco/Moderne consumer commercial recovery:
Myer, Bourke Street, 1931 and
Alkira House, 1937 (Streamline
Moderne/Art Deco).

Painting of the Myer Building (n.d.) <http://bit.

ly/1cJVA30>

Marcus Barlow: Century Building 1939 (2014)

<http://bit.ly/1hOzMbp>

Melbourne still has a much-admired stock of Art

Deco buildings, many by architect Marcus Barlow,
such as his Manchester Unity Building (board room,
above right) finished in 1932 in a gothic-revival Art
Deco style.

Manchester Unity Building (2011) <http://bit.

ly/1cUxW8m> and Manchester Unity Building
colour (2013) <http://bit.ly/1cJU7d0>

A Carlton slum (n.d.) <http://bit.ly/1QK778g>

and Baby healthcare centre (n.d.) <http://bit.
ly/1f9L6BE>

Barlows Century Building just

along Collins Street (the basement
of which today houses the Hi Fi
Bar) that once held an Art Deco
caf and ballroom, shows the
influence of classicism rather than
gothic with its white rather than
mottled stone-coloured faence
tiles like the Manchester Unity
Building.

Century Building (n.d.) <http://bit.

ly/1egTlXw> and Open House - Century
Building (n.d.) <http://bit.ly/1cJVA30>

Australian design of the inter-war

period was affected by the seesawing economy that lurched
from booms to busts. Because
Australia had a small population
(only 6 million in 1936), a huge
foreign debt from World War II
and few exports apart from farm
products, our economy became
destabilised. After the Wall Street
crash of 1929, Australia followed
the United States and much of
the developed world into the
Depression. In the boom times
of the 1920s confidence led to
extravagance and the adoption
of Art Deco. On the other hand,
hard times led to the acceptance
of modernism and sober moderne
design. In Australia in the 1930s

we see more austere design.

The Australian economy was
badly hit by the Depression. The
government was slow to act and
put off devaluing the Australian
pound. Workers were laid off and
unemployment dropped in 1930
and continued falling until 1932-33
when it reached 30%. Since there
were no unemployment benefits,
people relied on charity and then
small government hand-outs.
There was widespread poverty,
homelessness, and malnutrition.
Above: Australian modernism,
the Great Depression and social
reform: Housing Investigation and
Slum Abolition Board photographs.

Australian Design during Inter-war Period

Mies van der Rohe: Seagram Building, New

York, 1958 (2014) http://bit.ly/1dO5nLL; Lake
Shore Drive Apartments, Chicago, 1951
(2014) http://bit.ly/19MNKLb

Composition II in Red, Blue, and Yellow

(1930) <http://bit.ly/1bMeoyi>

Many young Australian architects

travelled to Britain and Europe
and after graduating in the 1920s
and 1930s. Many of them worked
for a while in England and some
went to the United States for
industry experience. After Hitler
rose to power in 1932, many
avoided Germany and explored
Czechoslovakia, Scandinavia and
the Netherlands.

Australian design of the

inter-war period was affected by
the see-sawing economy that
lurched from booms to busts.
Because Australia had a small
population (only 6 million in 1936),
a huge foreign debt from World
War II and few exports apart
from farm products, our economy
became destabilised. After
the Wall Street crash of 1929,
Australia followed the United
States and much of the developed
world into the Depression.

In the boom times of the 1920s

confidence led to extravagance
and the adoption of Art Deco.
On the other hand, hard times led
to the acceptance of modernism
and sober moderne design.
In Australia in the 1930s we
see more austere design.

unemployment dropped in 1930

and continued falling until 1932-33
when it reached 30%. Since there
were no unemployment benefits,
people relied on charity and then
small government hand-outs.
There was widespread poverty,
homelessness, and malnutrition.

The Australian economy was

badly hit by the Depression. The
government was slow to act and
put off devaluing the Australian
pound. Workers were laid off and

Above: Australian modernism,

the Great Depression and social
reform: Housing Investigation and
Slum Abolition Board photographs.

Of those who went to Europe

many visited the Netherlands
to see the work of Willem
Dudok, in particular his town
hall complex at Hilversum.
Dudok wasnt closely associated
with Mondrian, van Doesburg,
Vantongerloo and Rietveldt (the
artists and designers associated
with De Stijl), but he explored
Modernist ideas and usefully
for Melbourne architects, was
accomplished in designing for
brick the common material of
this city.

DESIGN IS SIMPLY
A WAY OF DOING
THINGS. ITS
SCOPE COVERS
EVERY ASPECT
OF LIFE. IT
MEANS DOING
THINGS BETTER
THAN BEFORE.
IT INVOLVES
CREATION.
IT MEANS
FULFILMENT.
Grant Featherston
European modernism spread
to Australia through visiting
international architects, and also
through the arrival of immigrants
like Sellheim and Romberg from
Germany, and Fritz Janeba and
Ernest Fuchs from Austria.
Publications like the English art
and design journal The Studio,
the French journal Art and
Decoration and a range of
German journals, particularly
Interior Decoration. Local journals
including the Womans World and
Australian Home Beautiful and the
literary magazine Manuscripts
often used illustrations from
German magazines and reported
the latest developments in design
and architecture.

One local designer who

appears to have been inspired
by European modernism was
Melbourne furniture and interior
designer Fred Ward. He had
begun designing simple
modernist furniture using
Australian native timbers in the
early 1930s, which he sold in
his own shop and interior
design consultancy in Collins
Street from 1932. He was able
to sell a range of modernist and
moderne designs to the Myer
Emporium, which at that time,
was a more upmarket
department store selling
moderately-priced goods and
used glamorous imports and
cutting-edge designs to create
a sense of value and allure for
middle-class shoppers.

An important contributor to
Australian design culture in the
interwar period was the Sydney
magazine The Home. It employed
a range of talented artists and
designers including Douglas
Annand, Dahl and Geoffrey
Collings and Grace Cossington
Smith to illustrate its covers and
design its advertisements.
Annands use of collage and
photography showed an
awareness of European
Modernism and America
consumer modern. Max Dupains
modernist photography was used
lavishly throughout many issues.

Hilverson Town Hall (n.d.) <http://bit.

ly/19Y5cKx> and Dudok Benzinestation
(n.d.) <http://bit.ly/1gBsMhY>