door of the day

There ain't no door like an Art Deco door.

Photo from the Villa Empain by Peter John Dean.

Seriously, let's go to Brussels now.

deco hearth

How lovely is the original Art Deco hearth in Claire Morris' home?  I can't get enough of it.

city hall station

 Can you guess how much I loved waking up to discover this post about the abandoned City Hall subway stop in New York?  If you guessed "So much," you are so right.

The station was built in 1904, but closed in 1945, primarily due to low ridership.  It isn't open to the public, but if you ride the 6 train past the end of the line, you'll get a firsthand view of this beauty as it loops around.  I know what train I'll be hoping on the next time I'm in the city.

Looking at these is making me think fondly of Neverwhere.  Photos by John-Paul Palescandolo.

via Adam

an irishwoman in Paris

Sorry this is late, but this was a week of news! I registered for my Fall 2009 classes (already?? you might be asking, and yes, that was my reaction as well), I was accepted into a summer program I applied for, AND was offered a full scholarship for it! So, it's been good, oh yes.

We're in the midst of looking at the Art Deco movement in one of my classes, and I could not be happier. This piece comes from that.This unique sofa was designed and constructed by Eileen Gray in 1919-20. It is in the collection of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, although it is not currently on display due to the VMFA's current expansion. In fact, none of the 19th and 20th Century decorative arts are on display during all of this, a state of affairs which causes me great sadness, as the VMFA's collection of Art Nouveau and Art Deco pieces is fantastic. Anyway.

Eileen Gray was a fascinating figure. Irish by birth, she lived in Paris for most of her life. Beginning in 1907, she was taught the art of Japanese lacquer by Seizo Sugawara, a master of the craft. Lacquer is a difficult, labor-intensive process at which Gray excelled, as evidenced by this sofa as well as her screens. Although many Art Deco artists looked to exotic cultures for inspiration, few suceeded so well as Gray with this sofa, inspired by the Polynesian dugout canoes (canoes made from a single tree).

Below is an image of Gray's apartment in the Rue de Lota in Paris. Can't you just see a beautiful woman in a silky, slinky dress draped across it? She wouldn't be doing anything--woman like her never do, you know--but she would look gorgeous.

avant

The presentation I nearly slept through touched on the 1925 Paris Exposition of Decorative Arts (the one that gave "Art Deco" its name), and I learned something new about it. The main rule of the Expo (and the reason why the US didn't participate) was that all pieces exhibited be utterly avant-garde, entirely new and uninspired by past movements. Original ideas can be pretty tough to find, especially when you're swimming in a pool full of so much history. Well, the folks back then managed pretty well and--whaddaya know--we're not doing too badly these days, either. Here are two ideas which caught my eye and imagination today:

There are books which tell stories, and then there are books which tell stories.Clever, clever, clever. From artist Nina Katchadourian via Jo (who--I swear--sees all there is to see on the internet).

Check out the play on negative space in the 2007 piece by Jaren Goh Designs featured at the 2008 Milan Furniture Fair in the Nhow Milano. Via an Oh Joy! post which has since disappeared (it's back!). Any piece of furniture that makes me look twice at it is a winner in my book!

Adams love, love, love

So I've been spending a lot of time at the Library of Congress lately. It's an incredible resource, not to mention a beautiful place. The LOC has three buildings: the Jefferson, the Adams, and the Madison. The Jefferson is the oldest (1897) and most overtly impressive of the three. With the Great Hall and the gorgeous dome in the Main Reading Room, it is by far the tourist hotspot. The Madison is the most recent of the three, it opened in 1976. The building looks rather boxy and plain until you stand directly in front of the main door.

But my favourite, oh, my favourite is the Adams Building (see top photo). Completed in 1939, this baby is aaaaaaall Deco.

from Dan_DCabove two images from pixelmasseuse (who's also got many other great shots of DC and area events)

Unfortunately for me, the Main Reading Room is where all of my resources are located these days, so I have to make special trips to the Adams. I don't mind, though. It is so worth it.

Images, except for those marked otherwise, were found via the LOC Prints and Photographs catalog. Photographer credit was not given.