Madeleine Vionnet and Art Deco

A friend showed me this very interesting book. Its main argument is that Art Deco fashion was greatly influenced by Cubism. I found the argument contrived and not at all convincing but it didn't stop me enjoying the wonderful images of Art Deco style garments.

One of my favourite designers in the book is Madeleine Vionnet. She was known for her great skill in working with fabric on the bias. In this 1932 dress step-shaped, bias-cut panels make a sheath that skims the body. So revolutionary!

This 1929 silk wedding dress looks as though it was made from a large leaf.

It is so elegant with its 7 foot train.

Art Deco

This semester I am doing the Art History: 20th & 21st Century module with the JC School of Textile Arts. I have chosen to study the Art Deco Movement, which happened between the world wars, 1920 to 1940. It is proving to be a most interesting period to study.

Since the summer I have been collecting images of all things Deco and have built up quite a collection I have been able to use in my assignments.

This silk georgette dress, 1920, was in the summer exhibition in the National Costume Museum in Winnipeg.

While in Wolfville, Nova Scotia I recognised their Art Deco style cinema. Like so many cities and towns across North America, in fact around the world, cinemas were built in the new style to be able to house the new popular form of entertainment.

Art Deco has shown up in the most unexpected places. In an earlier post I showed this Art Deco treasure stored in a woolen factory behind bales of wool, in New Brunswick.

Know as a total style, the Art Deco aesthetic was applied to literally everything, from flour sifters to car hood/bonnet ornaments, which meant everyone who had even a little money to spend could participate in the movement and be seen as modern. Finally art/craft/design came out of museums into people's daily lives and wasn't elitist.
Three cheers for Art Deco.

Pumpkin Art, Wolfville, Nova Scotia

While we were in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, we went to the Saturday market. Remember this is the second town in North America to apply to the Italian organisation for 'Slow City' status. Part of the idea is to encourage residents to live off food they produce themselves. Surplus food and products are sold at the weekly market. Consumers are encouraged to preserve, can, bottle and store food for the winter months.

The market this day had a competition for the stall owners. They were to decorate pumpkins. We, the shoppers, were given ballot forms where we could record our favourite pumpkins. And there were prizes.

This one nearly got my vote. It is called 'Hen Art' and was made by the vegetable store owner's hens, while the pumpkin was growing.

I think that qualifies as performance art.

The one I ended up voting for was a rather plain looking pumpkin called 'Pumpkin Pi'. You guessed it, a couple of students ( I forget to even notice what they were selling) drew with a red Sharpie the formula for pi around the pumpkin. I thought that was clever.

More Architecture in Yarmouth

Here are some more images of the outstanding, well preserved architecture to be found in Yarmouth.

It is unusual to find in a relatively small place such a wide range of styles within a few blocks of each other.

One of the explanations is many of the houses were built by wealthy sea captains who were inspired by what they saw in their ports of call.

The quality of construction and the size of the houses reflects the powerful position of Yarmouth on the sea trade routes in the hey day of sail.

Architectural Feast - Yarmouth

When in Nova Scotia, any easy way to get a taste of the range of architectural styles to be found in the province is to visit Yarmouth. What a feast.

The information bureau puts out a great self-guided, walking tour brochure.

Ron and I set off on the tour once the soft late afternoon light was creating enough shadows to highlight the architectural details. We took a photo of the paragraph in the brochure before taking photos of the building so I have a little bit of information about each place as a reference to begin further study.

For those of you interested in Canadian architecture, there is an excellent book that focuses on what can be found in Nova Scotia.

Penny, Allen, 'Houses of Nova Scotia An illustrated guide to architectural style recognition', co-published by Formac Publishing Company and The Nova Scotia Museum, Halifax, 1989.

I use architecture as a resource in my art work. I see buildings as portals into the social history of the time. Acting as a detective and noticing the details, talking to the owners, and tracking down primary resources such as newspapers and diaries in local archives can build up wonderful stories to share through my work.

Port -Royal, Nova Scotia

During our Maritime trip we spent a fascinating few hours walking through the reconstructed fort that was the first French settlement in Canada.

It felt authentic....

with the guides dressed in period clothing....

....and sheep skin vellum over the windows.

Briggs & Little

While in New Brunswick we stopped in at Briggs & Little, Canada's oldest woolen mill.

This is their new mill, built after a fire destroyed the original.

They still use vintage machines...

...and continue to make the same products, well loved by knitters and weavers throughout North America.

Signs of Fall in the Maritimes

While we were stopped for gas I came across more signs of fall activities in the Maritimes .

There must have been a lot of people making pumpkin pies because this large bin was nearly empty.

The bags of deer bait were outside while other hunting supplies were stacked on the shelves inside the gas station store.

So many different types of apples were being sold from so many roadside stalls in the Annapolis Valley  we were really getting to know the different varieties. But this garage had bags of them just for the deer.

And this is an example of one stop shopping for the hunter in his big pick up.

It was one of those gloriously warm fall afternoons when we stopped so we decided we would have an ice cream. It was good timing because the owner wanted to finish the last tubs of icecream for the year so our 'single' cones were so large and top heavy they needed two hands to lick them.

Art Deco in Canada

This semester, for my Julia Caprara School of Textile Arts degree studies, I am investigating the Art Deco Movement. While on holiday touring the Maritimes I was on the look out for evidence of the movement wherever I went.

I was rewarded with examples, often in the most unlikely places.

While touring the Briggs and Little woollen yarn factory in New Brunswick, we spied what looked like a car under covers behind bales of fleece. One of the workers threw back the covers to show a 1930s car the owner of the factory had restored. It was a perfectly preserved example of an Art Deco object with its aerodynamic shape that only recently has been reused in car design for fuel efficiency.

Hood/bonnet ornaments were works of art.

The 3 or 4 straight lines, called Streamline, were a distinctive motif that suggested speed, new technology and acceptance of the benefits of the machine age.

I am now developing my thesis for a 2,000 word paper I have to write on a specific subject in the Art Deco Movement. I am doing lots of reading of library books and articles from web searches.

Brennan's B 'n' B

The B 'n' B I was raving about in the previous post is called Brennan's.

Another interesting feature it has is the curved windows in the front. During a walk into town we noticed this is not uncommon in old houses in Fredericton. There must have been a very skilled glass maker in town at that time.

This house was built by the Chestnut family (of the Chestnut canoe fame) who were hardware merchants. As soon as I had heard a bit of the house's history I started more closely at the details. I found even the hinges on the doors are engraved.

The radiators have abstract floral designs on them.

I wished I had more time to explore the house but we had to hit the road and move on. There were still lots of leaves to look at.

B and B in Fredericton

While in Fredericton, New Brunswick, we stayed in a beautiful Bed and Breakfast.

These 3-way wooden shutters in our room cleverly controlled the light and themselves made lovely changing patterns on the wall and changing patterns of morning light on the other walls.

The house was full of most impressive examples of master craftsman woodworking.

I have no idea how these turned wood patterns would have been made.

They were amazing.