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The Central Library is a standout early example of Art Deco, the modernist style popular from the mid 1920s through the 1930s characterized by sleek, streamlined forms and geometric patterns including chevrons, triangles and sunburst motifs. Join former board chairman of the Art Deco Society of Los Angeles Marc Chevalier as he reveals the story of how Art Deco style, in its first golden age, truly arrived in the City of the Angels.
In the 1920s and '30s, Hollywood movies glittered with Art Deco sets and costumes. Film audiences took it for granted that L.A. had been a "Deco mecca" since the decorative style's debut in Paris but in fact the road to adoption here was a slow one, filled with creative genius, egotism, astonishing projects both open and hidden, and a self-aggrandizing lie which kept the truth buried for nearly 80 years.
Southern California historian Marc Chevalier researched, wrote and produduced The Oviatt Building, a 2008 documentary film about downtown L.A.'s first Art Deco skyscraper. In his research, Marc stumbled across an unknown web of connections between that building and the trailblazing 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs in Paris: a discovery that led to 18 years of further investigation.
The presentation will be followed by a discussion between Marc Chevalier and Michael Holland, City Archivist for Los Angeles.
The Marie Northrop Lecture Series is co-sponsored by the Los Angeles City Historical Society and the History & Genealogy Department of the Richard J. Riordan Central Library.
For ADA accommodations, call (213) 228-7430 at least 72 hours prior to the event.
Para ajustes razonables según la ley de ADA, llama al (213) 228-7430 al menos 72 horas antes del evento.