Art And Architecture Of The Roaring Twenties

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Art and Architecture of the Roaring Twenties

Architecture
Art Deco
‘Art Deco’, also know as a ‘Art Moderne’, was a very popular style of design during the 1920s, although the name of it was not official until the 1960s when it was decided to be named after the International Exposition of Decorative Art, held at the pinnacle of the art deco movement. Art Deco design was particularly common in architecture but also appeared on ocean liners, toasters and jewelry. It is characterized by: long thin forms, curving surfaces and geometric patterns; with the purpose of making the object look like it originated from the “machine age”.
The most prime example of art deco is the Chrysler building in New York. The tip of the skyscraper not only features curving surfaces, but also geometric patterns that appear as triangular windows and as you move higher up the building, the tip becomes thinner (see picture). The design of the building was inspired by machine form and cubist works. More on the construction of this building later.
Other examples of art deco include The Rockefeller Building in NY, many buildings in Miami Beach and Fair Park, Dallas.
Some of the most famous artists of the art deco movement include William Van Alen, Raymond Hood, Paul Manship and C. Paul Jennewein. Of the notables, Van Alen is perhaps the most famous as he was the chief architect of the Chrysler Building.
Skyscraper
Skyscrapers are very tall, slender, multi-story buildings that dominate the urban skyline. Unlike conventional buildings, skyscrapers consists of a rigid frame to which non-load-bearing walls are attached. The walls of skyscrapers do not bear the weight unlike other shorter buildings. This type of structure allows for the amazing heights of the skyscrapers to be technically achievable. Before the technologies necessary to construct such structure existed, skyscrapers were impossible dreams. However, by the 1920’s, technology was...