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The Mint Museum Charlotte, North Carolina | 704.337.2000 | Mintmuseum.Org Essential Question 2: How Does Design Innovation Enhance Our Lives?

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The Mint Museum Charlotte, North Carolina | 704.337.2000 | Mintmuseum.Org Essential Question 2: How Does Design Innovation Enhance Our Lives? Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs 1851-1939 TOUR OUTLINE Mint Museum UPTOWN Special Exhibition Grades: 5-12 The key to a meaningful tour experience is letting visitors look, observe, and respond before giving information. INTRODUCTION What do you think this exhibition is about? Let’s look at the title—Inventing the Modern World: Decorative Arts at the World’s Fairs, 1851-1939. o Groundbreaking—first comprehensive exhibition of design and ingenuity in decorative arts at the world’s fairs—London 1851 to New York 1939. o Organized loosely by date—“look” of the galleries change as we move forward in time. World’s Fairs, for the first time in history, gave manufacturers, designers, and the public immediate access to objects, materials, and technologies from around the world—India, the Middle East, China, Japan, Europe, America, Africa, and beyond. This confluence of cultures left an indelible mark on design and production of the decorative arts. Essential Question 1: How does the art we are seeing today reflect history, culture, and ideas? Decorative art objects are reflections of cultural ideas and cross-cultural influences. The succession of 19 c. historic revival styles—Gothic, Rococo—coincided with the advancement of modern machine production in the west. The effect was affordable, popular goods that reflected invention and historical design. Revivalism became a platform for debuting invention. Designers innovated with new materials and techniques, but used historic designs. National identity was evident in objects that drew upon national symbols, motifs, resources, and techniques. Objects might reference the distant—and sometimes mythical—past, or look ahead to a country’s bright future. The Mint Museum Charlotte, North Carolina | 704.337.2000 | mintmuseum.org Essential Question 2: How does design innovation enhance our lives? Design innovation encouraged mass production/manufacture of objects; decorative art objects feature new and traditional materials and new technology combined to create innovative designs. In contrast to designers who innovated with new materials/technology, some designers innovated with new design, but used established, traditional materials—new technologies applied to old materials. Ingenuity and creativity through modern manufacturing was a common thread from 1851 to 1939. Inventive materials and manufacturing processes—such as cast iron, steam-bent wood, plastics, and plate glass—transformed everyday life, creating a wider range of products for public consumption. Promoted the idea that you could have a better life through the consumption of technology and design—if you owned them, your life would be better. o World’s fairs were important global forums for debuting technological advancements and defining fashionable tastes. o For the visitor, it was like our internet! It was where you went to see the latest—from steam engines to new breeds of cow. o For businesses, it was a big deal to be invited—it meant you had contributed significantly to your nation through productive innovation. o For the country (participant or host)—it meant you were progressive and served as a source of national pride. The objects were / are… o Innovative and modern in their own time. Many still impact us today. Note to Teachers: This is a suggested tour outline to help docents structure and design the tour. The outline includes many more works of art than can be discussed during a one-hour tour. Docents may choose from among the objects contained in the outline, or select additional objects and develop new questions and approaches to discussions, but will be sure to incorporate the above tour objectives/concepts. Inventing the Modern World Decorative Arts at the World’s F a i r s 1851- 1939 P a g e | 2 ◙ Stop 1A: TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION Gebrüder Thonet, Austria (Vienna), 1853–1921 Rocking Chair No. 10, designed circa 1860, Painted beech with cane High Museum of Art, Atlanta Using bent wood, cabinetmaker-founder Michael Thonet introduced sturdy, lightweight, inexpensive furniture. With efficiencies in mind, he lowered assembly costs by selecting woods (beech) based on their performance characteristics (strong, lightweight, flexible), using steam power to bend them, eliminating carving, reducing the number of components in each design, and introducing interchangeable parts. Marketing, mass production, interchangeable parts—anticipated a world-wide audience—“café chairs” are seen around the world today—long before IKEA—ship these chairs around the world inexpensively by mass producing parts, packing in crates, assemble onsite. Today same chairs are made by the same process (same factories). R. W. Winfield, England (Birmingham), 1829–circa 1896 Rocking chair, circa 1850 Painted and gilded iron with modern upholstery The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York