It Was Never Called Art Deco….

When Art Deco was in production, it was called many things, like “zig-zag” and “modern.”  It wasn’t until 1966 when Yvonne Brunhammer put together a seminal show at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, which she called “Art Deco” (for the decorative arts), that Art Deco was coined.  The full title of the show, “Les Années 25: Art Déco/Bauhaus/Stijl/Esprit Nouveau,” tells you that the term is just a charming French syntax quirk.  Prior to this show, one man, another Frenchman, named Le Corbusier, is attributed for coining the term “arts deco” in his articles in the journal L’Esprit nouveau leading up to the show.  Shortly after this, Bevis Hillier, a Brit, used the term “art deco” in the title of his 1968 seminal book “Art Deco of the 20s and 30s,” and the rest is history, as they say.

But where did they get the idea?  From the  1925 Paris World’s Fair named:  “Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes,” which is known as the start of the art deco movement.

The curious question is why did it take so long to coin the term art deco?  And what made art deco come to the center of the art world in the 1960’s?  Was it “counter-culture,” as deco historians Charlotte & Tim Benton muse, or  was it just the individualistic and incredibly creative style of deco work that always keeps it relevant.  Phases come and go, but Art Deco never goes out of fashion.