On October 28th we visited the exhibition Art Deco Paris in style. This exhibition shows a lot of Paul Poiret’s work and discusses the position and origins of Art Deco in The Netherlands. This was a great opportunity for both our events ‘A Few Days Like No Others’ and the association in creation: Art Deco Holland.
Paul Poiret is presented as the father of Art Deco. Furthermore the exhibition promotes the viewpoint that in 1910 the stye Art Deco is already developing / existing. The famous ‘Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes’ in Paris in 1925 was originally planned already in 1915, but the Great War prevented this from happening. All the stye elements existed already in the 1910s (geometric lines, colour schemes, abstractions, influences from Egypt, Indochine and China, elegance and grandeur).
The terminology ‘Art Deco’ is relatively modern, and was only used in 1966 for the first time. The exhibition ‘Art Deco Paris’ itself is held in a building designed by Berlage, a Dutch translation of both modernism and art deco. In The Netherlands the definition of art deco is difficult. There are many names for art/ architecture / fashion / furniture that could be seen under the umbrella of Art Deco, but which are given a specific name: Amsterdamse school, Berlage (as a unique thing) and modernism, to name just a few. What I really liked about the exhibition is to place emphasis on Art Deco as a trend that was meant to celebrate, to enhance and enjoy. That is what we want to achieve as well with our events of A Few Days Like No Others. For us it is longing for a by-gone time that is dazzling to us and especially beautyful and that comes to us in the remnants of the past: clothing, video’s, paintings, architecture, furniture etc.
The black and white dresses with geometrical forms were worn by Margareth Staal-Krophuller (architect). The fabric dates from 1925, Paris. The printed silk is attributed to Braque.
Artists like Mondriaan, a pionier in abstract and non-formal art, also influenced Art Deco.
