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Show Notes
Art Deco is an art and design style relevant from the 1920s to 1930s that is best characterized by its use of metallic colors, geometric patterns, futuristic forms, and references to ancient civilizations. It is the most celebrated of all of the design styles that can be grouped under Interwar Modernism, but what makes it so popular? On this week’s episode of Silent Generation, Nathan and Sebastien begin by charting Art Deco’s emergence in France to its eventual dissemination at the 1925 International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris. They then detail two Art Deco skyscrapers (the Carbide & Carbon Building and the Guardian Building) before delving into a conversation about Art Deco and American identity. The episode rounds out with an analysis of Art Deco in three pieces of media: Bioshock (2007), Nightmare Alley (2021), and Metropolis (1927).
Links:
Art Deco Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/silentgeneration/art-deco/
Art Deco of the 20s and 30s by Bevis Hillier (1968)
Art Deco Architecture: Everything You Need to Know as the Style Turns 100 by By Katherine McLaughlin and Elizabeth Stamp
Art Deco: Everything You Wanted to Know
Ep. 110: Consumer Aesthetics Research Podcast w/ Evan Collins
The History of The Guardian Building: An Art Deco Landmark
Lobby murals at Buffalo City Hall
Bioshock (2007)
Nightmare Alley (2021)
Metropolis (1927)
Artwork:
The "Spirit of Light" sculpture on the Niagara Mohawk Building in Syracuse, NY
Recorded on 3/16/2026