Art Deco of the Palm Beaches
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About this ebook
Sharon Koskoff
Author Sharon Koskoff is the founding president of the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2007. A full-time mural artist, designer, and preservationist, Koskoff enjoys creating large-scale, community oriented art in public places. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, and moved to Delray Beach, Florida, in 1985.
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Reviews for Art Deco of the Palm Beaches
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- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sharon Koskoff, Queen of Art Deco of the Palm Beaches, has produced the best collection of Art Deco Architecture of the Palm Beaches. Historically accurate, beautifully presented. A must in any book collection of anyone interested in local history.
Book preview
Art Deco of the Palm Beaches - Sharon Koskoff
www.BySharon.com.
INTRODUCTION
Art Deco of the Palm Beaches is about Modernism and the beginnings of Twentieth Century design. Art is a reflection of society, and in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s, the world put aside conventional values and supported new ideologies. Traditional forms of art, architecture, and social organization were swept away. Art Deco was a revolt against the feminine, flowery, and curvaceous Art Nouveau movement. In the 1890s, soft, fluid forms found in nature were typified with voluptuous women draped in long flowing hair entwined with vines of ivy. The emancipating Jazz Age now featured images of thin women with boyish
bodies and bobbed
haircuts, drinking martinis and posing with elongated cigarette holders.
The mechanized age of Modernism gave way to new aesthetics and an improved way of making things. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, all objects were made by hand. Mass production efforts tried to recreate one-of-a-kind items but failed. However, the machine could do something the hand could not do—make a straight line. Art Deco unfolded as a masculine, hard-edge, geometrical linear
celebration. Designers looked back into all of art history and studied the forms of Aztec, Mayan, Japanese, and other geometrically styled cultures. Howard Carter discovered King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1922, which contributed to the popularity of Egyptian motifs, pyramids, and using groups of three in design.
In the early 20th century, jewelry, ceramics, fashion, furniture, lighting, and everything from automobiles to radios were under the influence of the new wave called Modernism. Visual artists from Picasso to Mondrian experimented with straight lines, angles, and the geometry of Cubism. Travel was popular, and African safaris brought jungle skins into the home. Fast animals associated with speed such as the gazelle, jaguar, and whippet were reflected in design. Stylized images of airplanes, automobiles, cruise liners, and skyscrapers emerged. The French ocean liner the Normandie was launched in 1932 as the largest and fastest ship in the world. The glamorous silver screen days of Hollywood dazzled audiences with stars like Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Marlene Dietrich, and Greta Garbo.
The term Art Deco was first coined in November 1966 by Hilary Gelson in the Times (London) as the United States was experiencing a reemergence of the streamlined style. It was made popular by Bevis Hillier in 1968, when he wrote Art Deco of the 20s and 30s, published by Studio Vista. Art Deco was taken from the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in 1925. Art Deco became a catch-all phrase for everything that was designed or built from 1925 until 1939. The outbreak of World War II required the halt of frivolity, and all manufacturing was concentrated on the war machine.
Architecturally there is a myriad of styles categorized under the umbrella of Art Deco. All of these styles have their own unique qualities, although the names are often interchanged. These include Art Moderne, German Bauhaus, Depression Moderne, International Style, Jazz Age, Machine Age, Moderne, Moorish Deco, Nautical Deco, Neoclassical, Pueblo Deco, Roaring Twenties, Streamline Moderne, Tropical Deco, Zig-Zag, and more.
The majority of modern architecture found in South Florida is actually Streamline Moderne. Art Deco has a vertical orientation with emphasis on applied decoration, while Streamline Moderne concentrates on the horizontal and the absence of man’s idiosyncratic
embellishments. A fascination with speed combined with South Florida’s water-based environment left an aerodynamic and nautical imprint on the architecture. Eyebrows,
flat linear planes that look like shelves placed over windows, are elements indigenous of South Florida architecture. Rounded corners, racing stripes, flat roofs, bandings, eyebrows, portholes, and stepped pediments are also emphasized throughout Palm Beach County.
Europe is rich with history, and its buildings have lasted for several centuries. However, in South Florida, the oldest existing structures are less than 100 years old. The exceptional styles of Modernism have been discovered all through the county. If these treasures are to be forgotten, a wealth of history and a vital connection to the past will be lost forever. Therefore, it is essential that the Art Deco heritage of Palm Beach County be protected, preserved, and allowed to continue to flourish into the future.
On January 16, 1992, the Art Deco Society of the Palm Beaches held a gala fund-raiser at the historic Lake Worth Playhouse. Members fashioned in Roaring Twenties attire are, from left to right, Loretta Smith (special events), Mark Smith (vice president), Sharon Koskoff (president), Tony Crosby, and Amy Clyman (secretary). The Dazzling Decadent Dessert Bar followed a special benefit performance of Painting Churches, coordinated by Jan Engelhardt (playhouse manager).
One
ART DECO ARTS
BUILDINGS (COUNTYWIDE)
Palm Beach County has hundreds of Art Deco buildings located in the older downtown sections of its cities. The largest and most treasured jewels house important not-for-profit visual and performing arts institutions. The county’s Art Deco heritage lives on through these significant arts organizations and their respected patrons.
The Boyd Building, the Norton Gallery and School of Art (Norton Museum of Art), the Oakley Theatre (Lake Worth Playhouse), Palm Beach High School (Alexander W. Dreyfoos Jr. High School of the Arts), and the Prince Theatre were built as arts organizations and continue operating within their intended arts purpose. Other arts facilities are what preservationists call an adaptive reuse,
where a historic building is renovated and restored for a new purpose. These include the Florida Theatre (Cuillo Centre for the Performing Arts), the Old West Palm Beach National Guard Armory (Armory Art Center), the Lake Avenue Theatre (Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art), and the Martin County Courthouse (Martin County Council of the Arts).
Many venues may have changed their name, color, signage, or mission, while others have expanded campuses with new additions. However, all of the structures maintain their historical integrity and continue to keep the Art
in Art Deco.
Art Deco design strips away classical elements of architecture, leaving lettering and relief as ornamentation. Mythological characters are frequently seen in modern design to