The Art Deco Design | The Empire State building in the Art Deco design The Empire State building in the Art Deco design par td11artdeco The Empire State building from the ground on 34th street Contrary to several skyscrapers, the Empire State Building show a rather classic frontage, and a very conventional shape in the Art Deco style, without curves. This design is typical of pre–World War II architecture in New York. The modernistic stainless steel canopies of the entrances on 33rd and 34th Streets lead to two story-high corridors around the elevator core, crossed by stainless steel and glass-enclosed bridges at the second-floor level. The elevator core contains 67 elevators. Several materials were used for the construction of the building. Its only armature required 60 000 tons of steel. 10 millions bricks and 200 000 tons of stone (granite and limestone) were used, among 8485 m³ of indian limestone. Some aluminium was also used inside and outside of the high rise. You can find all this kind of information on this website , a scientific blog which dedicate a whole article to the Empire State building.

Even if a large part of this article is a product of Wikipedia, all the technical details are interesting for the knowledge of the Empire State Building architecture. The Empire State Building appears as cubes of various sizes stacked, with columns of windows crossing the building as straight line. The building is wider on its base and becomes refined by rising up to the antenna on its top. This short article on a famous french news website gives a realistic and detailed description of the external architecture of the Empire State. The Empire State Building main entrance on 5th avenue The main entrance of the Empire State Building is located on the 5th avenue. Its symmetry, the elegance of the cut stone and the very long windows between the two sculptures is a total demonstration of the Art Deco design. This entrance’s height and the quality of the materials used give to the visitor an overview of the monument, and its signification for the city of New York. This main entrance gives onto the majestic hall. you can find a whole article about this hall on another page of this blog. par td11artdeco In order to replace our subject in the artistic context of the 1930’s, we decided to write a post on the art deco architecture in New York City.

This article will be helpful to understand better the aim of our blog. We choosed to focus on three major buildings, the GE building (Rockefeller Centre), the Chrysler Building and the 40 Wall Street (Trump building). Those three buildings were built around the same period so it is interessting to see the different expressions of Art Deco at some point. Picture of the Trump Building today. This photo is coming from the website The Trump Building is located in lower Manhattan, it is a 70 story skyscraper, measuring 283 meters. It was built between 1929 and 1930, so more or less at the same period as the Empire State Building. The building was completed in only 11 months and was the tallest building in the world during a few months, just before the Chrysler Building and then the Empire State Building became it. This massive building is constructed in a pyramidal form, due to the zonning law from 1916 and gives a very good example of the 1930’s Art Deco architecture. We invite you to read this article on the website « about.com » writen by an architecture guide.

Personnal picture from the Chrysler Building, taken on April 2012. We already talked about the Chrysler Building in the article about the « race of height ». Also built at the same period, beteween 1928 and 1930 this very bold edifice represent the sophistication and the refinement of the Art Deco architecture. Again due to the zonning law from 1916, this construction take a pyramidal form. High from 319 meters, after the spire was added in order to make it higher than the Trump Building. Unlike the Trump Building, the Chrysler Building is much more innovative and modern in a architectural way, the Trump Building keeps a . It shows the magnificence of the Art Deco design as we know it today. To know more on the Chrysler Building you can consult this french writen article found on the website « Picturing America », if you are searching for a english writen article, here is one , writen by Heather Cross a New York travel guide, found on « about.com ». Personal picture of the GE Building illuminated in blue, white and red for the veterans day. Photo taken on the 11th of November 2010.

The GE Building was completed in 1933 as part of the Rockefeller Center. Here the aim of the architects and the sponsor wasn’t to make the highest building in the city or in the world -even though the GE building is 260 meters high- it was to built a figurehead for this giant construction that is the Rockefeller Center. As the Chrysler Building, the GE Building is much more modern and much « Art Deco » than the Trump Building. However, unlike the Chrysler Building here we have a very massive building covered with stones, representing the strenght of the United-States and of the Rockefeller family. On the photo we choosed to show you, you can appriciate an exquisite bas-relief, very typical from the Art Deco decoration. The use of gold is also very characteristic of the Art Deco design and decoration. The GE Building and the entire Rockefeller Center is a very interesting construction to study in the Art Deco domain. Anyway, we invite you to consult this webpage on the official website of the Rockefeller Center. par td11artdeco Picture of the representation of the Empire State, in the building’s lobby.

Photo taken from the website metroscenes.com The lobby of the Empire State Building is maybe the most significant part of the building regarding the expression of the art deco style. This monumental entrance hall high from three floors, is the window display of the decoration of the building. The entrance of the lobby is located on the 350th of the 5th avenue, it is the main entrance, but there are two other entrances, one on 33rd street, the other on 34th street. The two other halls are not as monumental and luxirious as the one on the 5th avenue. As we just said, the height of the entrance is equivalent to three floors of the edifice. We have here a great example of the monumentality of the art deco architecture, which take its inspiration from very old architecture style as the egyptian architecture or the archaic greek architecture. In this luxurious lobby, all the walls are covered with marbel and the celling is sported murals with stylized stars and planets. The picture used in the article shows the celling before 2010, with illuminated panels.

