Art Deco

"The term Art Deco, coined in the 1960s, refers to a style that spanned the boom of the roaring 1920s and the bust of the Depression-ridden 1930s. Art Deco represented many things for many people. It was the style of the flapper girl and the factory, the luxury ocean liner and the skyscraper, the fantasy world of Hollywood and the real world of the Harlem Renaissance. Art Deco affected all forms of design, from the fine and decorative arts to fashion, film, photography, transport and product design. It was modern and it was everywhere.

It drew on tradition and yet simultaneously celebrated the mechanised, modern world. Often deeply nationalistic, it quickly spread around the world, dominating the skylines of cities from New York to Shanghai. It embraced both handcraft and machine production, exclusive works of high art and new products in affordable materials.

Art Deco reflected the plurality of the contemporary world. Unlike its functionalist sibling, Modernism, it responded to the human need for pleasure and escape. In celebrating the ephemeral, Art Deco succeeded in creating a mass style of permanence. Infinitely adaptable, it gave free reign to the imagination and celebrated the fantasies, fears and desires of people all over the world.

Art Deco, like its forerunner Art Nouveau, was an eclectic style and drew on many sources. Designers sought to infuse jaded traditions with new life and to create a modern style based on a revitalised decorative language. To do so, they borrowed from historic European styles, as well as from the pictorial inventions of contemporary Avant Garde art, the rich colours and exotic themes of the Ballets Russes, and the urban imagery of the machine age. They also drew on more distant and ancient cultures. The arts of Africa and East Asia provided rich sources of forms and materials. Archaeological discoveries fuelled a romantic fascination with early Egypt and Meso-America." (http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/articles/a/art-deco/)

Art Deco stain glass

Jazz Jar and cover by Enouch Boulton

Vogue Red Blocks Saucer and cup by Eric Slater

Art Deco poster

Gothic Revival

The Gothic Revival was an architectural movement that eas emerged in England, in mid 18th centuries and it was actually a reaction to the Classical Revival. In the 19th century neo-Gothic styles strated to appear, and medieval forms revived. The Some people saw the movement not only in structural terms, but  also in religious or spiritual terms, as well. The movement was paralled and supported by medievalism, that had its roots in antiquarium. This is why the Gothic Revival is very concerned with survivals. By the  way, the movement has affected and influenced the United Kingdom, Europe and North America.

By the mid 19th century the movement started to concern not only the architecture but visual communication design, too, because for example, Gothic ornaments and niches appeared in wallpapers and gothic blind arcading could decorate even ceramic pitchers. The Great Exhibition of 1851's catalogue was illustrated with gothic details, from lacemaking and heavy machinery to carpet designs.


Wall papers, which are from the movement of the Gothic Revival:

Royal Courts of Justice. Last major Gothic Revival building in London. 

Example of a Gothic Revival Architecture : The Royal Courts of Justice.