Rachael, Joe H., and Joe M. chat with us about the dark deco cartoon classic.
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Episode 9: Batman: The Animated Series
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A podcast exploring the nerdy, geeky, and dorky side of pop culture
with Pete the Retailer & El Adam
A podcast exploring the nerdy, geeky, and dorky side of pop culture
with Pete the Retailer & El Adam
Click here to download
Nice podcast, folks, very comprehensive…but there\’s one thing that irked me: the style of Batman:TAS is not art deco, it is noir. Art deco, besides being primarily an architectural style, denotes strong vertical lines interspersed with horizontal indicators and scalloped edges and patterns. Otherwise, great \’cast!
Gentlemen, since leaving the previous comment, I have learned that the art style applied to Batman: TAS is known as “Dark Deco,” a term I have never heard and one which you may have been using during the podcast (frankly, I haven’t gone back to double-check.) While I still don’t think there’s much “Deco” about Batman: TAS, it is merely nomenclature, and if everyone agrees that the art style on Batman: TAS is called “Dark Deco,” then I’m not going to buck the trend. So if you fellows were, indeed, calling it Dark Deco, then I apologize. Even if you weren’t, (erroneously) saying the art style for the cartoon is Art Deco didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the podcast. Mea culpa!
I appreciate the fact that you brought it up, and then came back with further information on the topic. I will make sure to use the term “Dark Deco” when talking about my beloved Batman: TAS from now on.
I think the best way to begin a discussion of Art Deco is to coarntst it with Art Nouveau. In its simplicity and modernity it was a conscious reaction against Art Nouveau; however, in its elegance and its appeal to an affluent and elitist vision of the world, in effect it carries forward and heightens the impact of Art Nouveau. For examples, see the glass work of Tiffany, then Lalique. A good beginning point to study this coarntst is the essay of Richard Whitehouse, Art Nouveau to Art Deco. [1]Of course, you may want to read a simple, general history like that in the wikipedia article on Art Deco, but if I were you, I would go directly to the exposition internationale des arts Decoratifs et industriels modernes (1925), which after all provided the name (arts Decoratifs=Art Deco) and an international focus on the movement. You might check out the article, from a magazine about world fairs. [2] Here’s a brief excerpt that captures the identiftying features of the movement: Art nouveau had favored a kind of sinuous grace in its lines – the grace of draped vines, or of the languid movements of exotic dancers. The Cubism of Braque, Gris, and Picasso, though, heralded a new taste for abrupt angularity. Translated in to the decorative arts of furniture, clothing, and architecture, this abruptness was smoothed into a sleekness of line that we now call streamlined. All that clearly distinguished the older ways of life was rigorously excluded from the exposition of 1925,’ wrote Waldemar George. The new style would be aggressively modern, taking its lead from the avant-garde in the other arts in expressing a new spirit of the age. Finally, for references to lots of specific artists in chronological order (and the study of actual artists is ultimately the only way to go), you may want to check out ArtCyclopedia [3]. The links to specific artists here will provide a beginning and suggest more directions than you probably have time to go. I would recommend especially Rene Lalique (glass maker), William Van Alen (architecture), Walter Teague (industrial design, e.g. cameras, autos, etc.), Paul Manship (sculptor), and Erte (painting).Good luck, and enjoy!