Furniture design and the high arts may not be closely connected - if connected at all - in people's minds, but the fact is that they are both parts of the same facet of society. Art, whether purely for art's sake or functionality, is always art. Ancient societies all over the world brought artistic visions into their functional pieces; imagine Navajo blankets, Persian rugs, Chinese vases and pre-historic pottery pieces. Archaeologists actually rely on the artistic patterning and design of pottery so that they can identify different societal groups and tribes that lived either simultaneously or in different time periods. Art and humanity are virtually inextricable from one another.
Contemporary artists are mostly known for their expulsion of rigidity in paintings, sculptures, and even the form of art itself. Such artists may often decide to embrace an unorthodox form of expression to reach out to their audiences and viewers; art museums are becoming filled with electronic works, photograph montages, cardboard boxes, even light bulbs and short movie screening rooms. It has become the choice of modern artists to showcase their thoughts via non-structured forms of art that have often been untried by previous generations.
Design and Function Must Meet Art
In terms of furniture, designers have realised in the past several decades that their designs can be grouped into artistic prowess; despite a widespread opinion that for the most part divides art from utility contemporary furniture has embraced both sides of its existence. By no means has artistic value been completely removed from furniture design; it is simply that furniture is an industry that has thrived on such a removal via mass production, affordable pieces and easy storage. When you see stackable chairs, this is exactly the mentality that has caused furniture design to deviate from artistic prowess.
Utility aside, contemporary furniture has joined its cousin contemporary art to provide a new aesthetic and a more vital quality to its design. The initial reaction to these new designs - very seamless and seemingly natural in their construction - was not so much from the general public as it was from artists and the art world itself. Contemporary furniture found its way onto the big screen before it was seen in the average household. What then seemed like a breakthrough for contemporary furniture and art was merely the first major hurdle jumped.
Style and Success
Like contemporary art, contemporary furniture has had to work at building a good reputation as a viable option next to classicism. After a good sixty years, however, contemporary furniture has succeeded in not only claiming converts but in furnishing the bedrooms and eventually the entire homes of new generations of people who adore pieces like the swivel chair and the winged coffee table.
Perseverance can only get you so far; contemporary furniture designers have succeeded because of their love of aesthetic and form alongside function.
Art Deco Furniture Design
Art deco was a very innovative period in design history, many different materials were used to create a unique look which reflected the new times that we were all in. Art Deco is from the 20's and 30's, these are the times when you would of seen jazz, the flapper and the start of the machine age. Wedding and engagement rings of aquamarine and other exotic stones were popular during this time.
Different Materials Used
These were times of great excitement, you could wear beautiful pieces of jewelry that were created from a number of different materials. These materials were not used to make jewelry before this time. Popular jewelry materials during this time included: -Plastic -Chrome -Steel -Precious metals -Stones -Semi precious gems
Precious metals and gems were commonly mixed with the newer materials to create unique looking art deco themed jewelry
The art deco period inspired costume jewelry. This uses non-precious materials such as base metal and gems. Many important jewelry designers actually stared in this period to, including Elsa Shiaparella, Rene Lalique, Paul Emile Brant and most importantly Coco Chanel. Just because the materials used in art deco jewelry were cheaper it certainly didn't mean the actual cost of such a piece would be any cheaper. The same is true today, art deco jewelry can e quite expensive.
Exotic And Futuristic Influences
Many jewelry designers have been influenced by different cultures all around the world. In particular ancient Egypt, eastern, and African cultures have influenced modern jewelry designs.
Other popular designs for art deco jewelry were floral designs, machines and anything to do with the future. You can normally identify art deco pieces of jewelry by simply looking at the geometric design. Some art deco jewelry is extremely beautiful, while others can look ridiculous. The plastic badges with faces and moving eyes were popular, however they look very silly nowadays!
The home of Art Deco is Paris, its considered an art and started there. The name actually comes from an event held there in 1925 which was the Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Moderns. This set new trends for the design of jewelry.
The art deco designers had the freedom to experiment with different designs, and different materials to produce jewelry designs. These designs were so popular that they continue to influence the designs today.
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