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Art Deco 1910-1939
comes to the ROM from London's Victoria and Albert Museum.
On Saturday, September 20, 2003, Toronto's Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) proudly welcomes Art Deco 1910-1939, a multi-faceted and comprehensive showcase of the glamorous and popular style, organized by London's Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A). Following its record-breaking engagement at the V&A,the ROM is honoured to be the first of only three North American venues and the sole Canadian venue for this remarkable exhibition. Art Deco, the first exhibition to be displayed in the Museum's newly renovated Garfield Weston Exhibition Hall, is on display until Sunday, January 4, 2004.
Art Deco features over 250 masterworks by celebrated artists and designers in all media, from industrial design to fine arts. Objects range from luxurious, handmade pieces in exotic imported materials, such as the enameled gold and jeweled Greyhounds vanity case (1920) by Cartier, to mass-produced objects such as the Eastman Kodak Company's leather encased Beau Brownie box cameras (1930-33). The objects originate from the collections of the V&A, the ROM and dozens of other public and private collections world-wide.
Exclusive to the ROM's engagement of Art Deco is a 1934 McLaughlin Buick Sport Coupe, on loan to the ROM from the Canadian Automotive Museum in Oshawa. The maroon, two-door beauty embodies the spirit of the times, with its built for speed, streamlined exterior. This Canadian-made classic greets visitors upon entering the ROM's South East Atrium. Measuring 5.3 metres (17.5 feet) in length, it is too large to fit within the main exhibition hall and proved almost too large to pass through the doors of the ROM.
From 1910, when Art Nouveau slipped out of fashion, Art Deco proliferated in the decorative and fine arts of Europe and quickly spread to America and the rest of the world. Responding to the demands of the modern world and encompassing both the most costly works of art, and widely available consumer goods, Art Deco transformed the look of everything, from industry and cinema to fashion and photography. Though the style flourished between the two world wars, the 1925 Paris Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts is generally accepted as the highpoint for the style with the New York World's Fair of 1939 as its culmination. Discarded as a style after WWII, it was not until 1966 that the term Art Deco was even coined. Until then, the style was known by a number of terms, including "Jazz Moderne", "Streamlined Moderne" or simply "Moderne".
At the ROM, the lead curators of Art Deco 1910-1939 are Peter Kaellgren and Brian Musselwhite of the ROM's Western Art & Culture Department. Dr. Kaellgren states, "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."
Art Deco 1910-1939 is proudly presented by the Art Shoppe. The Art Shoppe, Toronto, is the largest fine furniture store in Canada, and for almost 70 years, has featured Modern, Traditional and Antique furnishings from around the world. Says Martin Offman, President & CEO, "Art Deco design in home furnishings is enjoying an important resurgence and the Art Shoppe is pleased to present this historic exhibition, giving the opportunity to our customers and many others to view it."
William Thorsell, Director and CEO of the Royal Ontario Museum, comments, "Art Deco combines the elegance of the machine age with luxury in materials and ebullience in spirit unmatched, perhaps, by any other popular style. Art Deco is expressed in every medium, from furniture to jewellery, fashion to transportation. This exhibition is extraordinary in its authority and reach, a sensual pleasure and a powerful inspiration to contemporary design."
Exhibition Highlights
Art Deco 1910-1939 brings together some of the most important and influential artists and designers of the last century including: Sir Cecil Beaton, Edgar Brandt, René Buthaud, Cartier, Coco Chanel, Henry Dreyfus, Raoul Dufy, Jean Dupas, René Lalique, Fernand Léger, Tamara de Lempicka, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Edward Steichen, among many others. These artisans are represented in all media, including painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, textiles, glass, metal, jewellery, graphic art, transport, industrial design, fashion, film, and photography.
Approximately 11,000 square feet of space (Weston Hall and the South East Atrium) is divided into six sections, guiding visitors through the exhibition's narrative and exploring how a style that originated within the European luxury craft tradition became synonymous with the experience of worldwide modernity.
