2008 Woodie Awards
Sleek, Sexy, Modern: MFA Features Art Deco
Deborah Levison
Issue date: 9/22/04 Section: Arts
From clocks and radios to fashion and propaganda, Art Deco is a period that can satisfy all artistic tastes. Drawing inspiration from the ancient arts of Greece, Rome and Egypt, the Art Deco exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts is absolutely amazing in its diversity.
Despite its early roots, this period celebrated the mechanized, modern world. The style embraced both the craftsmanship and machine production using media neverbefore seen in art such as plastic or ivory.
From 1910-1939, Art Deco affected all forms of design, from the fine and decorative arts to architecture, industry and transportation.
Art Deco had such a strong foundation that it survived the most turbulent times in history: World War I, the Roaring 20's, the Depression, World War II and the rise of totalitarian regimes.
An exhibit opened Aug. 22 at the Museum of Fine Arts here in Boston. The museum itself is amazing. One can enter and for a few hours, be completely immersed in art from Japanese Samurai costumes to contemporary portraits by Chuck Close.
The museum is literally a labyrinth where one may not only appreciate sculptures and paintings, but also watch movies (such as "Nosferatu" and "The Private Archives of Pablo Escobar") or look at private galleries with temporary exhibits such as the Art Deco Exhibit.
Entering the Gund Gallery, the vibrant colors and background music make the viewer feel like they are in the midst of a cabaret party.
One particular sculpture, "Les Girls" (1930) by the influential artist Demetre Chiparus, is worth mentioning for its complexity and elegance.
These dancers are unbelievably intricate with bronze gilded decoration showing the craftsmanship of the artist in depicting movement.
Despite the laborious work put into this piece, the results are figures that convey the very essence of the Jazz Age and Deco Art: sleek, sexy, modern.
Advertisement posters were also a major form of expression in Art Deco due to the advances in transportation. One of the most influential graphic designers of the period, Cassandre, used pure line and perspective to evoke speed in his infamous lithograph advertisement, "Etoile du Nord" (1927).