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In the field of modern art, decorative art plays a large and
impressively lavish role. The strong colours and sweeping curves lend
decorative art the trademark boldness that expressed much of the
progress and modern advances of the twentieth century. Art auctions
around the world still feature many decorative art pieces of various
kinds. If you’re interested in collecting decorative art, there are
many art auctions both online and off that deal primarily in decorative
art.
In the twentieth century the decorative arts converged in what is known
as the decorative art movement, which grew to influence architecture,
fashion, the visual arts as well as design. The term ‘art deco’ was
derived from a World’s Fair held in Paris, France, called the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in the year 1925.
Though the movement and term comes from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes,
the term was not widely used until the late 1960s. Especially pre-
World War I Europe influenced the decorative art movement, though many
cultures influenced and were influenced by this art movement. Much of
the world was experiencing similar shifts in modern technological
advances.
For the most part, the decorative art movement was brought about and
inspired by the rapid advances of technological and social facets of
the early twentieth century. As culture responded to these increasingly
changing times, the decorative art movement was a result of these
modern phenomena.
Decorative art is considered generally to be an eclectic type of
decorative modernism that was influenced by a variety of artists and
particular art forms. Decorative art includes furniture, metalwork,
clocks, glasswork and screens as well as paintings and other fine art
types of pieces.
The decorative art style is known for its lavishness and epicurean
flairs that are attributed to the austerity of culture brought about by
World War I. Strong patterns and bold colours and shapes were used, as
were many particular motifs used universally.
For example, the sunburst motif was used in everything from the
Radio
City
Music Hall auditorium, images of ladies’ shoes, the spire of the
Chrysler
Building and
several other pieces of art, architecture and design. Other ubiquitous
motifs found in decorative art were stepped forms, the zigzag, chevron
patterns and sweeping curves.
In the West, decorative art lost its steam around the Second World War,
but continued to be used all the way into the 1960s in colonial
countries such as
India, where it
served as a gateway to Modernism. Then in the 1980s decorative art made
a comeback in graphic design. Decorative art’s association with 1930s
film noir led to its use in both fashion and jewellery ads.
Today decorative art is revered by many and dismissed as old news and
overly gaudy by others. Though it undoubtedly played a major role in
art history, as with most art, individual taste frames the individual’s
interpretation and like or dislikes of decorative art styles.
Decorative art is one of the most well known art movements. This is
mostly due to its wide base of influences and influenced art forms and
cultures. Since much of the world was experiencing many of the same
advances in technology and mass production, many of the same ideas and
symbols were relevant in various parts of the world.
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