I never really appreciated the Art Deco styling of our '48 Pontiac untill we got the first Spartan Manor, and I started learning a little about the whole Art Deco movement. Only then did I realize I had liked it all along, and we really appreciate the cars styling much more. We also have a '51 Pontiac wagon, and I'm building a '47 Diamond T 201 pickup. The wagon, as mentioned in an earlier post, still follows Art Deco design themes, and the pickup is a study in classic Art Deco style, as it apes GM's Cadillac and Buick styling from the late 30's. Great stuff.
Art deco was pretty much dead by the early 40s. Some of you guys are thinking of streamline moderne, a movement that existed in parallel to the art deco style that had a greater influence over transport/industrial design, particularly in America. Streamline lasted until after the 2nd World War. Art deco didn't.
How about this for some art deco? It's the car driven by Captain Nemo in League of Extraordinary Gentleman.
ahh, pretty sure you guys won't see too many of these floating around, this one's mine and the body is from factory...well nearly all from factory. Its a '42 Coupe ute I don't usually post pictures of it cos I tend to get a few emails/PMs asking " Will you sell it?" Unique to the Australia, yep had thought about selling it but not unhappy with it, in fact I'm real happy with it...needs some big sway bars front and rear but otherwise it's really good. Only other reason I'd sell is if someone offered me more money than it's worth...seeing the chances of that happening are about the same as a paper dog chasing an asbestos cat thru hell...well I'm just lucky I'm real happy with it. Did decent high speed run a few weeks back, apart from one stop it sat on 140+ for 3 hours I should point out thats kilometres per hour hahaha Wow thats my first post in years
NO don't sell it! After you sell it you will regret it.Nice ride.Utes here in USA are rare.I like them.
This Stude was designed by Raymond Lowey's studio. Is it Art Deco or Streamline Moderne? I don't really know the difference, but I think the Stude's pretty cool. P.S. I really dig the 36 LaSalle shown above. My Grandad had a 37.
You are correct, sir. I like to think of the later more industrial streamline design of everyday objects, furniture, appliances, cars and buildings, etc. like a form of post Art Deco style stripped of the natural fauna and floral motives of the 1920s, especially in Europe. Styles sure changed more dramatically after WW2.
The term 'Art Deco' was first used by Bevis Hillier in 1969 so back in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s people would think you were talking gibberish if you used the phrase 'Art Deco'! I lived in an apartment in the 1970s, of which he had been the previous incumbent and had to forward his mail to him frequently as he had not had it redirected. Here is what Wilkipedia has to say: In 1969 his book Art Deco of the 20s and 30s was published by Studio Vista. This was the first major work on a hitherto neglected period of art, which had been previously been referred to by various names. His use of the term Art Deco became definitive.
The term actually sprang as a contraction from the name "Paris Exposition Des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes" which was in 1925 and "Style Moderne" is from the same source. Art Deco is somewhat abused these days to catch a lot of various styles from that era. Early "Deco" style grew from Art Nouveau/Morris/Glasgow School to some extent and could have a somewhat gothic flavour, later designs tended to be cleaner which lead to the later streamlined styling. In architecture the difference can be seen by comparing the Chrysler building to the Empire State, the latter being somewhat devoid of ornamentation compared to the former. Even then there were other movements such as Bauhaus and of course Frank Lloyd Wright's famous work. After WW2 the Jet/Rocket age had begun and naturally that motif caught designers eyes.
The Jalopy Journal
