Art Décor is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before the outbreak of World War I.
The emergence of Art Décor was closely connected to the rise in status of decorative artists, who up to the 19th century had been considered simply as artisans.
The Theatre des Champs-Elysees (1910-13) in Paris, designed by August Perret, is regarded as the first landmark Art Décor building to be completed.
Architectural designs in buildings are representative of specific periods in history. Nairobi is home to a magnificent variety of architectural designs ranging from the classical European design of the imposing Supreme Court building, typical of the colonial era, to the contemporary interpretation of an African theme as seen in the defining silhouette of the Kenyatta International Conference Centre.
Art Décor is a style of visual arts, architecture and design that first appeared in France just before the outbreak of World War I. The design took its name( short for “Arts Decorators”) from the Exposition International des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925. It combined modernistic styles with fine craftmanship and a rich array of materials.
The style became popular in the 1920s and 1930s influencing not just the design of buildings, but furniture, jewellery, fashion, cars, movie theatres, trains, ocean liners and every day objects such as radios and vacuum cleaners. Art Décor represented luxury, glamour, exuberance and faith in social and technological transformation.
The emergence of Art Décor was closely connected to the rise in status of decorative artists, who up to the 19th century had been considered simply as artisans. The Society of Decorative Artists, founded in 1901 gave decorative artists the same rights of authorship as painters and sculptors.
With their elevated status, decorative artists found freedom in the use of colour, form and materials. Art Décor was not a single style, but a collection of different and sometimes contradictory styles.
Most of the sculpture of that period was, as the name suggests, purely decorative. It was designed to ornament office buildings, government buildings, public squares and private salons. It was almost always represantational, usually of heroic or allegorical figures related to the purpose of the building; themes were often chosen by the patron. It was often attached to the façade of buildings, particularly over the entrance.
The Theatre des Champs-Elysees (1910-13) in Paris, designed by August Perret, is regarded as the first landmark Art Décor building to be completed. Perrets building had clean rectangular form, geometric decoration and straight lines, the future trademarks of Art Décor. The décor of the theatre was also revolutionary; the façade was decorated with plaques of Art Décor sculpture by Antoine Bourdelle, a dome by Maurice Denis, paintings by Edouard Vuillard, and an Art Décor curtain by Ker-Xavier Roussel. The theatre became famous as the venue for the first performances of Ballets Russes.
Whereas the classical style of architecture seen in government and public buildings in Nairobi was meant to symbolise imperial authority over the colony, Art Décor was a proclamation of social and cultural dominance. It was a statement that Nairobi was at the sharp end of the latest social and fashion trends in the Western world.
Examples of Art Deco architecture include the City Market, Shan cinema, Beneve Coffee House, Kenwood House and Scirocco House in Naivasha.
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