Yesterday's art today
September 12The MFA advertises their Art Deco exhibit as a "sleek, sexy, modern" exhibition. The ad campaign is somewhat misleading though, since the pieces on display were created at the turn of the century. The entrance to the exhibit winds through endless hallways of priceless objects from far-off places, all of which have had boundless influence on the art deco pieces at the exhibition. Art deco, formerly Arts Decoratifs, came to prominence at the 1925 World's Fair in Paris. The art form provided a great escape from the hardships that ensued after the first World War. The style's use of new, foreign materials responded to the people's need for novelty until the austerity of World War II brought art deco to an end. Art deco incorporated movements as diverse as cubism and Russian constructivism. Artists in the movement favored abstract geometric shapes and bright colors to mirror the rapidly changing world of technology and commerce between World War I and World War II. The movement drew upon influences from around the globe to add to its momentum. One piece, "Dancing Maenad," by Carl Miles, a Greek inspired effort from 1912, seemed to have been crafted centuries ago, but merely decades old. The "Maenad" swims before her onlooker, a strong, curvy woman caught in the middle of her crazy dance. Turning around, one is confronted with a disturbing image; it appears as if a page from a Magic Eye book has been blown up and printed onto a piece of fabric. The fabric, designed by Maurice Dufrene in 1927, contains pinks, silvers, and greens reminiscent of colors from Madonna's "Material Girl" phase. Dufrene's use of geometric shape-laden furnishing fabric earned him enough prestige to eventually have it hung in the MFA. Not bad for wallpaper. Seeing as houses can't be furnished with just wallpaper, Jacques-Emile Ruhlmann gives us "Lotus," an elegant dressing table with ivory inlays whose unparalleled shine and scuff-less surface are enough to make even a sneeze a liability. Working around the room, you will find a 1936 Fisk Radiolette and a 1928 clock created by Jean Goulden. With the exotic Greek enamels gracing its surface, the clock is only a slight departure from the work produced in Picasso and Braque's cubist movement. Imagery of technological and architectural progress inundates the exhibit; posters of planes and ships speeding through open water with vibrant colors and the shockingly modern print of their words are enough to give the century a second wind. The poster for the "New York World's Fair/ The World of Tomorrow" that follows in this theme won first prize in 1939 for its striking depictions of modernity; yellow beams of light contrast with an ink-blue sky as they shoot into the abyss, belittling their neighboring skyscrapers. As patrons file past mere models of buildings that dominate the world today, such as Rockefeller center, it's clear how much of the present relies on the past. The exhibit is divided according to geographical region. It's clear that no style is bound within its country's borders. It's also clear just how vital past influences are to the present. As museum-goers pass the exit sign with its sleek chrome finish and its vibrant and bold inlays, it will become clear that the line between the work of yesteryear and the work of today blur at the MFA's exhibit.Noah Rosenberg contributed to this article.