Indeed, in 2010 the lobby was restorated so that he could find back is original aspect -this very interesting video we found on the official website of the ESB, explains shortly the restoration of 2010-. One more time, we can see that the art deco style is a rich and classical style which is betting on sobriety and temperance. On the wall facing the entrance, lays a representation of the original figure of the building -without the tip-. This relief made of aluminium, seems to show the Empire State Building illuminating the world, as art deco illuminates the art world at that time. For more information on the design and history of the lobby, you can consult an article on the official website of the Empire State Building, giving especially a detailed report of the restoration. par td11artdeco Poster from the « Exposition internationale des Arts Décoratifs et industriels modernes » in 1925 The Art Deco style appeared in France in the early 1920’s, in reaction of the movement Art Nouveau, based on curved lines aesthetics. This visual design style has affected several art fields.

In 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes was helded in Paris. This exhibition marked the begining of the globalisation of this style. This french article about the exhibition in the Larousse Encyclopedia brings several informations about the state of mind about Art in the early 20th Century. It introduces the Art Deco Design and the several major artists during the exhibition. The Art Deco Design answers a social need after World War I. Europe is at this time weak and needs to be rebuilt in a modern way, for a new age and a new start. The Art Deco Style represents this new start with its modernity. is symbolizes luxury, prosperity and abundance. A french website about Art Deco design runs an interesting blog which does explain well this context after World War I, and how Art Deco established itself in Europe as in United States of America. If you want to learn more about this marvelous design, here is a very interesting and complete Portable Document Format about a future exhibition that will be held in Paris from October 2013 to February 2014 at « La Cité de l’architecture et du Patrimoine ».

Every field of Art Deco is showed, from architecture to furniture, including any work of art. Hope you will be staying in Paris at that time ! empire state building | Oaktown Art | Oakland Art, Public Art, Murals, Graffiti, Culture, Oakland What is Art Deco? Art Deco was an international design movement popular in the 1920’s and 30’s, focused on themes of luxury, technology, modernization, and craftsmanship. The movement was born in Paris, an outgrowth of the previous Art Nouveau movement that was declining in popularity at the turn of the 20th century. Art Nouveau (French for “new art”) focused on the importance of artisan craftsmanship, and typically featured organic motifs of flowers & plants, and/or highly stylized curved forms.

Art Deco retains many of the same inherent aesthetic qualities as Art Nouveau, but was considered a modernization of the style, and until a comprehensive book was written about it, following an exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in 1971 by Bevis Hillier, Art Deco had often been referred to as “Style Moderne.” Hillier’s book was titled Art Deco of the 20s and 30s, which first popularized the term. He took his title from an exposition held in France in 1925, the Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (truncating the words “Arts Décoratifs”). The Exposition was organized by a collective of French artists known as La Société des Artistes Décorateurs (the society of the decorator artists), and its purpose was to demonstrate French artists’ and designers’ dominance as leaders in the world of luxury design. The French are not known for their modesty! The exposition was originally slated for 1915, but was postposted due to WWI, which had the unlikely effect of expanding the historical influences to the designs presented.

With the increasing ability to travel abroad, and international interest in archeology fueled by discoveries such as the lost city of Pompeii and King Tutankhamun’s intact tomb, artist and designers began incorporating exotic cultures and primitive arts into their design themes. These influences are pervasive throughout the Art Deco movement – Egyptian motifs are prevalent, as well as Grec0-Roman, Babylonian, Azteca, etc. and can be seen in sunburst and zig-zag patterns, staggered tiered/pyramidal structures, pictorial representations and more. This period of Deco, sometimes referred to as Zigzag Moderne, flourished during the hey day of the post-war roaring 20’s. The economy was booming, people were optimistic, and the lavish yet modern stylings of Deco ushered in this age. Classic examples can be seen in the Empire State Building (pictured below) and Chrysler Building, both built in the late 1920’s in New York.

As I mentioned last week, I took the tour this past weekend of our incredible Paramount Theatre , “one of the finest examples of Art Deco in the United States,” which displays many of the Zigzag influences as well as references to Art Nouveau, through repetitious use of organic themes of grass, flower, leaf, & vine. I’ll be posting about it later this week, but it’s a lot of material to compose (the Paramount’s website alone has more than 4 pages of history and artists information, so I may need to break it up a bit). We’ll see… Please stay tuned. As Deco continued to develop throughout the 1930’s more industrial influences can be seen, such as sleek, aerodynamic stylings often referred to as Streamline or Streamline Moderne. Rounded corners, chrome surfaces, and the conveyance of speed influenced everything from buildings to cars to kitchen appliances. The renovated marquee of the Fox Oakland Theater (shown in my last post) is a good example of Streamline design, as is the 1934 Chrysler Airflow pictured below (photo courtesy of Randy Stern on Flickr ).

