I think it has to do with the prevailing artistic sensibility. Seeing objects as geometric shapes is what the cubist painters were all about - think Cezanne or Picasso. And bold colored backgrounds that vie for attention with the subjects is common in modernist painting - think Matisse.
The Diamond Star set from 1934-6 had the same characteristics. There are wonderful ballpark and city backgrounds, and also non-referential geometric backgrounds. What appeals to me, though, is that I think there is a crossover. You can see the geometry in the pictorial backgrounds, and you can infer the 30's and 40's perspective on life from the non-pictorial shapes.
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