Vibrant, glamorous and exotic style

Art Deco 1910-1939 traces the style through its heavy Canadian influence

Author J D Reed wrote: "the martini, once a symbol of American imbibing, memorialized in thousands of neon outlines of cocktail glasses, is becoming an amusing antique, like a downtown art deco apartment building." Indeed the martini glass, with its streamlined design, its functionalist use of consumer materials, and its easy reproducibility could be the perfect symbol of art deco itself as it swelled to bursting between the 1920s and early '30s.
These next few months, the Royal Ontario Museum celebrates this borderline kitschy phenomenon that embraced the macro Chrysler building as well as the micro, the 'moderne' sense of style writ on the flapper girl. Organized initially by London's Victoria and Albert Museum, this large-scale exhibition titled Art Deco 1910-1939, premiering only in Canada at the ROM, illustrates the true pervasiveness of this era of style. As almost a precursor to today's fashion impetus towards the cyborg, art deco was a clear response to the industrial revolution, and at the same time a creative reinvention of the terms of luxury when the stock market crashed.
Initially art deco had colonial pretensions, importing then deemed "exotic" materials as proof of travel and sophistication, like unusual woods, ivory, and sharkskin. But later, purchasers tired of these and they were replaced with chromed steel, aluminum, mirror, coloured glass, and the new plastics - such as Bakelite and Catalin which were best suited to mass production. The glamour of art deco was shamelessly located at its surface, most specifically, in its reflectivity, shininess, and sleek geometry. Best representative of this at the ROM show is a 1934 McLaughlin Buick Sport Coupe, on loan from the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa. Canadian-made and 17.5 feet in length, it is the only remaining car of its kind - the first to show streamlining in Canadian cars. Barely able to fit through the doors of the ROM, it represents thousands of dollars worth of reassembly costs, since it originally was discovered in pieces across a farm in Southern Ontario.
What differentiates this exhibit from others is that this historical period is one that most Canadians have participated in. Head Curator, Peter Kaellgren of the ROM's Western Art & Culture Department explains: "Art Deco is the first comprehensive historical survey of the style to be presented in Canada. Unlike dinosaurs or ancient civilizations, Art Deco was very much a part of the living Canadian experience when it was new and emerging during the 1920s and 1930s. I am thrilled to help bring back the experience of this stunning style to the ROM visitors of 2003."
Other novelty objects include a Cartier-made enameled gold and jeweled Greyhounds vanity case, a Lotus Dressing Table, as well as several artifacts from the Paris 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes, which was said to be the defining moment for the art deco movement. Two key paintings in the Grand Salon of the Hotel d'un Collectionneur, the most famous pavilion there, will also be shown at the ROM - "Kneeling Woman" by French artist Fernand Lant and "Les Perruches" (The Parakeets) by Jean Dupas.
All in all, the ROM shows the full diversity of the global spread of art deco - from art to clothing, from cinema to architecture - so as to educate us about how we live our everyday existence around the very present remnants of an art deco era. We may not even have to go to nonna's either to cop an art deco mood. Several stores and boutiques along Queen St. West feature many of these items. With a trip to the ROM first and a walk down Queen later in the afternoon, you may even have the urge to take up collecting yourself.

Art Deco 1910-1939 shows at the Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen's Park, until January 4, 2004. For more information call 416.586.8000.

Publication Date: 2003-10-12
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