Derived from the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs Industriels et Modernes which was held in Paris, Art Deco celebrated living in the modern world. Today, "Art Deco" is used to refer to a mix of styles from the 1920s and 1930s. The Art Deco style infused the everyday world with an elegant style of cool sophistication.
As an antidote to the global effects of the First World War, the Roaring Twenties and the Great Depression, Art Deco represented a retreat from the handcrafted artisan style of the Arts & Crafts period and the self-indulgence of the Edwardian and Art Nouveau periods. Those lifestyles seemed out of place after the devastation of WW I. Art Deco as a style celebrated in many forms the speed of modern transportation, the machinery of modern factories, and the faceless, soulless socialism of post-war Europe.
Art Deco design is characterized by geometry and simplicity, as well as vibrant colors and shapes that venerate the rise of commerce and technology. Mass produced, streamlined items were marketed to the rising middle class and were a marked contrast to the artisan-created style of an earlier generation exemplified by William Morris.
It was also a period of social change, when women who had come of age during the First World War became "flappers" who smoked cigarettes, bobbed their hair, and voted. Although women had always been employed in the factories of the late 19th century and as the uncredited workers in pottery, textile and other craft manufacturing, few were recognized for their work by name.
Women became more visible during the Twenties and Thirties as artists and designers. To be sure, their presence was not exalted in the same breath as a Picasso, but in the world of pottery there is one who stands out, and whose output is now highly collectible, in the United States, Japan, and Europe.
As an example of Art Deco, the pottery of Susie Cooper is classic. Wildly popular during the period between the wars, her evolving style continued to sell very well right up until the 1980's. It is the work from the Art Deco period which is most collectible, however, and which I want to talk about.
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