Art Deco: A multicultural movement

There is a reason why the Parisians of the early 20th century were called avant-garde. Consider our recent wave of "multiculturalism," an idea to which the fast-paced world of Art Deco beat us by almost a century. In the year 2000, we embrace Latin music and chai tea. In the early 1900s, Paris was the international hub of high style, blending the exotic imports of the Orient with the seduction of the tango and the rhythm of the Harlem Renaissance.

The latest exhibit of Firestone library's Graphic Arts Collection, titled "Art Deco Paris: 1900-1925," captures all the excitement of that time in an elegant display of pochoir prints with undertones of Russian, Persian, Japanese and Latin American cultures, among others.

Pochoir, a method of applying color to prints using cutout stencils, dates back to the 15th century, when artists used stencils for cheaper, easier reproduction of wood-cut prints and playing cards. But as curator Dale Roylance pointed out, "Pochoir truly hit its stride in the 1920s," after French artists realized its potential for refinement at the end of the 19th century.

The exhibit traces the evolution of the pochoir print from its origin in the Middle Ages through its Japanese and Art Nouveau incarnations, with exquisite katagami stencils and delightful woodcut prints.

"Art Deco Paris" is divided into seven sections that cover the major themes of Art Deco pochoir prints, examining different spheres of influence and ramifications of the period.

As the center of artistic activity at the time, Paris was host to many touring shows. Two shows that had an enormous impact on the art of the time were Diaghilev's "Les Ballets Russes," and "La Revue Nègre" out of Harlem.

Costume and set designer Leon Bakst of "Les Ballets Russes" tinged Parisian fashion with new hues of malachite, turquoise and rich red, and also introduced feathers, harem skirts and his signature gold turbans.

"La Revue Nègre" was an exotic jazz performance, featuring stars like Josephine Baker. Many pochoir impressions were made of Ms. Baker, who "proved [to the French] for the first time that black was beautiful," according to contemporary journalist Janet Flanner.

Women's presence was also strongly felt in society during the early 1920s. The suffragette movement and the subsequent gain of the vote were especially prominent, and pochoir images of women releasing caged birds are emblematic of this historic movement.

The gradual abstraction of Art Deco into Modern Art is visible in the collection, especially in the work of Man Ray and Fernand Leger. Man Ray's popular abstract folio "Revolving Doors" is on display, in addition to Leger's foray into Cubism in response to 20th-century machinery.

The presentation of "Art Deco Paris" is elegant and easy to follow, and conveys the essence of an exciting time in European art history. Many of the prints are plates from contemporary books or magazines, particularly the fashion journals Modes et manières d'aujourd'hui and La gazette du bon ton, predecessors of today's fashion magazines like Vogue and W.

Most of the pieces are by the fashion artist George Barbier, whose flat figures and elaborate curlicue detail typify Art Deco style. Examples of Picasso's and Matisse's experimentation in pochoir are also on display, most notably Matisse's rare and desirable folio, "Jazz," developed from his splashy cutouts.

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The prints are part of the permanent collection of the late Charles Rahn Fry '65, an avid collector of pochoir prints whose interest in art deco was piqued during his time as an undergraduate. Roylance, who put this show together in Fry's memory, hopes that exposure to fine art might spark the interest of future collectors among undergraduates.

"If you just look above the first story of buildings in New York City, you'll see evidence of Art Deco everywhere," Roylance said.

It's that easy in Firestone library, too. The Milberg Gallery, home of the "Art Deco Paris" collection, is on the second story above the Rare Books Exhibition Gallery. If you take the elevator up just one floor, you'll be transported to the glamorous world of 1920s Paris. And you can walk away knowing you've had a truly multicultural experience.

"Art Deco Paris, 1900-1925: Pouchoir Prints from the Graphic Arts Collection" is showing at the Milberg Gallery in Firestone library through April 8.