 |
Philbrook Museum of Art is opening a new exhibition 'American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow' which focuses on a design era that emerged during the 1930s and 1940s, characterized by curving forms, and smooth, clean silhouettes. |
| Designer unknown. Mixall Jr. Portable Electric Mixer. Designed 1945–55 Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of Eric Brill, B618 | |
The style, which suggested speed and glamour, entered American design in the post-Depression years. It was widely applied in new forms of architecture, interior decoration and everyday household goods for the home and office.
The Liliane and David M. Stewart Collection, SHLSL 2003.17
This was the era when President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke of the promise of the New Deal. In the depth of the Depression, glossy streamlined products were identified with progress and economic recovery. This scientific-looking, progressive style suggested the hope of the future. "The World of Tomorrow" was the name fittingly given to the 1939 New York World's Fair, a fair that emphasized visions of a sophisticated, scientific world to come.
Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of Eric Brill, B363
American Streamlined Design presents the work of such leaders in consumer and industrial design as Raymond Loewy, Norman Bel Geddes, Henry Dreyfuss, and Walter Dorwin Teague, as well as less well-known talents, including Egmont Arens and Robert Heller.
Stewart Program for Modern Design, gift of Eric Brill, B420
Over 185 objects in diverse new materials, from Bakelite to stainless steel, are organized thematically around the spheres of American life in the 1930s-50s: the office and workroom, the living room, kitchen, and bath, recreation and transportation. A final section, Streamlining Now, looks at how streamlining still affects design today.
Exhibition:
American Streamlined Design
Philbrook Museum of Art
Tulsa, Oklahoma
From February 6 2011 to May 15 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment