Category Archives: Film

Freakin’ Tiquen’ Summer 2015 – Off to Brimfield and Beyond!

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This is the tenth anniversary of what Chris and I call a “Freakin’ Tiquen” summer antiquing excursion. Our first one was back in 2005 when we hit the road to Kentucky and Ohio. Since then, we have explored Indiana, Canada, Michigan and Texas. Now we are off to New England and for the first time the Brimfield Antique Show in Brimfield, Massachusetts. For this trip, we are hoping to give daily updates of our “Freakin’ Tiquen'” adventures and  Art Deco finds.

 

An aerial photo of the Brimfield Antique Show and Flea Market.

An aerial photo of the Brimfield Antique Show and Flea Market.

 

To get in the Art Deco frame of mind and get some inspiration for the trip, Chris and I went to see a screening of Ernst Lubitsch’s 1932 sparkling comedy Trouble in Paradise, starring Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis and Herbert Marshall. The fantastic art direction was by Hans Dreier (1885-1966), the set that he created for Madam Colet’s (Kay Francis) is one of the best examples of the Moderne style of the early 1930’s, seen in any film. Here are some frame grabs of that set.

 

The staircase of the main set, with a wonderful glass and chrome chandelier and a copy of panel 2 of the Jean Dupas (1882-1964) paint "La vigne et le vin".

The staircase of the main set, with a wonderful glass and chrome chandelier and a copy of panel 2 of the Jean Dupas (1882-1964) painting “La vigne et le vin”.

 

Madame Colet's home office featuring a great Art Deco desk and a Kem Weber (1889 -1963) chair.

Madame Colet’s home office featuring a great Art Deco desk and a KEM Weber (1889 -1963) chair.

 

Here are the some of the clocks that are featured in the film:

 

Chic table clock.

Chic table clock.

 

Quintessential Art Deco Clock.

Quintessential Art Deco Clock.

 

A wonderful grandfather clock in the Moderne style.

A wonderful grandfather clock in the Moderne style.

 

Gaston Monescu's (Herbert Marshall) office in the Colet home. Great Art Deco telephone and ceramic table sculpture.

Gaston Monescu’s (Herbert Marshall) office in the Colet home. Great Art Deco telephone and ceramic table sculpture.

 

With this as a kick off we can’t wait to see what we find at Brimfield and beyond on our “Freakin’ Tiquen'” road trip.

 

Chris and Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys).

 

Art Deco meets Italian Futurism – The Art Direction of

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Main Title

March 5th, marks the 88th anniversary of the opening of Fritz Lang’s classic film Metropolis, at the Rialto Theatre in New York City. This version differed greatly from the film that opened in Berlin, Germany in January, 1927. Because of a distribution deal Ufa made with Paramount and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the American studios could edit the Ufa films any way they saw fit. Paramount, distributed Metropolis in North America, cut the film by a half an hour and rearranged scenes, making the plot incomprehensible. While this version was not a critical success dramatically, what did impress most critics was the art direction, which utilized design themes so modern, it was almost considered avant-garde.

The machine room, where the influence of Italian Futurist architecture is easily seen.

The machine room, where the influence of Italian Futurist architecture is easily seen.

Otto Hunte (1881 – 1960), Erich Kettelhut (1893 – 1979) and Karl Vollbrecht (1886 – 1973) were the team of art directors that created the look of the dystopian city. These three men had collaborated for the first time on the Fritz Lang film The Indian Tomb (1921) and would continue as art directors on Lang’s Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) and Die Nibelungen (1924). For Metropolis, the futuristic appearance of the city was heavily influenced by two current art movements, Modern or Modernistic (now known as Art Deco), which had just be given a massive kick off party at the 1925 Paris Exposition, and the more established Italian Futurism. To learn more about Futurism click on the links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Futurist_architecture

 

Here are a couple of videos about the Futurism exhibition held at the Guggenheim Museum in 2014.

And this one from The Economist –

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1hRcuvFK4iQ

 

Below are images of the city, where Futurist inspiration is clearly evident –

The film’s opening montage, is seeing a Futurist painting come to life –

Metropolis - 1927

The interior sets reflect 1920’s Modernistic design trends.

And the most spectacular of the interiors – the Yoshiwara night club.

Metropolis, was one of the first films to employ Art Deco designs. If it does not seem so avant-garde to us in the 21st Century, it’s because we’ve had almost 90 years to catch up to it.

 

Anthony