Designing Modernity: The Arts of Reform and Persuasion 1885-1945 (Paperback)

~ Wendy Kaplan (Editor), Wolfsonian Foundation (Corporate Author)

Editorial Reviews

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.

From Booklist

Kaplan is curator of Miami's Wolfsonian, an institution dedicated to the decorative and propaganda arts created between 1885 and 1945, an era that embraced the birth and coming-of-age of modernity. This unique volume, companion to the Wolfsonian's inaugural traveling exhibition, is based on the premise that design--of buildings, household objects, and graphics--embodies a culture's attitudes toward change, in this case, toward the radical shifts associated with the rise of modern technology. Kaplan and her contributors designate three phases of reactions to modernity: ambivalence and enmity toward industrialization; a celebration culminating in utopian fervor and new concepts of the self and creativity; and the exploitation of modern life by governments that became adept at utilizing new forms of mass communication to promote "political goals through aesthetic expression." As Kaplan and company analyze design aesthetics in Amsterdam, Italy, Germany, Russia, England, and the U.S., they dissect both the politics of modern design and the design of modern politics. Beautifully illustrated with a great variety of plates, this is a fresh and stimulating work. Donna Seaman

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson (November 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0500237069
• ISBN-13: 978-0500237069
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #910,079 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars About This Book..., October 11, 2009

By	Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews

A big, handsome, square trade paperback, 352 pp on heavy paper.

About 375-400 illustrations, about half b&w and half color. Checklist of Objects, Index, over 20 pp of bibliographic information.

10 Essays, including:

"Traditions Transformed: Romantic Nationalism in Design, 1890-1920" by Wendy Kaplan
"The Decorative Arts in Amsterdam 1890-1930" by Ellinoor Bergvelt
"Domesticating Modernity: Ambivalance and Appropriation, 1920-1940" by Jeffery L. Meikle

"Forging Modern Italy: From Wrought Iron to Aluminim" by Irene de Guttry and Maria Paola Maino
"Political Things: Design in Fascist Italy" by Dennis P. Doordan
"Design in Inter-War Germany" by John Heskett