Organic Design, MoMA 1940. The Breath of Modernity Arrives in Latin America Oscar Salinas Flores Abstract Professor –specialized in design history– and researcher at the In 1940 MoMA New York Museum, called the cpuntry’s de- Industrial Design School and signers to present their best furniture designs inspired in the professor in Industrial Design new trend of organic design. Also, for the first time, designers Postgraduate Program, at the of another twenty Latin American countries were invited to National University of Mexico (UNAM). Permanent member participate in a contest with the hope they would reflect the of the International Conference identity of their region through forms and materials to express Board, of ICHDS, and mem- their progress in design and that could even be commercialized ber of the Board of Trustees of in the United States. Design History Foundation in Barcelona. Director of Editorial Designio, Mexico City. This text analyzes the group of participants, shows the progress
[email protected] of design in each of their countries, the prize expectations, and the subsequent events which showed the reality and the pos- Received : November 2014 sibilities of USA and Latin America. Approved: August 2014 Key words: Hegemonic history, micro history, modernism, de- sign pioneers. Revista KEPES Año 11 No. 10 enero-diciembre 2014, págs. 195-208 ISSN 1794-7111 Revista KEPES, Año 11 No. 10, enero-diciembre de 2014, págs. 195-203 Organic Design, MoMA, 1940. El soplo de la modernidad llega a Latinoamérica Resumen En 1940, el Museo de Arte Moderno de Nueva York convocó a los diseñadores del país a presentar los mejores diseños de mobiliario inspirados en la nueva tendencia del diseño orgánico.