Back to the futurity with luxury and glamour

“Glamorous super-cinemas, flat-roofed villas, luxurious ocean liners, fashion boutiques, railway posters, tramcars, hydro-electric power stations, patterned linoleum, pithead baths and an Empire Exhibition: these were just some of the many diverse Scottish manifestations of the interwar modern design styles that since the late 1960s have been collectively defined as representing Art Deco.” So says Professor Bruce Peter, curator of a new exhibition and author of a new encyclopaedic book on the futuristic design movement that flourished globally in the Twenties and Thirties.

Like many design styles, it’s hard to put into words but most people will know it when they see it. Futurity is always a tricky subject and many attempts to predict what things will look like are often wide of the mark. Looking at Art Deco through the sociologist’s lens is one way of understanding what was described as a “total art style”. Art Deco was not only a projection of modernity and the future, it was also a utopian and idealistic projection of optimism that was so badly needed in the wake of the First World War, and as a counter to worldwide austerity.

The Second World War put paid to these beautiful dreams and Scotland was no exception. The great Empire Exhibition, which forms one of the centrepieces of this show and is central to Bruce Peter’s magnum opus, was sited in Bellahouston Park and can rightly be described as a gesamtkunstwerk or total work of art. From the elegant pavilions and walkways, to the bright colours and spacious lines, to the imposing main tower, the entire architectural assemblage conveyed modernity, and the promise of better things to come.

The war effectively ended such dreams and provided an emphatic bookend to a movement that, without exaggeration, affected the lives of almost everyone living in the UK. This story is conveyed with verve, conviction and finesse through a series of wall-panels (Government and Municipal, Transport, Housing and Furnishing) and vitrines, the latter full of archival paraphernalia that includes a plan of the cruise liner Empress of Britain, pamphlets, maquettes and photographs. It goes without saying that there’s a limit to the story such objects can convey, because the real story is, or at least was, all around us. Much has been lost, either through wilful destruction, neglect or natural entropy.

One of the joys of writing about such events is that those involved are often around to discuss their projects. So there’s a special shout-out here for Bruce Peter, an enthusiast and a gentleman who carries his learning with modesty but who has that rare gift of infectious enthusiasm, which just makes anyone in the vicinity want to learn more.

The exhibition is wonderful, but the book is excellent, a lasting testament to the generations who came before us and wanted to leave the world a better place. They certainly did, and through such scholarship, we are able to enjoy many of their achievements, many of which are recorded here for posterity.

Art Deco Scotland: Design and Architecture in the Jazz Age

The Glasgow School of Art

Until April 28, 2025

Art Deco Scotland: Design and Architecture in the Jazz Age by Professor Bruce Peter is published by Historic Environment Scotland.