Art Deco in Estonian and Latvian Graphic Design Journals

Abstract

Years of the first independence in Estonia and Latvia involved the second wave of nationalism in art and culture. National theme became a source which had to be treated fashionably. The fashionable European style was art deco that spread in the Baltics, Finland and elsewhere in periphery of Europe from the second half of the 1920s until 1940. The author has examined and analysed a wide variety of Estonian illustrated magazines and journals. The examples of Latvian magazines come from the collections of the Information Centre of Art Academy of Latvia. The article explores common features in the pieces of the following artists: Vabbe – Vidbergs, Vaino – Apsītis, Madernieks – Reindorff, also Luhtein, Siirak, Mugasto, Verny, Triik versus Strunke, Zeberiņs and Kasparsons. The first goal is to prove that graphic design journals in art deco style were very popular in the periphery of Europe in these years. Secondly, the author claims that objects that apparently lie outside the definition of ‘art’ can be subjected to visual analysis in such a way as to open important doors to the understanding of their origin, reception, place in society, and subsequent history. They are reflections of relations of power, aesthetic objectives, changing