Art Deco is not just an art direction . It is the visual manifesto of an entire era . After the First World War , the world sought not only to recover , but also to rise above the ordinary . In this rush to grandeur , luxury and the futuristic ideal , Art Deco found its most expressive and somewhat unexpected symbols : majestic elephants , diverging sun rays , dynamic zigzags and trapezoids . But what was behind this choice ? Why was preference given not to classical roses , not to modern vines , but to images of African giants and rays of light ? The answer lies in the complex interweaving of archaeological discoveries , technological breakthroughs , the colonial worldview and the universal dream of a wonderful future . Geometry as a new philosophy : The transformation of exoticism into laconic abstraction in Art Deco . Art Deco did not copy nature in principle – it subjected it t...