Des Plaines History Center presents Coffee Talk lecture on the history of Art Deco
The Des Plaines History Center will present a Coffee Talk program on Thursday, Aug. 8, at 781 Pearson St., Des Plaines. The program begins at 1:30 p.m. Design historian Serena Washington will discuss the current exhibition at the Des Plaines History Center, “Deco in Des Plaines: An International Style in Everyday Life,” in conjunction with her master’s thesis research on the influence of fashion illustration during the Art Deco period, from 1910-1939.
The transition within the decorative arts from the ornate Art Nouveau style to the more popular Art Deco changed the role of art both in how apparent it became in everyday life, as well as the very definition of what kinds of objects could be considered art. While fashion illustrations in the Art Deco period employed expensive techniques of hand-colored illustrations, they used methods typically employed for everyday objects such as posters and playing cards. The renowned French fashion journal La Gazette du Bon Ton employed professionally trained artists to create hand-colored fashion plates in each issue. The images showed modern men and women wearing new fashions, and the illustrations towed the line between Art Nouveau’s ornate, natural motifs and the new, streamlined style of Art Deco.
French fashion designers, such as Paul Poiret, did not stop at creating new clothing, but also made modern decorative objects for the home in the same styles as the modern garments. Poiret even helped create the 1925 Parisian Exposition des Arts Decoratif et Industriels Moderne, from which the name “Art Deco” is derived. This exposition showcased new technology for modern living as well as new forms of architecture, art, fashion, and decorative objects for the home. The graphic arts, housewares and fashion all worked together to create a new definition of modernity that began in Art Nouveau and ended in the simplified, sleek, and modern Art Deco.
Serena Washington is a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, who specializes in early 20th century history of fashion and decorative arts. Her most recent work is a master’s thesis, entitled “The Gazette du Bon Ton and the 1915 War Issue: Aligning Art and Commerce Through Fashion Illustration,” examines the French and American editions of the most prestigious fashion magazine of the early 20th century’s special war publication. Washington has lectured on topics such as the history of 19th century corsets, on the influence of fine art on early couturier Paul Poiret, and on early images of women’s trousers in the 1920s. Washington earned her bachelor’s degree from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md., in 2007, in philosophy and the history of math and science. She will receive her master’s degree in art history in August, 2013.
Coffee, tea, and cookies will be served prior to the program. A suggested donation of $3 will help support the History Center and its programs. For more information, please contact the Des Plaines History Center at (847) 391-5399.
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