R. W. Winfield’s rocking chair is an example of both ergonomic design and technological prowess. Through innovatively manipulating iron, Winfield created an object that conforms to the shape of the human body while offering a relaxed, controlled movement. The flattened metal is painted to imitate wood grain, while the curves borrow from the exuberant scrolls of the 18th-century Rococo style. The design of the chair was likely an influence on the sinuous bentwood creations of Michael Thonet. Uses materials in a new way—iron made the Industrial Revolution possible. The 19th century consumer was interested in objects that are decorative and durable (iron)—painted to look like wood. The medium was versatile— pushing the boundaries—ergonomic design—simplicity of form. IF you have already been to the 3rd floor – compare these two chairs to the Breuer Long Chair. Experience Take a moment to look closely at these two objects. Compare and contrast rockers with “Presidential rocker;” curves v. perpendicular lines. Compare caning and upholstery—what do they suggest about use? Why paint the iron to look like wood? Inventing the Modern World Decorative Arts at the World’s F a i r s 1851- 1939 P a g e | 3 ◙ Stop 1B: HISTORIC REVIVAL Gustave Herter, American (born Germany), 1830–1898; Ernst Plassmann, woodcarver, American, 1823–1877; Bulkley and Herter, maker, United States (New York, New York), circa 1852–1858 Bookcase, 1852–1853, White oak, Eastern white pine, Eastern hemlock, and yellow poplar with modern stained glass The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City Displayed at the 1853 Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations in New York, the first world’s fair in America, this monumental bookcase is decorated with intricately carved Gothic spires, arches, buttresses, and figures representing the arts of sculpture, painting, music, and architecture. Gustave Herter, who had only recently arrived in New York, brought with him the latest fashions from Germany, including the stylish Gothic Revival. As seen on this bookcase, the Gothic Revival had obvious associations with the medieval past; in America in particular, it instilled European legitimacy on a young nation’s heritage. 1853 in New York, US wants to represent in a bigger way. Revival of gothic motifs popular—US associated all that was refined about Europe with Gothic. IF you have already been to the 3rd floor – compare this to the modern-styled Frankl Bookcase. Experience Take a moment to look closely at this object. Show images of Notre Dame Cathedral for comparison. Why does he use the visual style of the Gothic church? Connected to the Middle Ages time period. Why would a 19th century designer try to make a bookcase look like it was from 14th century? Do you think he was successful in doing this? Inventing the Modern World Decorative Arts at the World’s F a i r s 1851- 1939 P a g e | 4 ◙ Stop 2A: CROSS CULTURALISM India (Brahmapur) Chair and Stool, c. 1855, Ebony with Ivory and Modern Upholstery Victoria and Albert Museum, London The form is European; motifs are Indian. The armchair and ottoman illustrate the English, mid-19th century fashion for French Rococo designs, interpreted in an idiosyncratic way. Fabricated in Brahmapur, north central India, the works feature extraordinary carving in the European-style ivory acanthus-leaf framework that surrounds the chair back, the elephant head armrest supports that terminate in lion heads, and the delicate pierced ivory, imitating passementerie (the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold, or silver cord, embroidery, silk). Further ornamentation is provided in the heavy inlay of abstracted foliage in the ebony framework, the chair back and scroll supports, and the seat frame. This work reflected the readiness of Indian manufacturers to enter the international market place with goods that appealed to European tastes. Experience Take a moment to look closely at this object. Why would an Indian designer want to blend styles to make a chair look mostly European? Why did they still include some Indian motifs and materials? Inventing the Modern World Decorative Arts at the World’s F a i r s 1851- 1939 P a g e | 5 ◙ Stop 2B: CROSS CULTURALISM Fukagawa Yeizaemon, Japanese, 1833–1889 Vase, circa 1875 Glazed and enameled porcelain Philadelphia Museum of Art Shown at the Centennial International Exhibition, Philadelphia, 1876 The dynamic scene on this vase, made for the Western market, demonstrates not only the European taste for asymmetrical compositions of exotic landscapes but also the introduction of Western glaze technology. New colors, some achieved with the inclusion of uranium, were first introduced by a German chemist named Gottfried Wagener in the 1870s. The vivid purples, pinks, and greens transformed the appearance of Japanese ceramics. IF you have already been to the 3rd floor – compare this to the modern Japanese vase on the 3rd floor. Experience Compare and contrast decorative surfaces: Unornamented surfaces are an essential part of the Japanese decorative repertoire. Plain surfaces are valued as highly as patterned, just as the silences in classical Japanese music are thought to be as important as the notes played.
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