“There is design in everything,” wrote the Cuban-Mexican designer Clara Porset. She believed that craftsmanship and industry inspired each other, which could show modern design an alternative path. Naturally, not all of her colleagues shared her conviction. For some, design was indeed an evolution of local and indigenous craft traditions, leading to the combination of centuries-old craft techniques with mechanical methods. Others responded to market conditions and local tastes, basing their work on available technologies and common industrial processes. At a time of political, economic and social upheaval, the visual culture of Latin America was also changing. As the design of the domestic environment embodied ideas of national identity, production models and modern lifestyles, the home offered countless opportunities for a dialogue between art, architecture and design.
Under the title „Crafting Modernity: Design in Lateinamerika, 1940 -1980“ , the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is presenting highlights of modern home design from South America from 8 March to 22 September. According to MoMA, the exhibition focuses on the six countries – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Venezuela – that played a pioneering role in the development of modern interior design in Latin America. This is the first time that a major American museum has dedicated itself to design in the region. With more than 100 objects, including furniture, graphic design, textiles, ceramics and photographs from MoMA’s collection as well as public and private collections in the USA, Latin America and Europe, the exhibition aims to demonstrate the ways in which Latin American design provides the basis for examining and understanding major political, social and cultural changes in the region. Highlights of the show include the “Butaque” chair by Clara Porset, the “Bowl” chair by Lina Bo Bardi, the “B.K.F.” chair by Antonio Bonet, Juan Kurchan and Jorge Ferrari Hardoy and the “Malitte Lounge Furniture” by Roberto Matta.
The exhibition, curated by guest curator Ana Elena Mallet together with Amanda Forment from MoMA’s Department of Architecture and Design, focuses on the post-war period in Latin America, “a period of dramatic change characterised by great economic growth and rapid modernisation”. In the 1940s, as the Second World War raged in Europe, the countries of the region replaced traditionally imported goods with domestically manufactured products. As a result, the national industries experienced a rapid rise and new professional opportunities opened up for designers. The late 1970s then saw a series of economic crises across the region, which, it is said, marked the end of an era in Latin America in which it was believed to be the role of the state to drive modernisation and promote a strong domestic market for domestic goods.
“With this exhibition,” says Ana Elena Mallet, “we hope to bring the public closer to the way in which the field of design in Latin America, especially design for the domestic sphere, reflects the multi-layered and complex visions of modernism in the region.” In addition, the show aims to critically examine MoMA’s commitment to Latin American design, which began in 1940 with the Museum of Industrial Design’s competition in the 21 American Republics, whose prize-winning works were exhibited the following year as part of MoMA’s “Organic Design in Home Furnishings” exhibition, organised by Eliot Noyes, then Director of the Museum’s Industrial Design Department. Another focus is on living spaces as experimental areas for modern living, which were important for the development of design in the region. These include the “Casa de Vidro” by Lina Bo Bardi (Brazil, 1951) and Alfredo Boulton’s house in Pampatar, whose furniture was designed by Miguel Arroyo (Venezuela, 1953). The emergence of the design profession in Latin America will be examined, as will the role of designers as entrepreneurs and their collaboration with international brands such as Knoll and Herman Miller.
Crafting Modernity: Design in Lateinamerika, 1940 -1980
8 March – 22 September 2024
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA)
11 W 53rd St, New York,
NY 10019, USA
https://www.moma.org/
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