The 1930s USA

The 1920’s to 1930’s were part of the 20th century. In this time period, certain movements in art, such as surrealism were at large, and this era heralds the introduction of the art deco style, which resembled ancient Egyptian visual fashion and architecture, (examples detailed first below1, and second below2). 

Figure 1

Figure 2

It was also the era in which an event known as ‘the great depression’ hit America, as well as other parts of the world. This was an event where there was a massive financial crisis, very similar, but far worse, to the recession which recently hit in 2008, and is currently still ongoing as of writing.

It began when the stock market in Wall Street, crashed in 19293, and this lead to many years of financial instability for both corporations, and individuals alike. 

Popular culture has referenced the great depression many times, and one that will be focused on, is the modern day remake of the movie, King Kong. In the 2005 movie, the early scenes depict such imagery of shanty towns, homelessness, and a general struggle, which can be seen in Anne Darrow’s character, most notably in the stealing of the apple, the restaurant, and the job offer scenes.

It was also an era in American history, where Hollywood culture emerged, and an era that has been called, a ‘golden era’ in film.

This research will be focusing on the study of two political, and two commerical art deco style posters.

Art deco was a very popular theme during the era of the 1930’s, and it was reflected in many visual forms. From building architecture, to pieces of artwork. 
Art deco as a style seems to reflect a lot of styles that resemble ancient Egyptian artwork and architecture. (See figure below for an example4)

You can see in the canine on the left of the illustration for example, how the body and style seems to resemble how canines visually appeared in hieroglyphs.

Figure 3

Figure 4

In this anti-Nazi poster(figure 45), which was produced in 1940 by Edward McKnight Kauffer, it highlights

how art deco has been influenced by politics at the time. The colours in this graphic are very contrasted, and the poster notably uses a lot of black. It could be suggested that his use of dark colour, could be used to add more emphasis to the anti-Nazi agenda, as black is often associated with death, grimness and misery etc.

The figure below, (Figure 56), shows another example of an art deco political poster.

Figure 5

This image above is a British pro-labour graphic piece, that contains a very limited palette of colours. The image has bold outlines which allow each shape and figure to stand out against the two tone background. In comparison to the image above, it definitely appears to be more colourful, and more positive.

Focusing on examples of commercial Art Deco style posters now, and the immediate figure(s) which can be found below, are perfect examples of how commercial themed Art Deco, visually looked.

Figure 6

This piece by the artist Adolphe Jean Marie Mouron, otherwise known as 'Cassandre'. Cassandre was born in the country of Ukraine, in a city called Kharkov. He travelled to the city of Paris in the year of 1915, and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts school. Here, he studied such art movements as cubism, futurism and purism, and and then took to printing in these styles. He designed his first poster graphic in 1923, and won his first award only two years later. In 1927, he teamed up with Charles Loupot, and named their alliance, "L'Alliance Graphique". This alliance lasted until the death of his artistic partner, Loupot, after which he travelled to the USA. After being there in work between tehbyears of 1936 and 1939, he moved back to France, and tok to the design of promotional graphic arts for theatres, and such areas as ballet.7

(Figure 68) is an art deco stylised advertisement for a French operated transatlantic ocean liner. The company of the service was called CGT, otherwise known as the Compagnie Génerale Transatlantique, and the name of the ship was 'christened', The France.
Note in the image how the poster contains near perfect symmetry. This can be especially seen in the waves at the bow of the ship, as well as the windows toward the top of the ship's bridge. The colours are quite flat, which is another characteristic of the art deco style.

The image below, (figure 79), is another example of commercial art deco stylised artwork, this time as an advertisement for the 'Nord Express'. This piece is also by the artist known as 'Cassandre', and was produced in 1927.

Figure 7

This image resembles a lot of the style that can be seen in figure 6. The image above contains a very minimal palette, as well as very simple lines, shapes and styles. The predominant tones in this graphic piece is grey, as well as white and black. Certain areas of the lettering overlaps, and Cassandre uses a lot of capital lettering which allows the words to stand out against the images beneath. Text can also be found around the edges of the graphic, there is additional information included in this way.

References Used:

1.  Figure 1: (internet) URL: http://www.titalus.com/art/Hum113/ArtDeco/Chrysler2.jpg, Viewed: 11:43am 3.2.14

2.  Figure 2: Cartier Egyptian Temple Gate Clock, Benton, C., Benton, T. and Wood, G. (eds.) (2003) Art Deco 1910 - 1939. Pg: 43 London: V & A Publications.

3. Author: T.H. Watkins, Book: ‘The Great Depression (America in the 1930s)’ Pg: 23, Year of pub: 1993, USA, Blackside Inc.
4. Figure 3, 'Woman Dressed in Black', Artist: Erté, c1930. Zaczek, I. (2003) Essential Art Deco. Pg: 66 Bath: Parragon. 

5. Figure 4, 'Anti-Nazi Poster' Artist: Edward McKnight Kauffer, c1940, Zaczek, I. (2003) Essential Art Deco. Bath: Parragon.

6.  Figure 5: (internet) “Labour Clears the Way”, URL: http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Arts/Arts_/Pictures/2010/3/5/1267810632184/Labour-poster-from-1909-001.jpg 1:21pm, 24.2.14.
7. Zaczek, I. (2003) Essential Art Deco. Pg: 130, Bath: Parragon.
8. Figure: 6: "Poster for the French line", Artist: Cassandre, c1930. Zaczek, I. (2003) Essential Art Deco. Pg: 137, Bath: Parragon.
9. Figure 7: "Etoile Du Nord", Artist: Cassandre, c1927, Zaczek, I. (2003) Essential Art Deco. Pg: 131, Bath: Parragon.