Though a dominant design form through the early 1930’s, Art Deco waned in popularity mid-decade as the Great Depression continued to take its toll. The glitzy elegance and luxurious treatments of Deco-inspired buildings and products were seen as stark reminders of a promised prosperity, never realized. “Moreover, as the threat of a second world war loomed closer and closer, Art Deco was looked upon ever more vehemently. And with the outbreak of WWII in 1939, Art Deco was dead.” ( Art Deco Style ) Not truly dead however… Because we have our wonderful historical homages to this period, many of which have been spared the wrecking ball due to their incredible beauty and craftsmanship. I’ll be looking at many of our Oakland Art Deco masterpieces in my coming posts… Share this: Art Deco, Art History & Styles of Art - Art.com Wiki 4 Art Deco: Examples of Artwork History Art Deco was further influenced by certain art forms such as Cubism , Modernism, Constructivism & Futurism.

All these aspects made Art Deco quite different from its precursor “ Art Nouveau ” that was more natural or organic in terms of appearance, and featured curved lines with more detailed patterns. The Depression era was when the Art Deco movement became stronger, which further played a major role in influencing a diverse range of art forms that we see today such as painting , decorative art, furniture design, architecture, sculpture and product design. Tamara de Lempicka was a highly influential Art Deco painter who displayed a vibrant and audacious style that further exemplified the urbaneness of the Art Deco movement, which becomes quite apparent from her 1925 iconic piece Auto-Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti). Although the Art Deco movement started in Europe, it highly influenced the American architecture & interior design during the 20s and 30s. Some of the prominent examples can be witnessed in Chicago, L.A. and New York in the form of renowned skyscrapers and other smaller projects. The Chrysler, Daily News and Empire State buildings exemplify Art Deco design in buildings that are situated in New York City.

In fact, when it comes to Los Angeles, the majority of Art Deco architecture can we witnessed along Wilshire Boulevard in forms of famous structures like Wiltern Theatre, Pellissier & Bullocks Wilshire buildings. The 20s and 30s were the time of urban renovation, and this was the time when the majority of Deco architecture was built. Miami Beach, FL is home to several Art Deco buildings. However, the most prominent ones are the 30-something apartment & hotel blocks which were built between the 20s and 40s. Since these buildings have been categorized as protected buildings, they have been through a lot of restoration projects, which ensure that they look exactly the same like they were in those days. Frank Lloyd Wright , an internationally acclaimed architect, used several elements of Art Deco in most of his buildings. The exterior of Park Inn Hotel situated in Mason City, Iowa and the block patterns used in the renowned Ennis house situated in L.A. represent examples of Art Deco integration design.

Besides this, Art Deco even played a significant role in influencing certain aspects of product design such as cars, furniture, textiles, jewelry, chins, industrial design, electronics, clocks, fashion, etc. In fact, Gilbert Rohde used certain elements of Modernism and Art Deco for creating totally unique and spectacular furniture items which became quite popular. Rohde made modern design popular among Americans with his classy, clean and contemporary furniture. During the mid-30s, a new Streamline Moderne design style influenced the Art Deco movement. Streamline Moderne was based on the principles of aerodynamics, which was further applied to several products—i ncluding trains, refrigerators, ships, automobiles and other household products. In fact, in 1933 Streamline styling was used to produce the Chrysler Airflow. Although, it didn’t fare well commercially, today it is considered to be one of the most beautiful cars that gave birth to a new design concept. Decline However, it was during the WWII when Art Deco lost its popularity. People started considering it too luxurious and loud, and it was after the war when Americans started using a simpler and plain designs.

Famous Art & Architecture Auto-Portrait (Tamara in the Green Bugatti) Park Inn Hotel Visit the Chrysler Building | NYC Free Tours by Foot Please activate some Widgets. Visit the Chrysler Building ( español ) The Chrysler Building, one of the top 10 most famous skyscrapers in New York City, was the tallest building in the world for a brief eleven months before the Empire State Building was completed. Though it lost the honor of being the world’s tallest building, it is still considered one of the finest examples of Art Deco architecture in the world and is an iconic part of the New York City skyline. So, can you visit the Chrysler Building? In this post we cover its history, how to get to its, what else there is to see in the area – and we also have a secret tip on how to get a view of New York City from its top. Be sure to check out our post comparing the different New York City observation decks , including the Empire State Building, Top of the Rock or World Trade Center 1. Entries to these observation decks are included from free from many of the New York tourist passes .

HOW TO GET TO THE CHRYSLER BUIDLING The Chrysler Building is located at 405 Lexington Ave in Midtown Manhattan adjacent to Grand Central Terminal . It is served best by the 4, 5, 6, (yellow circle) and 7 (red circle) trains at the terminal’s subway station. You can also access the Chrysler Building via Times Square on the B,D,F,M, N,Q, R and S -shuttle trains (Green Circle). We recommend that you use this Google map to navigate your way to the Chrysler Building . Be sure to read out blog posts on navigating the New York City subway system and choosing which MetroCard to purchase . CHRYSLER BUILDING OBSERVATION DECK? When the building opened in 1930, there was an observation deck called “ Celestial ” on the 71st floor. It was closed to the public in 1945 and is currently occupied by a private firm. However, you can take a look at a few images of the observatory by clicking the link above. Until the late ‘70’s there was also The Cloud Club , a private club occupying the 66th through 68th floors.

