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Modern America
Modern America Style Qualities
- Clean, Sleek, Futuristic, Abstract, Angular
- Out with the Old, In with the New
- "Form, which should be the clean-cut expression of mechanical excellence, has become sensuous and organic." - Raymond Loewy, Industrial Designer
Houses
The Modernistic style made its world debut in Paris at the influential 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes (the term "Art Deco" would not be coined until 1966). This fresh and radical style embodied a completely new, forward-looking aesthetic, liberated from all historical precedent.
Inspired by modern industry and emblems of its power and advance — skyscrapers, factories, airplanes, steamships — le style moderne swept America in the late 1920s and '30s, evolving into trends like Streamline Moderne, Machine Age, and eventually Mid-century or International Modern.
Light Fixtures
This collection ranges from Art Deco to Streamline Moderne, both of which are quintessentially cool and sleek. The fixtures have distinctly decorative flourishes, but with a kind of machine-like, geometric grace.
How does it feel?
Intricate but not fussy, like a well-oiled machine. A celebration of beauty, technology, and craft all at once.
Where does it come from?
This period begins in the late 1920s. The Great Depression hadn't happened yet, and there was a popular feeling of prosperity and optimism. Electricity was becoming less expensive, more reliable, and widely available. All of these events signaled a kind of break with the past, and an enthusiasm for completely new ideas.
