Sydney Art Deco / Peter Sheridan
Published: April 2019
ISBN: 9780992389666
Pages: 432
Publisher: Bakelite
Dimensions (cm): 30.0 x 24.5
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For the first
time, Sydney’s Art Deco buildings of the 1930s and 1940s are identified
and gloriously displayed with contemporary photographs alongside
archival images.
Sydney Art Deco explores the impact of the Art Deco style on the
landscape and life of Sydney during the 1930s and 1940s. Using
contemporary and archival photos the book covers the whole gamut of
moderne, functionalist and streamlined styling in the architecture of
Sydney during the 1930s and 1940s. Art Deco was a global style and Sydney Art Deco explores its impact on the lifestyle of Sydneysiders with a glimpse of Australian artwork, fashion, furniture and accessories.
The time of Art Deco was a brief hiatus between two World Wars and
compounded by the devastating effects of the Great Depression. Life was
not always glamorous but in many ways the style ushered in a new sense
of freedom for people from the Victorian era’s restrictions of class and
attachment to tradition. New technology, mass production and the
machine age brought a promise of a new future and industrial design with
new materials made affordable and stylish goods available to the whole
community. Sydney was still steadfastly British in the 1930s but the
international style of Art Deco made its mark in Sydney. The city is
graced with some beautiful architectural examples which can be seen in Sydney Art Deco and which should be appreciated and maintained as part of Sydney’s built heritage.
About the Author
Peter Sheridan has served as director of the Abbey Theater, the Irish
Arts Center, and the Irish Repertory Theater in New York, and the Los
Angeles Theater Center. He lives in Dublin, Ireland.