Today, unfortunately, there is no official way for tourists to visit anything beyond the lobby. Observation decks can be found at Rockefeller Center’s Top of the Rock, the Empire State Building and World Trade Center 1 . Click on this video for a view within and without the buildings spire. A Look Inside the Chrysler Building Spire Tour the Chrysler Building Lobby The lobby, however, should not be missed. It is a truly spectacular example of Art Deco design, the Jazz Age at its finest. You can see the beautiful mural on the ceiling, the clock and the beautiful elevators, each with their own custom designed doors. The lobby is open Monday through Friday, from 8am to 6pm. When the building opened to the public in 1931, the lobby housed a Chrysler dealership ( see image ). Below is a short video taken from a walking tour that included the Chrysler Building lobby. Click here for more images of the lobby . TIP: We cover the outside of the Chrysler Buildings on our Midtown Manhattan Tour , Manhattan Night Tour and Grand Central Terminal Tour . Back to top Unofficially… There is a way to get to the crown of the Chrysler Building.

A dentist’s office is located on the 69th floor of the building. There is no better way to take the discomfort out of a dental visit than to have it accompanied by spectacular city views! Whether you just see the lobby or you decide to get to the top (and get your teeth cleaned as an added bonus!), the Chrysler Building is one that should not be missed! Read the New York Time’s 2005 article on Dr. Weiss . Construction, Design and The Great Skyscraper Race The architect who designed this beautiful skyscraper was William Van Alen. His design was sold to Walter P. Chrysler, who intended the completed building to be the home of the Chrysler Corporation. With this in mind, the design was altered slightly to celebrate the aesthetic of Chrysler automobiles. If you take a look at the 31st floor, you will notice some interesting artistic elements. On all four corners of this floor are silver winged ornaments. These designed as the cap of the God Mercury, the god of speed, an inspiration for Walter Chrysler. These caps were used as radiator caps on Chrysler automobiles. The motifs surrounding the winged caps, are images of the 1929 Chrysler Speedster, including chrome hubcaps.

Replicas of eagle hoods ornaments (see banner image above) from a 1920’s Chrysler Plymouth can be found jutting off of the building like gargoyles, 2 at each corner. The signature element though is the beautiful crown of the building, which features seven terraced arches radiating upwards, creating a shiny sunburst pattern, very typical of the Art Deco Movement. The crown culminates with a 197 ft tall (60 meters) steel spire. The crown is clad in stainless steel (nickel) developed by the German Krupp company. Back to top 1928 was an exciting time for architecture in New York City. Buildings were growing taller and taller and it was a race upwards to the sky with each new construction. At the time that ground was broken for the Chrysler Building, it had one chief rival in the race to become the tallest building in the world: 40 Wall Street. 40 Wall Street was designed by Van Alen’s former partner, H. Craig Severance.

40 Wall Street altered their original design (840 ft) for a new height of 927ft, thus beating the nearby Woolworth Building and the proposed height of the future Chrysler Building, 925ft. 40 Wall Street was completed in May of 1930 and they proclaimed their victory as the new tallest building in the world. They were unaware of the secret weapon that Van Alen was hiding in the crown of the Chrysler Building: the 125 foot stainless-steel spire that was going to grace the top of the building. Four days after 40 Wall Street’s victory, the spire was raised. It was in four pieces. The first was raised onto the roof and lowered into the building. The remaining sections were added in just 90 minutes. That hour and a half was all that it took for the Chrysler Building to become the tallest man-made structure in the world, beating both 40 Wall Street and the Eiffel Tower. Much debate ensued over whether or not the spire should count in the height, since 40 Wall Street really had more useable floors. The debates were halted eleven months later, when a new contender entered the scene.

The Empire State building was 1250 feet, far taller than the Chrysler Building and with many more floors than 40 Wall Street. The world had a new champion. Nearby Attractions The Chrysler Building is quite centrally located in Midtown Manhattan, so it is close to many other attractions. Here is a list of some of the nearby attractions. Height (Antenna Spire): 1,046 ft. Floor Count: 77 floors Fun Facts About The Chrysler Building Though the interior skeleton of the building is steel, the exterior is brick. The Chrysler Building is still the tallest brick building in the world. The Chrysler Building was the first man-made structure to be taller than 1000 feet. Though William Van Alen designed the building, Walter Chrysler was the driving force behind the design alterations that made it the tallest building in the world. (Van Alen’s original design was 807 feet. When Chrysler entered the picture, it was adjusted to 925 feet, and then 1046 feet.) 391,831 rivets were used in the construction of the building.

Though the building was done very quickly, with an average of 4 floors per week built, no one was killed during the construction. New York’s Skyscraper Museum polled 100 architects, engineers and historians in 2005, asking them to choose their favorite buildings in New York. The Chrysler Building came in first. 90% of those polled placed in on their top-ten list. Television station WCBS transmitted from the top of the Chrysler Building in the 1940’s and ‘50’s. They later moved to the Empire State Building The lobby of the Chrysler Building contains the world’s very first digital clock. The ceiling of the lobby is painted with a mural by Edward Trumbull entitled “Transport and Human Endeavor.” The mural depicts scenes from Chrysler’s own assembly line, Charles Lindbergh flying The Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic and The Chrysler Building itself. There are 32 elevators in the Chrysler Building- four banks of eight elevators. They are beautifully inlaid with intricate designs. The Chrysler family sold the building in 1953. Though the building still bears their name, they do not own it.

