Art Deco Mirrors -- The Best of Art Deco

In my continued exploration of the art deco movement, I've come across something really cool, art deco mirrors. For those of you unfamiliar with art deco, it was an international movement that began in 1925 and lasted until 1939, and its main emphasis was on geometric shapes and styalized patterns. And being a guy with little or no design taste, and a very simple sense of style, geometry and symmetry of form definitely hit the spot. Art deco mirrors are awesome because they're simple, yet complex. They appeal to that rigid sense of geometric excellence and beauty that's been somewhat lost in our modern age of art.  For more on that subject, check out my other hub Art Deco Bedroom Furniture.  Let's get back to art deco mirrors. I have some examples of my favorite art deco mirrors below.

I think I've finally figured out why I like art deco so much and art deco mirrors. In the modern world of art, everything is so unbalanced and up to personal taste. Post modern art is all about individual expression of form and shock value. People want to do something unexpected, something unique, pouring their heart and soul into their work even when the end result isn't always intelligible to the outside observer. I think, because I've seen so much post modern art, art deco is a refreshing form, something with well defined areas and geometric shapes. Just take a look at the different art deco mirrors to the right. Each of them has perfect symmetry of form and nothing is unpredictable or out of the ordinary. The art deco mirrors utilize the flare of vibrant colors, but it's always under control. Even the most stylized mirror, like the second one pictured, still has a mostly symmetrical form.

It's funny, I think I like art deco for the very same reason that I like more classical forms of poetry. I gravitate toward symmetry, I like when things follow well defined patterns. Free verse poetry is beautiful when done well, but so often it's done poorly. As a reaction to reading so much bad free verse poetry, I've come to very much enjoy the more classical forms of poetry because of the rigidity of the form. I know I'm a rarity though.

But back to art deco. Art deco mirrors are generally built with multiple mirror panes. This is not always the case, as you can see from the pictures. Often, art deco mirrors have a centralized mirror, which is then surrounded by stained glass, leather, or some other kind of fabric. Art deco, while being known for its geometric uses, is also generally known for its vibrance of colors. Many of the examples to the right use a wide variety of vibrant colors, but they do it in a controlled and symmetrical manner, which is why I have designated them with the term "flare under control". Colorful things often get out of control quickly, especially when there isn't any symmetry involved and the colors appear somewhat random. But even the most colorful mirror, the stained glass wall mirror, still has great symmetry in its form.

There are a lot of really good resources in the field of art deco mirrors. Art deco, as an artform, is beginning to re-emerge in modern society, and many new handmade crafts are starting to hit the market. My favorite place for anything art deco, especially art deco mirrors is Etsy.com. This link will take you to a special querry on Etsy for art deco mirrors. The second picture to the right is my favorite art deco mirror from etsy. They're all handmade and look really cool. Check them out. Hope you enjoy.