Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes

The "Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" (International Exposition of Modern Industrial and Decorative Arts) was a World's fair held in Paris, France from April to October 1925. The term Art Deco was derived by shortening the words "Arts Décoratifs" in the title of this exposition. [Theodore Menten, "The Art Deco Style in Household Objects, Architecture, Sculpture, Graphics, Jewelry", Courier Dover, 1972, ISBN 048622824X] Artistic creation in the "années folles" in France is marked by this event, when on this occasion many ideas of the international avant-garde in the fields of architecture and applied arts were brought together. This major event of the 20s was located between the esplanade of Les Invalides and the entrances of the Grand Palais and Petit Palais. It received 4,000 guests at the inauguration on April 28, and thousands of visitors each of the following days.

This exhibition generated the term Art Deco to describe designs in terms of a broad decoratively "modern" style, characterized by a streamlined classicism and facetted, crystalline structures, embellished with decorative references to sleek machinery, and recurrent motifs of stylized fountains, [René Lalique's crystal tower fountain was a prominent set-piece of the Exposition.] gazelles, [The Exposition poster, by Robert Bonfils, imitating the look of a woodblock print, featured a modern athletic nymph and a racing gazelle.] lightning flashes, "Aztec" motifs and similar repertory, derived in part from Decorative Cubism.

The central body of exhibits seemed to present the fashionable products of the luxury market, a signal that, after the disasters of World War I, Paris still reigned supreme in the arts of design. At the same time, other examples such as the "Esprit Nouveau" pavilion and the Soviet pavilion were distinctly not decorative,Dr Harry Francis Mallgrave, "Modern Architectural Theory: A Historical Survey, 1673-1968", Cambridge University Press, 2005, page 258, ISBN 0521793068] they contained furnishings and paintings but these works, including the pavilions, were spare and modern. The modern architecture of Le Corbusier and Konstantin Melnikov attracted both criticism and admiration for its lack of ornamentation. Criticism focused on the 'nakedness' of these structures,Catherine Cooke, "Russian Avant-Garde: Theories of Art, Architecture, and the City", Academy Editions, 1995, Page 143.] compared to other pavilions at the exhibition, such as the Pavilion of the Collector by the "ébéniste"-decorator Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann. These modernist works were integral projects of their own specific movements, and the term Art Deco is used elsewhere, and for other works at the exposition with more accuracy.

Le Corbusier's "Esprit Nouveau" pavilion attracted attention for reasons in addition to its modernism, such as his vast theoretical project that the pavilion embodied. "L'Esprit Nouveau" was the name of the Rive Gauche journal in which Le Corbusier first published excerpts of his book "Vers une architecture", [Hanno-Walter Kruft, "A History of Architectural Theory: From Vitruvius to the Present", Princeton Architectural Press, 1994, Page 397, ISBN 1568980108] and within this pavilion he exhibited his "Plan Voisin" for Paris. The "Plan Voisin", named for aviation pioneer Gabriel Voisin, was a series of identical 200 meter tall skyscrapers and lower rectangular apartments, that would replace a large section of central Paris in the Rive Droite. [Anthony Sutcliffe, "Paris: An Architectural History", Yale University Press, 1993, Page 143, ISBN 0300068867] Although this was never built, the pavilion was and represented a single modular apartment within the broader urban theoretical project. [Christopher Green, "Art in France, 1900-1940", Yale University Press, 2000, ISBN 0300099088]

Notable examples of Russian constructivism were the Alexander Rodchenko designed worker's club, and Konstantin Melnikov designed Soviet pavilion. [ [http://moma.org/exhibitions/1998/rodchenko/texts/workers_club.html MoMA | exhibitions | Rodchenko | Worker's Club 1925 ] ] Student work from Vkhutemas won several prizes,Penelope Curtis, "Sculpture 1900-1945: After Rodin", Oxford University Press, 1999.] and Melnikov's pavilion won the "Grand Prix". Due to continued national tensions after the first world war, Germany was not invited. Austria however contributed Frederick Kiesler's "City in Space" exhibit to house the Viennese documentation, this exhibit was commissioned by Josef Hoffman.

Polish graphic arts were also successfully represented. Tadeusz Gronowski won the "Grand Prix" in that category. His most recognizable work is the still-used logo of the LOT Polish Airlines which he designed 4 years later.

References

External links

* [http://www.retropolis.net/exposition/ "Virtual Visit to the 1925 Paris Exposition Des Arts Décoratifs"]
* [http://lartnouveau.com/art_deco/expo_art_deco_1925.htm Exposition Art Déco 1925] photographs