October is American Archives Month, an annual event promoting the use of archives and the preservation of historic records across the United States. In celebration, the Ball State University Libraries, in collaboration with the R. Wayne Estopinal College of Architecture and Planning, presents: Deco + Moderne: Selections from the Andrew Seager Archives of the Built Environment.
This exhibit explores the Art Deco and Art Moderne styles through selections from the Seager Archives’ vast collections of architectural and design records. Inspired by the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, the styles flourished in the United States from the latter half of the 1920s, throughout most of the 1930s. Observers described the styles as characterized by “straight lines, [with] angular, geometric [forms], with touches of decoration in the way of color and materiality.” With the ideas of modernity and progress at their core, the styles were almost universally embraced during their time. Art Deco and Art Moderne remain two of the most identifiable styles in the built environment due in part to their prevalence and portrayal in popular culture and media.
The exhibit is free and open to the public Monday-Friday, 8:00AM-4:00PM, in the CAP Gallery (Architecture Building, 121) and runs through November 10.