One of my current obsessions is Art deco architecture, since there aren't as many examples of it, so its uniqueness as well as the design makes it special. Art deco is a truly beautiful style, some even consider it to be the last glamorous style in art history. It used to be believed that Art deco is actually the opposite of Art nouveau, which is a theory that first appeared during the 1960s (when a lot of art theories that we are questioning now appeared 😂). Today we don't see Art deco as an opposite to Art nouveau, instead we look at it rather as an extension to Art nouveau in many areas, especially its rich ornamentation, superb craftsmanship and use of fine materials. As far as the dating of the style goes, that also changed, old theory that the First World War divides Art nouveau and Art deco is not that precise, since some of Art deco works were created in the period between 1908. and 1912. as well as during the war. Following that theory we would say that The Great depression marked the end of Art deco, but since it started earlier we now think the style also ended earlier, during the 1920s.


Art deco is not really known for its architecture, it's mostly an applied arts kind of style, meaning it was used the most for applied arts. Many of the great examples of Art deco architecture can be found in United States simply because the country experienced a building boom during the 1920s which wasn't the case with Europe where rich architectural tradition leaned more towards restoration than demolition. This doesn't mean we can't find beautiful examples of the style in European architecture as well. The best French Art deco architecture was designed for the 1925. International exposition and was supposed to last for only 6 months and that's why architects experimented with all sorts of materials and radical forms. As far as design of ''permanent'' buildings goes, this new style was used for buildings that had little or no tradition behind them, like garages, airports, cinemas and swimming pools. That's the reason why today we can see a lot of those in Art deco style which makes no sense when you don't know the whole story. 😆 Use of new materials like stainless steel and glass is also a trait of Art deco architecture. During the 1920s when skyscraper boom in America started, United States did not have its own Modernist style so they used a modern style from Paris, Art deco. This is why we can find Art deco decoration in many American 1920s buildings and the style is hugely associated with skyscrapers. 


Jedna od mojih poslednjih opsesija je ar deko arhitektura, pošto ona ni nema puno primera još je i posebnija što je pored dizajna čini posebnom. Ar deko je zaista prelep stil, neki ga čak smatraju i poslednjim glamuroznim stilom u istoriji umetnosti. Ranije se verovalo da je ar deko zapravo suprotnost ar nuvoa, ta teorija se pojavila šezdesetih godina dvadesetog veka (kada se i dosta teorija koje su danas diskutabilne pojavilo). Sada ne gledamo ar deko kao suprotnost ar nuvoa, već kao njegov nastavak u mnogo pogleda, pogotovo u bogatoj ornamentici, izvrsnoj izradi i upotrebi finih materijala. Što se datovanja stila tiče, to se takođe promenilo, stara teorija da Prvi svetski rat deli ar nuvo i ar deko nije baš precizna, pošto je dosta ar deko dela nastalo između 1908. i 1912. kao i tokom rata. Po toj teoriji velika depresija označava kraj stila, ali budući da je ranije počeo danas smatramo da se takođe ranije i završio, tokom dvadesetih godina 20. veka



Ar deko nije ostao upamćen po svojoj arhitekturi, najviše je poznat po primerima primenjene umetnosti. Mnogi lepi primeri ar deko arhitekture se mogu pronaći u Sjedinjenim američkim državama jer je zemlja doživela procvat gradnje dvadesetih godina što nije bio slučaj sa Evropom gde je bogata arhitektonska tradicija više išla u smeru obnove nego rušenja. To ne znači da ne postoje lepi primeri stila u evropskoj arhitekturi. Najlepša francuska ar deko arhitektura je projektovana za Internacionalnu izložbu 1925. i trebalo je da traje samo 6 meseci pa su arhitekte eksperimentisale sa različitim materijalima i radikalnim formama. Što se projektovanja ''trajnih'' građevina tiče, novi stil je korišćen za zgrade koje nisu imale tradiciju građenja iza sebe, kao što su garaže, aerodromi, bioskopi i bazeni. To je razlog zbog koga možemo da vidimo dosta njih u ar deko stilu. Upotreba novih materijala kao što su nerđajući čelik i staklo su takođe odlika ar deko arhitekture. Tokom dvadesetih godina 20. veka tokom procvata oblakodera u Americi, oni nisu imali modernistički stil pa su preuzeli moderni stil iz Pariza, ar deko. Zbog toga možemo pronaći dekoraciju u ovom stilu na mnogim američkim zgradama iz ovog perioda i povezujemo je sa oblakoderima.