Art deco tops series opener
By Julie Rausch
An art deco lecture and tour opens the School of Art and Design’s Art and Architecture Series on Saturday, Sept. 30.
The 1:30 p.m. lecture in 107 Devlin Hall will be followed by a self-driven caravan tour of local art deco buildings listed on maps provided by presenter Jim Hellman, associate professor of graphic design.
Hellman will show slides he has taken in Wichita, Salina and Tulsa of original art deco structures built between 1925-1941. The style is identified by its ornamental characteristics, which were expensive to construct due to the custom designs.
"The big thing is use of geometry and repeating step patterns in the structures," says Hellman. Examples of art deco buildings in Wichita are the Sedgwick County Courthouse, North High School and the Petroleum Building.
Awareness of art deco spread after a Paris exposition in 1925 when people from around the world were invited to show their decorative arts including fashions, furniture and kitchen wares.
Although the United State was not a participant in the Paris show, it eventually became a premier establisher of a particular art deco style, Hellman says.
"Art deco was a style of hope," Hellman says. "The art deco style became very popular in the United States during the Depression. In the Midwest Dust Bowl days, it became kind of a symbol that we were going to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps by industry and that we could solve our problems."
A listing of Web sites with art deco visuals, descriptions and virtual tours will be provided as part of the lecture.
Other events in the Art and Architecture Series, all beginning at 1:30 p.m., are the William Bailey lecture Saturday, Oct. 21, and the "Architecture as Frozen Music Symposium," Saturday Feb. 17, in 107 Devlin Hall. The "Alternative Art Lecture" will be Saturday, March 31, in 210 McKnight.
A bonus event, not included in the subscription series, will be the Sacred Art and Architecture in Kansas Tour April 20-22. The chartered bus tour has limited seating and is already half full. Tour sites include the Lester Raymer Studio in Lindsborg and parish churches in Pfiefer, Munjor, Walker, Catherine and the Garden of Eden in Lucas. For information or registration about this tour, call Linda Doll at the Edwin A. Ulrich Museum of Art, 978-6856.
Call 978-3233 for reserved tickets. Prices start at $7 with discounts for the WSU community.
Art and Architecture Series comprises four events. Tickets are $30 for the general public; $20 for senior citizens, students, faculty/staff, military with ID; $10 for WSU students with Shocker ID.
