Introduction
Art Deco seems to be catered to the rich and upper class. Is Art Deco accessible only to the rich? Do the middle and lower classes get to enjoy Art Deco as well?
Summary
Even though a small percentage of the middle class may get to enjoy Art Deco, it is largely catered to the upper class. The upper-class status is commonly referred to the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth. Before I derived from this observation, I’ve referenced from a list of books and journals, namely The brilliance of Art Deco by Julian Robinson, Spectacles of Conspicuous Consumption: Picture Palaces, War Profiteers and the Social Dynamics of Moviegoing in the Netherlands by Van der Velden, André; Thissen, Judith, …show more content…
He stated that they realized most of their potential customers who can afford their products require a certain amount of fantasy, luxury and embellishment in order to fulfil their aesthetic dreams. I agree with Julian Robinson’s claim that it wasn’t just for the customers, it was a good reason for the designers to fulfil their own aesthetic dreams. These dreams being more real to the designers makes it more emotionally fulfilling for them to design and create their products. Hence, Robinson said, “it became the task of these designers to proclaim function as the determining factor of their new design forms, yet to be guided by other values when actually designing.” It was the beginning of the integration of functionality and creative form. Most middle and lower classes consumers were only able to afford functional goods for their needs while the upper class consumers were able to purchase goods that possess both function and aesthetics. However, the integration became less and less important. In the new twentieth century, the style of design achieved wider acceptance and started to progress into Art Deco, which is regarded as the “most influential, the most original, the most visually coherent, and the most aesthetically complete style of design created in this or the previous century.” (The brilliance of Art Deco, Pg 202, Julian Robinson) “Art Deco's signature clean, streamlined forms encourage the eye to glide along the smooth, uninterrupted outline of the design. The aerodynamic appearance of a streamlined design conveys a sense a movement. Commonly applied to ocean liners and automobiles, the sleek, modern forms allude not only to speed, but also to the consumerism of the period. Streamlined automobiles depicted in advertisements suggested power
Art Deco seems to be catered to the rich and upper class. Is Art Deco accessible only to the rich? Do the middle and lower classes get to enjoy Art Deco as well?
Summary
Even though a small percentage of the middle class may get to enjoy Art Deco, it is largely catered to the upper class. The upper-class status is commonly referred to the social position of one's family and not from one's own achievements or wealth. Before I derived from this observation, I’ve referenced from a list of books and journals, namely The brilliance of Art Deco by Julian Robinson, Spectacles of Conspicuous Consumption: Picture Palaces, War Profiteers and the Social Dynamics of Moviegoing in the Netherlands by Van der Velden, André; Thissen, Judith, …show more content…
He stated that they realized most of their potential customers who can afford their products require a certain amount of fantasy, luxury and embellishment in order to fulfil their aesthetic dreams. I agree with Julian Robinson’s claim that it wasn’t just for the customers, it was a good reason for the designers to fulfil their own aesthetic dreams. These dreams being more real to the designers makes it more emotionally fulfilling for them to design and create their products. Hence, Robinson said, “it became the task of these designers to proclaim function as the determining factor of their new design forms, yet to be guided by other values when actually designing.” It was the beginning of the integration of functionality and creative form. Most middle and lower classes consumers were only able to afford functional goods for their needs while the upper class consumers were able to purchase goods that possess both function and aesthetics. However, the integration became less and less important. In the new twentieth century, the style of design achieved wider acceptance and started to progress into Art Deco, which is regarded as the “most influential, the most original, the most visually coherent, and the most aesthetically complete style of design created in this or the previous century.” (The brilliance of Art Deco, Pg 202, Julian Robinson) “Art Deco's signature clean, streamlined forms encourage the eye to glide along the smooth, uninterrupted outline of the design. The aerodynamic appearance of a streamlined design conveys a sense a movement. Commonly applied to ocean liners and automobiles, the sleek, modern forms allude not only to speed, but also to the consumerism of the period. Streamlined automobiles depicted in advertisements suggested power