art deco'ed

>im a fan of architecture. something about buildings and construction as an art form just amazes me. it must be awesome to express one's self using such a HUGE CANVAS, with immense dimensions and considering a multitude of engineering details!

i just found out that south beach has the biggest concentration of art deco buildings in the world. and i just had to join the walking tour of the art deco district to appreciate this artistic movement.

"Art Deco was a popular international design movement from 1920 until 1939, affecting the decorative arts such as architecture, interior design, and industrial design, as well as the visual arts such as fashion, painting, the graphic arts, and film. This movement was, in a sense, an amalgam of many different styles and movements of the early 20th century, including Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, and Futurism. Its popularity peaked during the Roaring Twenties. Although many design movements have political or philosophical roots or intentions, Art Deco was purely decorative. At the time, this style was seen as elegant, functional, and ultra modern." Wikipedia

i thoroughly enjoyed the walking tour conducted by the Miami Design Preservation League, a foundation dedicated to preserving the artistic heritage of Miami, primarily through protecting the buildings. Scott, our gay tour guide (or at least i think he is), gave us an excellent overview of the art deco movement, mentioning by heart the prime movers, the design elements as well as the history of the preservation. it was wonderful just walking down mainly ocean drive as he pointed to examples of art deco, with plenty of trivia in between. (the birdcage movie with robin williams and nathan lane was shot in south beach with the Carlyle as their theatre restaurant!)



allow me a diversion. just found this scene hilarious...

another side note... dont hesitate to join tours if you travel. i had some reservations, too, but now, everytime i travel i manage to join a tour group. i know, i know, not a lot of you want to look like tourists or to feel like ducklings being herded by the tour coordinator BUT the value is in the information these trained tour guides give. seriously! i also joined the new york movie and tv shows tour and the tour guide was a part-time actress who had all these inside information. the wealth of information these people give actually pays for the tour. and on top of that, they show you first hand how to appreciate...

not a bad deal, right?