Deco-in-Motion: Art Moderne in the Age of Mass Transit

A focused talk examines how streamlined design became a visual language of progress during the early to mid-20th century, when trains, planes, automobiles and ocean liners reshaped everyday life and imagination.

Led by Frank Luca, chief librarian at The Wolfsonian-FIU, the presentation explores the intersection of Art Deco aesthetics and Art Moderne streamlining, drawing from children’s books, travel ephemera and decorative design objects from The Wolfsonian’s library and museum collection. These materials reveal how speed, motion and mass transit were translated into graphic and industrial forms that defined modernity for a broad public.

Presented in partnership with the Miami Design Preservation League, the program is part of Art Deco Weekend and takes place on Saturday, January 10 at The Wolfsonian-FIU on Miami Beach.