The Style and the Age provides a contextual framework for Art Deco and illustrates the style's main characteristics through a concise selection of objects. It depicts the typical iconography, forms, and materials of Art Deco and examines its global spread. Among the section's many highlights are: a Lotus Dressing Table (1925), a magnificent combination of oak, mahogany, ebony, ivory, silver, bronze, and glass, by Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann; the evocative rail poster, Étoile du Nord (1927), a colour lithograph by Adolphe Mouron, better known as Cassandre; and a powerful steel and aluminum Waterwitch outboard motor (1936) by American John R. Morgan.
The next section explores the exciting Sources of Art Deco. Designers drew inspiration from many sources to create an eclectic style and several are explored within the exhibition. For example, Egyptian and Greek art provided inspiration for modern products as diverse as furnishing textiles and pieces of ornamental sculpture, while other works show the influence of Mayan, Aztec, African and East Asian art. The Avant Garde examines the powerful exoticism of the Ballets Russes and the influence of the new geometric language of Cubism, while National Traditions focuses on influences as diverse as Scandinavian folk weaving and peasant pottery.
A highlight of the Sources section is on exclusive loan to the ROM engagement from the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO). The 1921 oil on canvas Kneeling Woman by French artist Fernand Léger (1881-1955) features a female figure kneeling in front of an active abstract background. Her enormous limbs more closely resemble machinery than human anatomy. Leger's use of geometric abstraction with bold patterning is in keeping with the industrial aesthetic of sculpture and decorative arts of the Art Deco period.
The pivotal Paris Exhibition of 1925 (Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes), the event which gave the style its name, highlighted growing tensions between traditionalism and modernity in design. Art Deco brings together, for the first time since 1925, a group of important works which were exhibited in The Grand Salon of the Hotel d'un Collectionneur, including Jean Dupas' well-known painting Les Perruches (The Parakeets), a provocative oil on canvas. This section also explores the central role of the boutique and department stores in stimulating consumer interest and promoting the style.
The Exotic and The Moderne examine two of the main visual approaches to Art Deco in Europe. While The Exotic illustrates how European designers incorporated African and other "colonial" materials to create exciting modern designs, The Moderne reveals how designers responded to 1929's stock market crash. At that time, previously neglected materials such as plastic, chrome and aluminum changed the look of Deco.
The Deco World tracks the global development of Art Deco and its appeal to consumers world-wide. This section highlights an exciting age of travel and transportation and acknowledges that trains, ocean liners and automobiles helped spread the style around the world. Works from India, China, and Australia are included in this section and the exhibition ends with a look at Art Deco in America, where the style had a profound impact. Skyscrapers such as New York City's Chrysler Building became icons of the style while the enormous popularity of Hollywood films was integral in disseminating Deco around the world. Finally, Streamlining represents the last, and arguably the most glamorous, phase of Art Deco. The Great Depression saw Streamlining emerge as a symbol of speed and efficiency, applied to everything from buildings and cars to radios and fashion.
Art Deco was curated by Ghislaine Wood, Tim Benton and Charlotte Benton. It was organized by and first presented at London's Victoria and Albert Museum (March 27 through July 20, 2003) and is a sequel to their highly successful Art Nouveau exhibit of 2000. Following the North American premiere of Art Deco at the ROM, the exhibition travels to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (March 13 to July 5, 2004) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (August 22, 2004 to January 9, 2005).
Other information
A number of pieces from the ROM's own Art Deco collection have been added to this presentation of Art Deco 1910-1939. Also of interest will be the ROM's permanent display in the Samuel European Galleries, Decorative Arts in the Art Deco Style from the Collection of Bernard and Sylvia Ostry, featuring a recent major gift to the Museum of significant Art Deco furniture, lamps, and decorative sculptures.
A lavish, 464 page, full-colour publication, entitled Art Deco 1910-1939, written by a team of international scholars, accompanies the exhibition.
The ROM Foundation hosts an extraordinary Gala evening on Thursday, September 18 to celebrate the opening of Art Deco 1910-1939. Taking place at the ROM, this stylish and entertaining evening will be enhanced by the Art Deco architecture of the ROM's own Samuel Hall Currelly Gallery. Attendees will be transported to London, Berlin, Paris, and New York City of eras gone by, with music provided by cabaret artist Lyne Tremblay with John Evans and the Scott Marshall Trio. The evening's preview of the stunning Art Deco exhibition will illustrate why it is the most popular exhibition in the history of the V&A. For more information on this very special event and to purchase tickets, please call Lori Lytle at (416) 586-8064.
