This year’s press conference, despite missing
official poster designer Philip Brooker because of
illness and being scheduled smack in the middle of
the pre-Art Basel frenzy, was relatively less
dramatic, albeit peppered with jokes about the
previous incident.
The
next celebration of Art Deco architecture on
Jan. 18-20,
aptly titled “Anything
Goes: Art Deco Taps Its Toes,” centers around a
thematic journey back to a time when Art
Deco met Broadway on Miami Beach.
During that third weekend in January,
the Miami Design
Preservation League (MDPL) expects as many as
500,000 visitors to
Ocean Drive, between Fifth and 15th streets, for the
festival’s 31st year.
With all events free and open to the public, patrons
will have a hodgepodge of events to choose from,
including guided tours, films, lectures, music,
theater, dance, art exhibits and classic car and art
vendor events.
Although a press release touted that three “top
Broadway producers will be present [for] special
panel discussions,” MDPL Executive Director Bill
Farkas admitted that those details have not yet been
worked out.
“The Broadway people haven’t confirmed yet,” Farkas
said. MDPL is still negotiating with the trio, whom
Farkas declined to name until they confirm.
The
lecture series will be held at The Wolfsonian-FIU
auditorium on Washington Avenue, beginning with a
keynote lecture on Thursday, Jan. 17.
Food vendors and Art Deco merchants are slated to
line
Ocean Drive at
7:30 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 18, when marching bands, musicians,
dancers, singers, antique cars and floats will
comprise the “Light Up the Drive” parade featuring
Grand Marshal Doris Eaton, the last living Ziegfeld
girl.
On
Saturday, Jan. 19, dog lovers will not want to miss
the “Arf Deco” Dog Promenade, scheduled on the same
day as the Art Deco Classic Car Fest, featuring cars
at least 25 years old.
When asked how the name came about, Farkas revealed
that it was, well, by accident.
The
now-200-dog parade began three years ago when Farkas
and his wife, architectural critic Beth Dunlop, were
searching for something new and different to add to
the festivities — but the name “Arf Deco” was
actually the result of an MDPL staffer’s typo.
“Someone on the office staff hit an F instead
of a T,” Farkas said. “It was serendipity,
but the doggie idea came first.”
New
for Art Deco Weekend 2008, patrons will have the
chance to sing karaoke tunes in front of an audience
and pay a small fee to take home a video of their
performance, an idea conceived when Art Deco Weekend
publicist Jack Wolfe realized he had an old karaoke
machine in his garage. There will also be a “Little
Miss Art Deco” competition, where girls ages 4 to 9
can compete for the best Annie or Shirley Temple
look.
The
historical connection between Broadway and Art Deco
is a special one, MDPL leaders decided. During the
Depression, as pressure was put on New York theater
producers to dream up musical comedies that would
distract audiences from their economic woes, a
similar energy filtered south to the Beach in the
form of film, which was also more accessible to
those who could not afford to see live Broadway
performances.
“It
was an opportunity to reach more of the
Depression-era audience,” MDPL Director of Programs
and Outreach Scott Timm said after the press
conference. According to Timm, there were five movie
theaters on Lincoln Road during the 1930s and 1940s,
including two theaters still standing, the Lincoln
and the Colony.
MDPL Resident Artist and Director of Retail
Operations Iris Chase stood in for the absent
Brooker, noting how well his design “captures Art
Deco themes.”
“Of
all the posters since 1997, this has been the most
moving for me,” she said, adding that the work’s
“turquoise colors and curves” are appropriate for
Miami Beach.
Standing before a slew of television cameras, Timm
shared some thoughts for this year’s festival. “We
hope that all of those faithful 350,000 to 375,000
people [who attended last year] enjoy the day, and
pray for sunshine.”
Later, he revealed some of the changes patrons could
expect. “Last year we had a big focus on
China,”
Timm said after the press conference. “This year
we’re focusing on more of a domestic concept.”
