Modernism in Design edited by ... free essay sample

Modernism in Design edited by Paul Greenhalgh This is a well written and thorough collection of essays evaluating different topics intertwined with Modernism, focusing particularly on Modernism in architecture and interior design. Paul Greenhalgh was a member of the Department of Research at the Victoria and Albert museum and a tutor on the VA/RCA design course. The aim of the book is to reconstruct Modernism as a historical phenomenon to which is an idea that I agree with, however the book was very boring and unengaging. The book itself had little illustration, where a photo was only inserted when referring to a specific, i.e (p.84) depicts Makarts studio just to illustrate the studio. When discussing such an interesting topic such as Modernism and especially in Architecture the collection of essays could have been marred by a more interesting medium. The content of the book was difficult to follow, as the language seemed conversational or still in thought. The book is interesting because there is no bias. It allows both the prejudices and preferences allowing the reader to form critical and sympathetic perspectives. Modernism in Design and architecture emerged in the aftermath of the First World War and the Russian Revolution. During the years between the World wars, Modernist design and art shared certain underlying principles: a rejection of decoration and applied ornament; a preference for abstraction; and a belief that design and technology could transform society. Post war half the world needed to be fixed. People were living in devastation and the world needed to be rebuilt. To move on from the devastation it also needed to be redesigned. Which led to the modernist ideology of building Utopia. Design was perceived to have the ability to transform the consciousness of those who were brought into contact with it. For example, if one were to redesign a city, this would not simply improve the environmental conditions off those who lived in it, it would have the potential to shift their psychological outlook(Greenhalgh, 1990 p.13) Modernism was not conceived as a style but a loose collection of ideas. For example you could not label a design itself as a modernist design however the methods used to create the design could considered part of the modernist movement. The methodology flourished in Germany, Holland, Moscow, Paris, Prague and New York. A belief that the human condition could be cured or healed by new approaches to art and design. There are 12 identifiable core common ideas of Modernism which were listed in the book:1. Decompartmentalisation 2. Social Morality3. Truth4. The total work of art 5. Technology6. Function7. Progress8. Anti-Historicism 9. Abstraction 10. Internationalism/unversiality 11. Transformation of consciousness 12. Theology In no particular order, I agree that internationalism/universality and function, were two core ideas exemplified in the modernist era. We could say that the modernism movement was split into two phases, the pioneer phase opening amid the First World War, the second phase I will label the development of International style. International style was a very successful effort to create an united recognisable style for the everyday. With international cooperation the quest for a peaceful world can be achieved, this then leads to a universal design. Which is still prominent in design today that objects can be recognised globally for what they are, despite, fundamental differences in language and time. When describing the modernist movement Greenhalgh uses language like bourgeois to describe the people directly involved. Referring to the modernists as bourgeois this leads me to believe that this a particular group of people; whom I am not familiar with, due to the fact that I am no t middle class. So, even though, modernism affected the world both directly and indirectly, with long term effects; those who directly benefited would be those of middle class or higher. An international language benefited no one except those who frequently travelled abroad†¦and such people tended to be wealthy rather than poor Kettle, Tefal.Ive added another core common idea to the modernist movement which is timelessness. Greenhalgh refers to timelessness frequently throughout the readings but doesnt mention it as a core idea. Abstraction, is, one of the core ideas though, which allows me to believe that timelessness was left out on purpose. Modernists themselves could not have had timelessness as a common idea without the benefit of hindsight. How can you perceive a design to be timeless if you are living in the time of the design. Greenhalgh briefly jokes about the benefit of hindsight/time viewed from the safe distance of the 1990s but does not go into detail of how beneficiary hindsight is when perceiving the chronology of the Modern Movement in Design. I agree with notion that designers no longer design for themselves, amidst and after the modernist movement. Post-modernism has for several decades celebrated the death of the author and focused its attentions on the role of the reader. Everything is designed for the consumer as we live in a capitalist world (regardless of east or west) where popularity equals money and money equals power. Greenhalgh starts off by stressing that in his referral to modern he does not mean new or now or contemporary or latest fashion but specific methodologies and belief systems. However, in the readings it is clear to me that Modernists thought of themselves as the new the now the contemporary the latest fashion and seemed to discard the homage to their predecessors as if eve rything that they have created is absolutely alien. Perhaps, with the benefit of progressing almost 100 years into the future, I can see the evolution of design. Although, I can identify the evolutionary theory of design, with the benefit of hindsight I can also identify where the basic principals and fundamentals must be followed in design.