Quote:
Originally Posted by Nowhereman1280
LOL wat? Sorry but Prairie style was in no way a branch of Art Deco. Prairie style has completely different origins than Deco and its only real connection to Deco was that its ideas were about equally as influential to the rise of modernism as the ideas of Deco. If anything the two styles converged in modernism. Prairie Style arose almost entirely from the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and other architects influenced by the Louis Sullivan centered Chicago School. Prairie Style began before 1900 and was pretty much done with outside of Chicago by 1925. Thus it came almost entirely before Art Deco was popular in any way. How could it be a branch of Deco?
Now this I can agree with you on. Art Deco was really the first design school to reject nature and ornament as integral to human design. It was the beginning of the "machine aesthetic" that is so important to Modernism. Yes Chicago School architecture was the first move towards simplicity and minimalism, but the Chicago School architects, Louis Sullivan in particular, were hardcore into details and most of their buildings had extremely ornate patterns worked into the designs.
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My bad on the Prairie Style thing... I had in mind what they often call Tulsas Fairgrounds Pavilion as being, they say its "Prairie Deco". The Prairie Deco motifs (versus saying Prairie Style) can be found on many buildings in Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, etc. The designs often have: wheat grain, corn, buffalo, indians, livestock, native wild flowers, etc. throughout. There is also a "Pueblo Deco". Essentially each region had its own influence on decoration, versus copying from Europe.
However, I would say there is a lot of cross over between "Prairie Style" and some Art Deco styles. Both borrowed heavily from the highly stylized and geometric Native American designs. Zigzag Deco?
I have been thinking about this for some time now, trying to get a grasp of just what Art Deco really is. What defines it. I know it when I see it for the most part, though even here a building or work of art could be a mixture of styles. Perhaps only having "Deco cues" here an there which would then allow someone to call the building Art Deco, though many of its other motifs would scream Neo Classical or even Egyptian, etc.
Art Moderne, Art Deco, Streamline, Zigzag, Classic Moderne, Streamline Moderne, PWA Style,,, and there are probably a few other descriptors out there.
Art Deco is applied to buildings and objects that are so very different. Chevrons and zigzags are said to be a fundamental part of the deco style, but I have seen plenty of buildings that dont have a lick of either. Some have designs that are almost all linear, zigzags and chevrons. The ornate ceilings of the Guardian Building is one example, and there is a similar style in a building in Tulsa...repeating "indian blanket" patterns.
by me
here is an exterior shot by (PaulBrady flickr)
Yet then there are buildings that have flowing curves or are covered in swirling leaves and flower patterns. Some are made of traditional materials like brick and have only a few simple "deco cues" in stone or cement along the cornice or a simple pattern in the brickwork. Others are covered in steel, tile and glass.
I can see several, general, Deco Types and imagine categories for them.
STREAMLINE is probably the most obvious of the types, though even here its hard to draw a definite line as to what exactly defines the style and when the style stopped. When shopping for Art Deco Items in antique stores you see all kinds of radios, ashtrays, appliances, etc. for exampe that have a sleek, curvy, "streamline" look from the 50s... but would those things really be Art Deco?
ZIGZAG, is pretty easy to spot especially if you define it more narrowly than most might. Lots of "zigzag patterns" they can be curvy zig zags or very linear(often ,made up of tiles and brickwork). Again, you usually know it when you see it lol.
REGIONAL and or THEMED deco could be another group or category. Egyptian, Roman, Gothic, Italian, Prairie, Pueblo, Mayan,,,,, I can find examples of buildings that take an earlier style, say Egyptian or Roman, then "Art Deco" the design motifs. Roman columns and capitals become stylized to appear Art Deco for instance. I have seen Art Deco churches that take the Gothic Motifs and then change the angles and curves a bit to make the rose windows ,sculptures, etc, look Deco. You can take any element from any style and make it look "Deco".
Then there is another type that I cant quite find a word for... FLORAL/NATUREFORM? The designs are overflowing with natural elements; leaves, flowers, curly swirls, perhaps they have animals like long tail feathered birds, gazels, waves, fan shaps, etc.
INDUSTRIAL or PWA style. Has a strong industrial influence, bold heavy lines, strong figures, gears, machine elements, etc.
Each of these categories of course have examples in which several have been mixed together (a Miami Streamline with panels of Floraform,, Industrial with elements of Zigzag) or that are transitional between a couple of categories. But I also think that you can see definite, distinct examples of each which "set the tone" for that category and would not at all have much resemblance to the others.
Not saying that I am right, but as I have begun to study Art Deco more and more, I have noticed that a lot of buildings and artwork do seem to fall into fairly distinct branches or categories.
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