style and design of the cabinet · self-negotiated unit // mda 3 // progress 007 // moodboard 1...

Henning M. Lederer | MA Digital Arts FT | +44 (0)7551 960 327 | www.led-r-r.net

Self-Negotiated Unit // MDA 3 // Progress 007 // Moodboard

1

Style and design of the cabinet

The main aim for the appearance of the cabinet for the Industrial Palace – similar to all the other different elements that I have build up digital and analog so far – is to create something that is true to the era of the original artwork by Fritz Kahn. As agreed with my collaborative partner Paul, I decided to do some research in the field of the past style and design by setting up a kind of moodboard with some examples of machines and furniture of that time.

Design history in general is the study of objects of design in their historical and stylistic contexts. That is why I started to have a closer look at this special section of history, not only, but of course with a main focus on the field of furniture design, interior design and machine design. But although there were lots of radical changes within this period of time concerning design in general (Bauhaus, De Stijl, Constructivism and Streamline, ...)*, it is difficult to approach the field of machinery-construction and product design.

Paul told me that it could make sense to have a look at military machines of this time as well and by this I remembered that I already did some research for the digital counter within the Flash-application. For the digital naming of the different topics I used the basic principles of an Enigma-Machine, used for encoding and decoding during World War II. So, again, I had a closer look at machines like that and in addition to that I found an interesting website, an online museum for radios and similar machines [http://www.radiomuseum.org], displaying lots of models and types. By this I found some nice examples and impressions that will hopefully help us when we set up a cabinet.

The following pages show some examples and a first analysis of colour and some shapes. But this document is not an in-depth research, but a hopefully helpful collection for Paul and me to set up a construction plan for the cabinet.



2



3



4



5



6

*) [http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/dsgn2/hd_dsgn2.htm]

Design, 1925–50The second quarter of the twentieth century saw radical changes in design. The Art Deco style, which reached its

apogee at the 1925 Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris, gradually waned; its decorative

flourishes and emphasis on rich and exotic materials seemed increasingly irrelevant, considering the economic

pressures of the Great Depression in the United States and growing political instability in Europe. It was replaced by

young modernist reformers who believed that beauty need not depend on ornament but could be achieved through

the manipulation of form and the judicious use of color and texture, that simplicity and economy were preferable

aesthetically – even morally and politically – to the elaboration and extravagance that typified Art Deco. The geometric

forms and plain undecorated surfaces favored by modernists were, however, too demanding for most people. It was

with relief that consumers turned to the warmer organic design, with its emphasis on wood and natural materials, that

emerged in Scandinavia in the mid-1930s.

The Bauhaus, founded in Weimar in 1919 as a school of arts and crafts, soon became known as a center of avant-

garde design under the direction of Walter Gropius. The school strove to mold designers who could create beautiful

and useful prototypes suitable for commercial production. In 1933, the Nazis closed down the Bauhaus, but during its

brief existence it produced a generation of architects, artists, and designers who spread its teachings around the world.

(...)

One of the strongest and most influential reactions against the Art Deco movement came from the Swiss architect

Le Corbusier. His Pavilion de l’Esprit Nouveau at the 1925 Exposition was a forceful rejection of the use of expensive,

exotic materials in the extravagant, one-of-a-kind objects that typified Art Deco. He defined the house as a “machine

for living in,” while furniture was “domestic equipment.” The pavilion itself was a prototype for standardized housing,

conspicuously furnished with commonly available items such as leather club chairs. Like members of the Bauhaus, Le

Corbusier advocated furniture that was rationally designed along industrial principles to reflect function and utility in

its purist forms, with a strict rejection of applied ornament. Other important movements positing avant-garde theories

of design and architecture included De Stijl in Holland, which advocated a seamless unity of art and architecture, and

Russian Constructivism, whose utopian projects embraced a combination of machine forms and abstract art.

In the United States, designers responded to European influences, gradually transforming them into a uniquely

American idiom. Many of the most prominent figures in the pre-war period were, in fact, European émigrés. The

American Designers’ Gallery in New York opened in 1928 and introduced consumers to modern interiors and

furnishings by designers including Ilonka Karasz, Joseph Urban, and Donald Deskey. Many of its designers used

industrial materials such as steel and chrome in their furniture. The machine aesthetic was an important influence

on design. The Streamlined style, with its aerodynamic forms and implications of speed, reinforced the growing

importance of automobiles and trains. The role of the industrial designer itself gained prominence, especially during

the Great Depression, when companies relied on designers such as Henry Dreyfuss and Raymond Loewy to create

enticing new product designs in an effort to stimulate consumer demand.

World War II profoundly affected the material and formal developments of architecture and design. Items such as steel,

aluminum, and copper were rationed for use in the war effort, forcing designers to substitute nonessential materials,

including cardboard, glass, and plywood, in their designs. Many American designers worked for the war effort itself,

applying their knowledge and expertise to military exigencies. Charles and Ray Eames, for example, worked on behalf

of the U.S. Navy, developing molded plywood designs for leg splints. (...)

style and design of the cabinet · self-negotiated unit // mda 3 // progress 007 // moodboard 1...

Documents