It's a good time for a Family Membership to the ROM. For $99.00, a family of up to two adults and four children under 18 years of age will enjoy free tickets to Art Deco and other spectacular exhibitions, including Eternal Egypt: Masterworks of Ancient Art from The British Museum (February 28, 2004 to June 6, 2004) and Pearls: A Natural History (September 18, 2004 to January 9, 2005), for the next year as well as unlimited free general admission and discounts at the ROM Repro Shop. An exclusive Art Deco Members' Preview takes place on Friday, September 19. Please call 416-586-5700 for further information.
Admission to Art Deco is included with paid general admission. Advance, timed tickets are now on sale through TicketKing at 1-800-461-3333 or 416-872-1212 or in person at the ROM. Groups of ten or more adults may call Mirvish Group Sales at 416-593-4142 or 1-800-724-6420 for information on special rates and private guided tours. Schools and student groups should call the ROM's Education Department at 416-586-5801.
Programming
During the run of the exhibition, inspired programs will be offered including an Art Deco-themed Connecting, a series of specially planned evenings for singles. On Friday, September 26, co-curator Brian Musselwhite presents Art Deco: The Streamlined Era, an engaging lecture, complemented by delicious hors d'oeuvres, cash bar (and one complimentary drink) and door prizes. These evenings are frequent sell-outs and pre-registration is highly recommended. The program Home Movies, to be launched in an October 2nd opening event, is a three week décor and fashion film festival during which classics from or about the Art Deco period are seen from a grand new perspective. The series' first panel discussion and screening, Top Hat with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers (1935), takes place that evening, while the other films (1935's Goin' To Town with Mae West and an Agatha Christie/Poirot mystery) will be shown in Theatre ROM, the museum's own vintage Art Deco theatre on October 16th and 30th, respectively. Two evening symposiums entitled Curators' Views and Collectors' Views, take place in Theatre ROM on October 23 and November 13. Through illustrated presentations, scholars (including ROM curators Dr. Peter Kaellgren and Brian Musselwhite) and collectors/enthusiasts address a number of facets of Art Deco. An enlightening ROMBUS trip called Art Deco Toronto takes place on Thursday, November 6. It will include a curatorial lecture and guided tour of the exhibit, lunch, and an afternoon of exploring Toronto's Art Deco architecture.
Other programs include Tour des Femmes: Stylish Fashions from the Deco Decades, taking place on November 12 amidst the splendour of the ROM's new Canada Court. With commentary by Jeanne Beker, host of Fashion Television (FT) and editor-in-chief of the new Fashion Quarterly (FQ), Tour Des Femmes will be an unforgettable evening of style and elegance. Art Deco fashions will be presented by vintage diva Carmelita Blondet of Divine Decadence Originals in addition to winning fashions from the ROM/Ryerson University Art Deco fashion competition. Style, food, cocktails, and music from this most distinctive and exciting era will add to the evening's glamour. Bakelite Mania!, showcasing one of the first purely synthetic materials favoured in Art Deco jewellery and everyday household objects, is offered in two sessions on Saturday, November 29. Presented by Carole Tanenbaum of Carole Tanenbaum Vintage Collection, Kate Millar of Bakeland Collectibles, and the ROM's own Jacques Lavoie of the Museum's Education department (owner of one of the largest collections of Bakelite in Canada), Bakelite Mania! also invites participants to bring pieces for identification. As well, throughout Art Deco's engagement, docents from the Department of Museum Volunteers will offer guided tours of the exhibition at regularly scheduled times. Details and tickets for all ROM programs may be obtained at 416-586-5797 or at www.rom.on.ca and click on ROMLife.
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Issue date:
August 3, 2003
For more information:
Media Relations
Tel.: 416.586.5547
Fax: 416.586.8022
E-mail: media@rom.on.ca
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