Deco Dandy - (Studies in Design and Material Culture) by John Potvin (Paperback)

About the Book

This book productively contests the supposedly exclusive feminine aspect of the style moderne (Art Deco). Through a sustained focus on the figure of the dandy, the books claims an essential role and place of the male body and masculinity in the history of Art Deco.

Book Synopsis

Deco dandy contests the supposedly exclusive feminine aspect of the style moderne (art deco) by exploring how alternative, parallel and overlapping experiences of decorative modernism, nationalism, gender and sexuality in the years surrounding World War I converge in the protean figure of the 'deco dandy'. The book suggests a broader view of art deco by claiming a greater place for the male body, masculinity and the dandy in this history than has been given to date. Important and productive moments in the history of the cultural life of Paris presented in the book provide insights into the changing role performed by consumerism, masculinity, design history and national identity.

From the Back Cover

This book offers a new perspective on the style moderne (art deco). Challenging the dominant focus on the style's feminine aspects, it explores how alternative experiences and expressions of decorative modernism, nationalism, gender and sexuality converge in the protean figure of the 'deco dandy'.

The book demonstrates that designed products and representations of and for the dandy existed within and outside of normative expectations of gender and sexuality, complicating men's relationship to consumer culture and the moderne. It suggests a broader view of art deco by claiming a greater place for the male body and masculinity in this history than has been given to date. The mass appeal of the dandy in the 1920s allowed for the re-deployment of an iconic, popular and well-known typology as a means to stimulate national industries, engendering a desire for all things made in France. The book therefore presents moments in the history of Parisian cultural life that are instructive of the changing role performed by consumerism, masculinity, design history and national identity.

Richly illustrated with over 110 colour and black and white images, Deco dandy is a ground-breaking study that corrects the assumptions and biases that have dominated scholarship on and popular perceptions of art deco. It will be of interests to students and scholars of design history, fashion and gender and sexuality studies.

Review Quotes

'Beautifully produced and elegantly written, to say Deco Dandy is an important book is an understatement. It is an instant classic.'
Joseph McBrinn, Journal of Design History

'Copiously illustrated, Potvin's six chapters allow us to observe how the films of L'Herbier, the paintings of Dardel, and the dances of Börlin, along with the pages of Monsieur and a few other journals of the time, disseminated a fascinating array of images that register overlapping notions of modern style, movement, interior design, sartorial elegance, masculinity, effeminacy, androgyny, and same-sex eroticism...'
Michael Lucey, French Studies

'A truly important book about a critically formative period in modern times, this book is highly recommended.'
Sun News Tucson

About the Author

John Potvin is Professor of Art History at Concordia University, Montreal