Inexplicably, as a disgruntled teenager growing up in Melbourne, I found myself going with my mother and sister to see the aptly named Neverending Story at the Capitol Theatre cinema. The whole experience is only memorable because the ceiling of the film theatre was, and still is, an architectural marvel, decorated inch by inch with geometrical stalactites lit up from behind with multicoloured changing lights.
It was the '80s, enough said, and entering the theatre awakened my senses to the possibility that Art Deco, at least, could transport me to a time when real glamour still existed. The theatre was designed by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. It opened in 1924 and is still considered the finest interior design work of the era.
It comes as no surprise that Art Deco holds such fascination even today and there are fine examples of the style all around Melbourne's CBD and other cities.
Now, aficionados also have the chance to view exquisite objects from both public and private collections as part of the newly opened Art Deco 1910–1939 exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria.
NGV Director Gerard Vaughan said the exhibition will highlight the impact of Art Deco with over 300 works on display.
"Glamorous, consciously modern, vibrant and often exotic, Art Deco is widely considered the most popular artistic style of the 20th century," Dr Vaughan said. "It is the style that took the world by storm."
Art Deco made its formal debut at the 1925 Paris Exposition Internationale and was the name given to the 20th century style that came to worldwide prominence in the inter-war years. It has since influenced everything from jewellery to industrial design, architecture and advertising.
"This exhibition is the first to explore Art Deco as a global phenomenon, which affected cities as far apart as Paris, New York, Bombay, Shanghai and of course, Melbourne," said Dr Vaughan.
Key highlights of the exhibition include precious Deco jewels from Cartier's collections, exquisite fashion by Chanel, the Cord – a pristine vintage vehicle of the period – and special sections exploring the spread of Deco across the world.
The foyer of the Strand Palace Hotel from London's West End, rescued by London's Victoria & Albert Museum during the demolition of the foyer space in 1969, is also gloriously restored and lit up on display.
What stands out most is not just the workmanship of the objects, but also the unusual combinations of materials.
Diamonds are combined into a necklace to full effect with onyx, pearls, jade and emeralds on a simple cotton cord. There is the chair covered with ray skin. And even in the mass-produced objects, such as the velvety aluminium meat cutter or the bakelite AWA Empire State Radio, the plastic nature of the material is showcased to full effect.
,h3>The exhibition also throws light on the influences of the style.
There was a new generation of French designers whose motto was: "No modernity without tradition and no tradition without modernity." But Art Deco designers drew inspiration from many sources, including Greece, Africa, Japan, China and, of course, Egypt. The discovery of the King Tutankhamen tomb in 1922 received worldwide press coverage and influenced not only jewellery design, but also, curiously, fashion design with the "mummy wrap" coat that was popular at the time.
The exhibition explores the ancient and exotic, the avant-garde and national traditions.
It may just spark of revival in not just Art Deco, but all things glamorous. For if nothing else, Art Deco delivered glamour to the masses like no other movement before it.
ART DECO: 1910-1939 is on at the National Gallery of Victoria until October 5. www.ngv.vic.gov.au
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