Week 9- Art Deco and Industrial Design

 

Week 9- Art Deco and Industrial Design

Chapter 22

Industrial Design

Industrial designers study how humans interact with devices and environments solving problems of design, usage and production, and they consider strategic business objectives in order to generate a memorable and positive experience for users

  • Design that has an interest in industrial production
  • Describes a new profession that would focus on products for industry
  • Less emphasis on aesthetic goals
  • More on commercial goals of increased sales
  • Economic depression - industrial design was appealing to consumers and clients
  • New technology
  • Aerodynamics
  • Blend of Art Deco ornamentation with slick forms of streamlining
  • Zeppelins made by Germany during World War I
  • Adapted after the war for transport vehicles
  • Future technological achievements
  • Graf Zeppelin - transoceanic flights
  • Amelia Earhart’s record-setting flights
  • Set the ground for Industrial designers
  • Streamlined forms were the theme for the 1930s

Raymond Loewy (1893- 1986)
  • French immigrant and Industrial Designer
  • Education: Self educated

Gilbert Rohde (1894-1944)
  • Furniture designer and Industrial designer
  • Education: Stuyvesant High School
  • Introduced Modernism to Herman Miller in the 1930s
Russel Wright (1904-1976)
  • Industrial Designer
  • Education: Princeton
  • Characteristics and Style:
  • The table was the center of residential design
  • Design from the center outwards- to the exterior- to the landscaping
  • Informal residential design
Carnegie Institute (Carnegie Mellon University), Pittsburgh
  • 1935 offered first program in Industrial Design
  • Artistic orientated
  • Promoted interior designers, industrial designers and architects  working together
  • Introduced a style bridging Art Deco and Modernism
Art Deco

Tension between Functionalists and Decorators
  • Functionalists valued: function, simplicity, mass production, designing for the  common person and social good
  • Decorators valued: labor intensive craftsmanship, elite market, not concerned with social theory
Essence of Art Deco Design
  • Chevron shapes
  • Zig- zags
  • Folding screen - African tribal art
  • Stepped profile of furniture suggest the architecture of skyscrapers
  • Large mirrors
  • Prominent lighting fixtures call attention to modern materials
Furniture Design
  • Rich materials
  • Ebony
  • Zebrawood with inlays of ivory
  • Tortoise-shell
  • Leather
  • Polished metals
  • Mirrors
  • Glass
Tamara de Lempicka- (1898-1980)
  • “Baroness of the Brush”
  • Polish painter 
  • Spent her working life in France and United States
  • Painted wealthy aristocrats and nudes in an art deco style
Michel Roux-Spitz-French architect (1888-1957)
  • Education: The École des Beaux-Arts
  • Chief architect of Civil Buildings
  • Salon des Artistes Decorateurs
  • Chief architect of Civil Buildings
  • Characteristics and Style:
  • Highly decorative style
    • Fashion orientated style that was not concerned with functionalism
    • Design patterns were influenced by cubism and African tribal art
    • Furniture profiles were stair stepped showing the popularity of the skyscraper
    • Emphasis on electricity and lighting was enhanced by the use of large mirrors
Maurice Dufrene (1876-1955)
  • Influential French Designer
  • Education: Ecole de Arts Decoratifs
  • Characteristics and Style:
    • Hand crafted furniture
    • Simple with no decorative elements
    • Austere
Jean Michel Frank (1895-1951)
  • French interior designer known for minimalist interiors
  • Education: Lycee Janson de Sailly – Paris
  • Methods and Materials:
    • Use of non-colors ( natural materials were the color)
    • Walls were white
    • Luxurious furniture made of leather, shagreen and mica

Jacques- Emile Ruhlmann (1879-1933)
  • French furniture and interior designer
  • Education: no formal education- family decorating business
  • Methods and Materials:
    • Focus on glamour
    • Use of unusual materials
    • Ebony, zebra wood, sharkskin, and ivory
Eileen Gray (1878-1976)
  • Education: Slade School of Fine Art, Academy Julian, Academy Colarossi
  • Methods and Materials:
    • Focus on luxury and geometric lines
    • Studied and applied lacquered technique to furniture
    • Furniture was mass-produced
    • Interiors featured furniture covered with simple materials, sparse with the focus on tribal artwork
Sonia Delauney (1885-1979)
  • Ukrainian born French artist
  • Education: Academy of Fine Arts- Germany, Palette Academy- Paris
  • Characteristics and Style:
    • Geometric and colorful 
    • Cubist themes including: zig-zags, stripes, plaids
Normandie - French Ocean Liner
  • Major Designers
    • Richard Bouwens
    • Roger Expert
  • Assistance with the design
    • Raymond Subes
    • Jean Dupas
    • Jaques Dunand
  • Assisted in the spread of Art Deco Internationally

Raymond Loewy bed

Modern Industrial Style Bed

Gilbert Rohde Office Chair

Modern Industrial Office Chair

Traditional Art Deco Living Room

Modern Art Deco Living Room


One Step Further 
Paul Frankl 
Paul T. Frankl, an Art Deco furniture designer and maker, architect, painter, and writer from Vienna, Austria, was the son of a wealthy real estate speculator.
He was one of the pioneers of early modern design in the United States, known for his “Skyscraper” furniture of the 1920s and his work for the Hollywood élite in the 1930s and early 1940s.
Some of his work:





























Comments

  1. Sami FordMarch 19, 2025 at 2:06 PM

    I love how you highlighted each different artists in bullet points as well as characteristic of furniture! You pictures comparing to modern day examples were so fun! Also, Paul Frankl's furniture truly are works of art with the pops of color and fun curves!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Rebeca HerreraMarch 21, 2025 at 9:22 PM

    Your blog post was very organized and it was interesting to learn about Paul Frankl!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Professor VanderNoordaaMarch 24, 2025 at 10:04 AM

    Bethany,
    You provided us with a wealth of information on the Art Deco and Industrial Periods. The bullet point list of the elements and characteristics of these periods was helpful. Art Deco, in particular, had so many luxurious materials and design characteristics. I appreciated the contrast between past and current examples of these design styles. Our current examples are not at all as complex and stunning as the past. Taking a deeper dive into Paul T. Frankl was great. You provided many examples of his work! 50/50 points.

    ReplyDelete

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