Hi. I am Art Deco – at least that is my online name and this is my online headquarters -my HQ. You may know me in the real world,where my name is much longer and harder to spell or remember, so I just use Art online.
You may wonder what this site or my user name has to do with the “Art Deco Era”, the “Jazz Age”, or the “Roaring 20s” as they were known in the US and the UK a century ago.
I chose the name years ago when I was touring some super optimistic looking buildings in South Beach, Florida. I realized that they were built about the time of the worst depression in US history. The disconnect really struck me, and got me to thinking about the parallels between the times.
During the period before the Great Depression, people had seen great advances in technology : automobiles, airplanes, radios, phonographs, electric appliances. We had just won the great War To End All Wars, peace and prosperity were back, and we began to believe in a world of Eternal Progress where Mankind could accomplish anything. People held on to that very optimistic vision of future technology and unlimited progress, as society split into a few very rich and lots of very poor people, through the flu pandemic of 1918, and even the market crash of 1929.
Perhaps it was just a time when people really needed to look towards a better future.
If you see some parallels with today’s rabid faith in digital technology when the limits to growth are just beginning to become apparent, and society is again splitting into a few very rich and lots of very poor people, I’m sure it’s Purely A Coincidence .
This is my contact email: Art DOT WordPress AT Gmail DOT Com by replacing the AT and the DOTs above with the appropriate punctuation, and no spaces of course. Bells will ring and lights will flash all over my headquarters if you contact me.
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ArtDeco 