Synopsis:
Written by leading social and art historians, Designing Modernity is published to accompany a major traveling exhibition organized by the Wolfsonian, a Miami institution dedicated to examining the social, political and aesthetic significance of objects produced between 1885 and 1945. Containing over 400 illustrations of the Wolfsonian's unique collection of objects, the book looks at the different ways that political, industrial and cultural leaders have employed design in their programs of reform and their efforts to shape public opinion. It shows how design has been a vital tool in acclimatizing people to life in the modern world and has helped to formulate a sense of national identity, especially in European countries, through local crafts and vernacular buildings.
From the pages of Designing Modernity emerge some of the most significant trends of our age: the use of design in reconciling people to a loss of individuality resulting from mass production; the use of industrial and advertising design to support the idea that progress is good, that the future holds limitless promise, and that the machine offers comforts only dreamed of previously; the promotion of political goals by both democratic and authoritarian governments through design - in posters, books, board games, furniture, ceramics and countless other forms.
From Library Journal:
Various arts are featured in this spectacular catalog commemorating the inaugural exhibition of the Wolfsonian in Miami Beach, the parent institution to The Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts (Magazines, LJ 5/1/93). This beautifully illustrated and thoroughly researched volume focuses on the three reactive phases to modernity as reflected through nationalistic design. The first section, "Confronting Modernity, 1890-1920," relates to the ambivalence toward industrialization and the changes it influenced. The second section, "Celebrating Modernity, 1920-1940," focuses on the domesticating influences and reactions to modernity during the interwar years in Europe and its rise as a cultural force. The third section, "Manipulating Modernity: Political Persuasion," emphasizes the exploitation of modern design by governments during the rise of Italian Fascism, the German interwar period and the Third Reich, and the American New Deal. The objects in this exhibition come from the extensive private collection of artifacts, rare books, ephemera, drawings, posters, and prints of Mitchell Wolfson Jr. A complete checklist of the exhibition is included. Enthusiastically recommended for decorative arts as well as political and social history collections.
Stephen Allan Patrick, East Tennessee State Univ. Lib., Johnson City
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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