The Cooper Union, a private university in New York, owns the land that the building sits on, and their name is on the deed for the building itself. There is a 150 year lease for the land and building currently in place. There are 3,862 windows on the façade of the building. The building is referenced in the Broadway musical “Annie,” when Miss Hannigan tells the orphans to clean the floors “until they shine like the top of the Chrysler Building.” The musical is set during the Great Depression, and the Chrysler Building would have been a relatively recent addition to New York. The crown of the building is seen in the opening credits of “Sex and the City”. It is while Cynthia Nixon’s name is on screen. William Van Alen After The Chrysler Building Van Alen was much acclaimed after the building was finished. His life quickly took a downward turn, however. He had failed to enter into an official contract with Chrysler when they began working together. After the building was completed, Van Alen requested a fee. He wanted 6% of the building’s $14 million construction budget ($840,000). This was the standard fee at the time.

Chrysler refused payment, and van Alen ended up suing him to be paid. He won the suit, but his reputation was severely compromised. That coupled with the onset of the Great Depression effectively ruined his career as an architect. Art Deco Design Style: Origins, History, Characteristics sculptors: Best Artists of All Time . Introduction Exemplified by the geometric designs of famous New York buildings such as the Chrysler Building and Rockefeller Centre, Art Deco was the most fashionable international design movement in modern art from 1925 until the 1940s. Like the earlier Arts and Crafts Movement , as well as the curvilinear style of design known as Art Nouveau , as well as the German Bauhaus design school concept, Art Deco embraced all types of art , including crafts as well as fine arts. It was applied to decorative art like interior design, furniture, jewellery , textiles, fashion and industrial design, as well as to the applied art of architecture and the visual arts of painting, and graphics. The art deco style, which above all reflected modern technology, was characterized by smooth lines, geometric shapes, streamlined forms and bright, sometimes garish colours.

Initially a luxury style (a reaction against the austerity imposed by World War I) employing costly materials like silver, crystal, ivory, jade and lacquer, after the Depression it also used cheaper and mass-produced materials like chrome, plastics, and other industrial items catering to the growing middle class taste for a design style that was elegant, glamorous and functional. NOTE: For other art and design movements similar to Art Deco, see Art Movements, Periods, Schools (from about 100 BCE). Origin of Art Deco The word art deco derives from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes, held in Paris. The show was organized by an association of French artists known as, La Societe des Artistes Decorateurs (society of decorator artists), led by its founders Hector Guimard (1867-1942), Eugene Grasset, Raoul Lachenal, Paul Follot, Maurice Dufrene, and Emile Decour, some of whom were previously involved in Art Nouveau.

Note however that the term Art Deco was not widely used until popularized by the art historian and critic Bevis Hillier in her book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s (1968). History Art Deco owed something to several of the major art styles of the early 20th century. These formative influences include the geometric forms of Cubism (note: Art Deco has been called "Cubism Tamed"), the machine-style forms of Constructivism and Futurism , and the unifying approach of Art Nouveau. Its highly intense colours may have stemmed from Parisian Fauvism . Art Deco borrowed also from Aztec and Egyptian art , as well as from Classical Antiquity. Unlike its earlier counterpart Art Nouveau, however, Art Deco had no philosophical basis - it was purely decorative. The Art Deco style, adopted by architects and designers around the world, spanned the "Roaring Twenties", the Great Depression of the early 1930s, and the years leading up to the Second World War.

It suffered a decline in popularity during the late 30s and early 40s, when it began to be seen as too gaudy and ostentatious for wartime austerity, after which it quickly fell out of fashion. The first resurgence of interest in Art Deco occurred in the 1960s - coincident with the movement's affect on Pop Art - and then again in the 1980s, in line with growing interest in graphic design. The style appeared in a number of jewellery and fashion ads. Art Deco Characteristics, Materials Employing new building materials that were manipulated into stepped, radiating styles that contrasted sharply with the fluid motifs of Art Nouveau, Art Deco architecture represented scientific progress, and the consequent rise of commerce, technology, and speed. This, together with its image as a modern, opulent style, made Art Deco designs especially suitable for the interiors of cinemas, ocean liners such as the Queen Mary, and the architecture of train stations across the United States. It endured throughout the Depression due to the practicality and simplicity of its design, and its suggestion of better times ahead.

The structure of Art Deco is founded on mathematical geometric shapes which drew equally on Greco-Roman Classicism, the faceted architectural forms of Babylon, Assyria, Ancient Egypt, and Aztec Mexico - notably their ziggurats, pyramids and other monumental structures - and Machine Age streamline designs from aviation, the radio, and the skyscraper. In particular, Art Deco designs are characterized by trapezoidal, zigzagged, and triangular shapes, chevron patterns, stepped forms, sweeping curves and sunburst motifs - the latter being visible in a number of separate applications, including: shoes, car radiator grilles, the Radio City Music Hall auditorium, and the spire of the William van Alen Chrysler Building (1928-30) in New York. New materials were also much in evidence, such as aluminum, stainless steel, plastics, lacquer and inlaid wood. And while continuing the use of high quality Art Nouveau materials, such as moulded glass, horn, and ivory, Art Deco also introduced exotic items like shark-skin, and zebra-skin.

Applications Art Deco styling was most common in architecture, interior design, poster art , furniture, jewellery, textiles, fashion and industrial design, although it was also applied to the visual arts such as painting, and graphics. In architecture , the Art Deco look signalled something of a return to the symmetry and simplicity of Neoclassicism, but without its classical regularity. The fact that Art Deco architectural designs were so enthusiastically adopted by architects in countries as diverse as the United Kingdom, Spain, Cuba, Indonesia, the Philippines, Argentina, Romania, Australia, New Zealand, India and Brazil, says much for the style's novel monumentality. Examples of Art Deco Architecture Many cities with building projects completed during the period 1927-1935 used Art Deco design plans, of which the following is a short selection. For more information, see: American Architecture (1600-present), and for a list of top designers, see: American Architects (1700-2000). Art Deco in America In New York, Art Deco is exemplified in its Skyscraper Architecture , including designs for buildings like: - Chanin Building (1927-9) by Sloan & Robertson.

- The Chrysler Building (1928-30) by William van Alen. - The Empire State Building (1929-31) by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon. - McGraw-Hill Building (1929-30) by Raymond Hood. - News Building (1929-30) by Raymond Hood with John Mead Howells. - Rockefeller Center (1932-9) by Reinhard, Hofmeister, Harrison & Macmurray. Other famous Art Deco buildings in New York include the Radio City Music Hall, and the Midland Grand Hotel. In Texas, Art Deco is exemplified in Houston by such buildings as the Houston City Hall, the JP Morgan Chase Building and the 1940 Air Terminal Museum, while in Beaumont, the Jefferson County Courthouse (completed 1931), is one of the few Art Deco buildings still standing. In Missouri, the best example of the Great Depression and its effect on Art Deco construction is the Kansas City Power and Light Building (completed 1931). Other examples in Kansas City include the Municipal Auditorium, the Jackson County Courthouse, and City Hall.

In Ohio, the Cincinnati Union Terminal, an Art Deco style passenger railroad station (completed 1933) is now the Cincinnati Museum Center, which attracts more than one million visitors per year. In Florida, the city of Miami is home to countless examples of Art Deco style buildings. Art Deco in Cuba Many of the finest surviving examples of Art Deco architecture can be seen in Havana, Cuba. Perhaps the best is the Bacardi Building. Art Deco in South America In Brazil, Art Deco designs are prevalent in Goiania and cities like Cipo (Bahia), Irai (Rio Grande do Sul) and Rio de Janeiro, while Montevideo, Uruguay, is home to the iconic Palacio Salvo (completed 1929), formerly South America's tallest building. Art Deco in Britain UK Examples include the famous East Stand facade at Highbury, the former Arsenal Stadium. The London Underground also has numerous examples of Art Deco architecture, as do London Hotels such as the Strand Palace Hotel. Art Deco in India The city of Mumbai in India has the second largest number of Art Deco buildings in the world after Miami.

One of the finest is the New India Assurance Building (completed 1936). Art Deco in China The historical Chinese port of Shanghai is home to over fifty Art Deco buildings, the majority designed by Hungarian architect Laszlo Hudec. Art Deco in Indonesia This country has one of the largest remaining collections of 1920s Art Deco buildings in the world. They include the Savoy Homann Hotel (completed 1939), by architects Thomas Karsten, Henri Maclaine-Pont, J Gerber and C.P.W. Schoemaker; the Nederlandsche Handel Maatschappij building (now Museum Bank Mandiri, completed 1929), by architects J de Bryun, AP Smiths, and C Van de Linde, and the Jakarta Kota Station (completed 1929) by architects Frans Johan Louwrens and Ghijsels. Art Deco in Australia A relatively large number of buildings throughout Australia were constructed in the art deco style. In Melbourne for instance, art deco buildings include the Century Building, Yule House, Mitchell House, Manchester Unity building, and Myer Emporium Mural Hall.

In Sydney, there is the ANZAC War Memorial, the Mutual Life and Citizen's Building, the Dental Hospital of Sydney, Archibald Fountain, and Minerva Theatre. Art Deco Visual Arts - Famous Artists Although the term Art Deco is rarely applied to painting or sculpture, the style is visible in the streamlined forms of certain 20th century painters from the inter-war period. Such artists include, the painter Tamara de Lempicka (born Tamara Gorska) (1898-1980) - see her oil painting The Musician (1929), and her Self-Portrait in a Green Bugatti (1925); and the sculptor Paul Manship (1885-1966) - see his gilded bronze sculpture Prometheus (1933, Rockefeller Center Plaza). The Ukrainian-born French poster artist Adolphe Jean-Marie Mouron (1901-68), known as Cassandre, was the top Art Deco graphic artist, who won the Grand Prix for poster design at the 1925 Paris Expo. For other designers, see: History of Poster Art .

