LLoyd Simmons, age 17 of Dotham, Ala., for his question:

CAN YOU EXPLAIN ART DECO?

Art Deco is a style of design that was popular in the 1920s and 1930s, and it is again popular with many designers today. It was used primarily in furniture, jewelry, textiles and interior decor. Its sleek, streamlined forms connote elegance and sophistication.

Although the movement began about 1910, the term "Art Deco" was not applied to it until 1925 when it was coined for the title of the seminal Paris design exhibition, Exposition Internationale des Arts Art Deco grew out of a conscious effort to simplify the elaborate turn of the century Art Nouveau style and to make it more responsive to the new machine age ideas of speed and glamour.

One of the earliest practitioners was Rene Lalique, the jeweler and glassmaker, who featured delicate, unconstricted and flowing lines in his work.

King Tutankhamen's tomb (opened in 1922) created a vogue for Egyptian motifs and the popularity of Cubism contributed elegantly geometric designs.

Art Deco declined after 1935 but has enjoyed a significant revival recently.