Art Nouveau and Art Deco - On the Lookout for Art Styles While Travelling

After flying across the Pacific from New Zealand we endured a 10-hour layover in San Francisco. We occupied ourselves with: finding a short term hotel room - no such place; a shower - closed for renovations; a place to sleep - the meditation/prayer room but that didn't last long because the dark quiet room was intoxicating when in a jet-lagged state and lying on the floor, as opposed to sitting cross-legged, was forbidden.

The many exhibitions within the airport were a welcome distraction and kept us moving.

Curtain panel, c. 1900 - 1910, USA, cotton

The SFO Museum was established by the Airport Commission in 1980 to humanise the airport environment, share some of the unique cultural life of San Francisco, to provide educational services for the travelling public, and to keep jet-lagged people occupied.

Centrepiece, 1900, Loetz, Austria, glass, bronze

We didn't find all 25 galleries but what we did find certainly worked for a while to distract from our basic needs for sleep, personal hygiene attention, and moving the body. 

Jardiniere, 1903, Austria, bronze

When I travel I am always on the lookout for expressions of different art styles in architecture, interior design, and artworks. I am particularly interested in the more recent styles that encompassed more than 2D paintings and sculptures.

The rebellious Arts and Crafts movement at the end of the 19th century in Europe morphing into the Art Nouveau period was the beginning of taking 'art' off the walls and plinths for Europeans.

The motifs on this jardiniere are typical of the period - dragonflies and plants, particularly the stems and leaves caught up in the hair of languid women. 

What do you think of the women with their mouths open forming the feet of the dish?

Octopus Chatelaine c. 1900, William B. Kerr & Co., Newark, New Jersey, silver

I had not noticed the octopus motif being used before but with its curvilinear legs it would have been seen as having great design potential if more designers of the time had been familiar with sea life.

Art Deco shop front in Ngatea, New Zealand

My favourite art style is Art Deco, a style that flourished not only in Europe between the world wars but it was the first style that spread around the world. It may have been halted in Europe once WWII started but it continued to develop elsewhere. I love to find Art Deco gems in unexpected places.

It was the first style to unify people rather than separate them. Art Deco concepts were freeing providing a spring point for many different cultures to interpret.

Another reason why I find the Art deco style so fascinating is that it was the first style that permeated all material culture at all economic levels, from grand hotels to this modest shop front (above), from costly wood inlaid furniture to a mass produced milk jug. Everyone could identify with and express themselves through the style.

Articulation 2014 Study Session in Victoria

Each year Articulation does study in a special place in Canada.

This year they are in Victoria researching the maritime history of the west coast of Canada.

Donna climbing up the stairs from the waterfront to the street full of old warehouses, hotels and shops.

Into The Maritime Museum, up in their iron elevator - the oldest working elevator in Canada...

...to the 3rd floor library and archives.

Donna and Leann doing research.

Lunch break at Venus Sophia's Tearoom and Vegetarian Eatery with retro afternoon tea served along side delicious light meals.

Venus Sophia's is in Chinatown, the oldest china town in North America. 

While in Chinatown, Articulation visited Ground Zero Print Studio www.groundzeroprint.com/  owned by Victoria Edgarr and Alain Costaz.

The magnificent gated entrance to Chinatown.

A visit to the University of Victoria's down town gallery, Legacy Art Gallery, where they showcase works from their extensive art collection.

A visit to the oldest tea and coffee company in Victoria, Murchie's.

Murchie's continues to blend their own teas and runs a tea room.

That was Articulation's 1st 2 days of research on Victoria's maritime history.

Old Quebec City Architecture

One of the enjoyable things about a visit to old Quebec City is to look up at the roof lines.

There is a lot of history told in the architecture

 

 

Looking down at the foundations shows stories of the past also.

 

Articulation members spent many hours exploring the streets of old Quebec City.
It will be interesting to see what features come out in their group body of work.

Southwark Cathedral

On the Queen's Walk beside the River Thames is Southwark Cathedral, the oldest Gothic cathedral in London. It has been a place of worship for 1,400 years, since Anglo Saxon times - says the sign out front.

 

 

It has the distinctive flint and sandstone walls.


There are lots of classic Gothic elements to admire.

And scary gargoyles.

 

One must always look up when being a tourist.

Exploring The South Bank

The next day I was free from stewarding duties so Ron and I explored the South Bank area.

 

 

 

We used the new Shard building to keep our bearings as we explored

 

The perfect place to stop for lunch while drinking in more history

Ron pronounced the bangers and mash to be excellent

Art Deco in Victoria

In 1936, Tweedsmuir Mansions, with 12 apartments, was built on 900 Boulevard Street in Victoria, BC. Today it is a well preserved example of the Art Deco style of architecture. Apart from the yucky textured plaster on the outside many of its typically Art Deco features have been kept.

The whole building is stepped horizontally and vertically.

Concentric half circles were typical. The contemporary sun burst door mat is in keeping with the style.

The 3 lines on the door, both vertical and horizontal, was a popular motif in North America in the later part of the movement. They were known as speed lines or streamlining.

Inside the building there is a framed picture showing drawings of what the rooms looked like in the 30s. This is the living room with its classic Art Deco symmetrical, stepped fireplace.

Art Deco Design

Here is an image of my design wall at an early stage of my Art Deco study. I grouped images according to influences on the movement, illustrations of why it was known as a 'total' style, design features, materials and colours.

These are some of the influences on the movement.

One of the predominant design elements that became obvious was the step motif and form. In Europe it seems to have been inspired by ancient Egyptian culture, while in North America the step design elements came from rediscoveries of Meso-American civilisations such as Mayan, Aztec and Incan.

This is work by the British potter, Clarice Cliff, whose work was immensely popular in the late 20s and 30s. Throughout her career she used the step design element as a motif, pattern and a 3D form.

I wrote about the importance the step design in my assessment essay for the History of Design module. It seems to be a reoccuring element in many different cultures. It would be interesting to find out if there is any significance in the timing of these reoccurances. Also, that of the reappearance each time of bright orange in art, architecture and fashion.