Other famous Art Deco painters included: Rene Buthaud (1886-1986), Raphael Delorme (1885-1962), Jean Gabriel Domergue (1889-1962), and Jean Dupas (1882-1964). Noted former Cubists like Andre Lhote (1885-1962), Robert Delaunay (1885-1941) and Fernand Leger (1881-1955) painted Art Deco works for the 1925 exhibition, while Sonia Delaunay (1885-1980) created Art Deco furnishings and textile designs. The Fauvist painter, later textile designer Raoul Dufy (1877-1953) created over a dozen wall-hangings for the show. See also: Book Illustration . Art Deco design might be a riotous fusion of Cubist rectilinear geometrics, exotic Sergei Diaghilev costumes, American Jazz culture and metallic paint colours.

Famous Art Deco fashion designers included Paul Poiret (1879-1944), founder of the Ecole d'Art Decoratif Martine and Atelier Martine, while famous Art Deco fashion illustrators included George Barbier (1882-1932), Umberto Brunelleschi (1879-1949), Erte (1892-1990) and Charles Martin (1884-1934). Important Art Deco furniture designers of the era included Andre Mare (1887-1932), Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann (1879-1933), and Eileen Gray (1879-1976), while Art Deco artists engaged in other art forms like interior design, textile design, jewellery, metalware, lighting, glass art and ceramics included Andre Groult (1884-1967), Jean Dunand (1877-1942), Paul Follet (1877-1941) and Pierre Chareau (1883-1950).

Legacy Similar to Art Nouveau, and as a style which sought to inspire all forms of arts and crafts, Art Deco has influenced numerous other design styles and movements since its initial decline in the early 1940s. It has had a marked influence on contemporary art and design.  For information about 20th century design, see: Homepage . ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ART HISTORY Chrysler Building - Everything2.com Chrysler Building Sat Jul 21 2007 at 22:16:05 The Race To Reach Up Into The Clouds The excess of the late 1920s was exemplified by the almost humorous race to build the tallest building in New York City . Companies were competing to build the tallest, finest structures as a matter of prestige. As the new skyscrapers pushed upward greater and greater heights, they became a metaphor for the new modernism. The story of the Chrysler Building is singular in that, in the end, it won the race for new heights not in a matter of days, but in a matter of just an hour and a half. The Woolworth Tower in lower Manhattan was the first of the skyscrapers.

It held the position as the tallest building in the world for several years. By 1928, automobile magnate Walter P. Chrysler had leased land on Lexington Avenue and hired architect William Van Allen to build a spectacular structure to house the headquarters of his car empire. By locating in New York, and building the tallest building yet, Chrysler figured his company would stand out from the others, located at that time in somewhat drab quarters in Detroit, Michigan . It was also important to Chrysler that the building epitomize modern design, convenience and luxury. Originally, the Chrysler building had been designed to top off at 925 feet. When Chrysler and Van Allen got wind that another building, the Bank of Manhattan Tower at 40 Wall Street, was going to exceed its height (by a mere 2 feet), Van Allen went back to the drawing board and added floors. Rumors of other buildings rising between 1,200 and 1,400 feet into the sky began circulating (neither were completed) so this whipped Van Allen into a frenzy. Walter P.

Chrysler's Commitment to Technology While Van Allen was busy designing new floors for the top of the structure, the lower part of the building was going up at the swift rate of four floors a week. Chrysler's intention to make the building the most technologically superior started with the design of a special telephone system. Engineers working on higher floors could be immediately informed of the arrival of new or needed materials, thus reducing the space necessary for storage of the materials until manpower could get the message through. Less travel by personnel throughout perilous and perhaps unfamiliar parts of the structure meant it was the safest building erected yet; with zero fatalities from start to finish. The building is actually a complex (now called Chrysler Center) which includes a smaller building which occupies the rest of the block the skyscraper stood on. No expense was spared (and Chrysler reiterated this to whomever would listen) to make the building a model of beauty, cleanliness and convenience. Indeed, it is like a small city, with restaurants, various services as well as access to nearby Grand Central Station. The heating systems were the first in a building to work semi-automatically in separate zones, ensuring the comfort of all the workers.

The elevators exceeded the 900 or so foot-per-minute speed which was the maximum mandated by New York City's buildings department (they were built by Otis Elevator for a 1,200 foot per minute rate and had to be slowed down.) The elevators were also completely electronically controlled so that they could handle the extra traffic going up in the mornings and coming down in the afternoons. There were no elevator operators. The push-button age had arrived. The Simple Brick Facade Belies the Beauty Within One writer likens the Chrysler Building's appearance to "something out of Fritz Lang's Metropolis." Certainly, that is true to an extent. However, the flash and style of the distinctive night-lit stainless steel "crown" of the building goes against the grain of the monolithic, dark and imposing German expressionist style of architecture. The closest tie the building has to German expressionism is the view from the street.

One critic described the plain, spartanly detailed brick facade at street level and "coffin-shaped" entryways as being "funereal." The rest of the tower, but for the eight huge, imposing steel gargoyles located above the 51st floor, is tan and black brick, with an interesting pattern that adds an energy of movement that a monochromatic scheme would lack. It is still, however, quite plain in its design; pleasantly so to some critics, mundane to others. Even though it appeared as if the fairly simply designed brick tower wasn't going to be of great aesthetic appeal from the outside, from the inside it was a whole different story. Blood-red African marble covered the lobby walls. The floors were done in Siena marble, amber onyx and blue marble trim, separated by nickel steel. The ceiling boasts an enormous mural , "Energy, Result, Workmanship and Transportation" by Edward Turnbull. It is said that Turnbull used some of the workmen from the building as models for his art deco masterpiece. It was not until 1970 that the lighting in the lobby was renovated and the space became even brighter, rendering the incredibly complex mural easier to see.

The elevator cabs and doors are made from rare wood and stone veneers, again separated by nickel steel. No two elevator car interiors are the same. These priceless art deco gems were renovated in the late 1980s, after having become a bit threadbare by the '70s. Pop! Goes the Weasel Architect Van Allen had at one time been partners with the architect of the competing 40 Wall Street building. Their partnership broke up with no little acrimony on both sides. Van Allen had the last laugh. In the single most amazing feat of secrecy, engineering and public relations all rolled up in one, the building grew from 925 feet to over 1,000. A special "finial" of over 100 feet was being pieced together inside of the top floors of the near-finished tower. When it was put together in its entirety, special rigging elevated the finial into place, where it was firmly riveted to the rest of the structure. The Chrysler Building had beaten 40 Wall Street by 175 feet. What's even more miraculous is that the elevation of the finial took no longer than 90 minutes to complete.

The finial atop the building was covered with a brand-new type of German steel manufactured by Krups Works. High in chrome and nickel content, "Nirosta" steel had never been used in an American building before. The steel plates cover the building's elaborate, distinctive fan-shaped top design and the modernistic "gargoyles" (emulating Chrysler hood ornaments) at each corner of the 61st floor and again 10 floors below. They have not tarnished significantly nor have they shown any signs of wear in the over 70 years they've been in place. Once finished, the building caused a sensation; not an easy task on New York's 42nd Street. Photographer Margaret Bourke-White occupied an office on the sixty-first floor and made Chrysler's gargoyle ornaments world-famous when she crept out on one to take a picture of the city from that vantage point, even as she was having another taken of the event. Chrysler himself kept private quarters at the top, an office suite and an apartment that had a lavish dining room in classic art deco style.

His architect was directed to be certain that his was the highest toilet in Manhattan, so that he could look down upon the city from his porcelain throne and, as one observer wryly put it, "shit on Henry Ford and the rest of the world." A Short Stint in the Limelight The Chrysler building was finished in 1930. By 1931, the Empire State Building had been completed and replaced the Chrysler Building as the tallest building in the world. Where the Empire State Building had public observation decks, the Chrysler Building had the exclusive "Cloud Club." Remember, Prohibition was still in full force, so the club was equipped with ingenious ways for members to stash their "hooch" in the event of a police raid. Sadly, the new owners of the building, Tishman Speyer, have donated the glorious art deco lamps, the Bavarian wood bar and other artifacts from the old club to museums. A private corporation now occupies the towering space with its unique triangle-shaped windows opening on the sky. Tishman Speyer says that their tenant has made efforts to keep the flavor of the old space to a certain extent.

Philip Johnson To The Rescue By 1998, the property had to be brought up to the standards of the neighborhood; one of the highest-traffic blocks in New York City. Continuing Walter Chrysler's tradition of "no expense to be spared," developers Tishman Speyer hired architect Philip Johnson to totally reconfigure the smaller of the Chrysler Center buildings. They also acquired the entire frontage on 42nd street, where retail space was erected. Above this, Johnson built "The Chrysler Trylons," a gorgeous glass sculpture of a building which houses connecting areas throughout the center as well as a fine restaurant. The 1930s were peculiar years for the United States. America went from the depths of despair and poverty into the futuristic world of tomorrow (The first New York World's Fair and its "Futurama" opened in 1939). Critics of the excesses of the 1920s, leading up to the Great Depression , would accuse the Chrysler building and its contemporaries for being icons of capitalism , erected by the blood and sweat of the poor to house office-workers in luxurious climate-controlled conditions. Perhaps the critics of progress shouldn't be so harsh.

Buildings like this just aren't built anymore. Fans of the art deco style are encouraged to visit the Chrysler Center and view its lobby and accompanying exhibits. To walk into the breathtaking, almost cathedral-like lobby after exposure to up-to-the-minute modern New York is literally like taking a step back to a more elegant era. SOURCES: Greatbuildings.com: (Accessed 7/21/07) The University of Virginia, American Studies Dept.: Online Exhibit: "America in the 1930s," Article: "The Building of the Chrysler Building: The Social Construction of the Skyscraper" ~1930s/DISPLAY/chrysler/Frame-1.html (Accessed 7/21/07) The Midtown Book: (Accessed 7/21/07) A photo of the Cloud Club: (Accessed 7/21/07) Tishman-Speyer Corp.

(Developers): and related pages (Accessed 7/21/07) Emporis Buildings Directory: (Accessed 7/21/07) CBS Forum (Not affiliated with the CBS Television Network): (Accessed 7/21/07) Salon.com: (Accessed 7/21/07)

Question: What design movement was exemplified by the Empire State and Chrysler buildings?
Answer: Art Deco