Description
Discover the fascinating intersection of race, gender, and design with *Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body*. This groundbreaking book, published by Princeton University Press in 2021, is an essential addition to your home library. In this insightful exploration, author Kristina Wilson delves into how postwar American Modernist decor was not only a style choice but also a reflection of societal norms and identities. Through thorough analysis of advertisements, design manuals, and cultural commentary found in periodicals like Life and Ebony, the book unveils how the presentation of mid-century furnishings was intricately woven with codes of race and gender.
Enrich your understanding of interior design history as Wilson reveals how Modernism was marketed and perceived differently across diverse demographics, with a stark distinction in perspectives presented to white versus African American audiences. This comprehensive look examines furniture from iconic designers such as George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, highlighting the duality of empowerment and restriction in their creations.
Whether you're an enthusiast of interior design, history, or cultural studies, this volume provides a striking counter-narrative to traditional design histories. Enhance your collection now and engage with the thought-provoking themes of identity, privilege, and aesthetics.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691208190
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691208190
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
The first investigation of how race and gender shaped the presentation and marketing of Modernist decor in postwar America.
In the world of interior design, mid-century Modernism has left an indelible mark still seen and felt today in countless open-concept floor plans and spare, geometric furnishings. Yet despite our continued fascination, we rarely consider how this iconic design sensibility was marketed to the diverse audiences of its era. Examining advice manuals, advertisements in Life and Ebony, furniture, art, and more, Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body offers a powerful new look at how codes of race, gender, and identity influenced-and were influenced by-Modern design and shaped its presentation to consumers.
Taking us to the booming suburban landscape of postwar America, Kristina Wilson demonstrates that the ideals defined by popular Modernist furnishings were far from neutral or race-blind. Advertisers offered this aesthetic to White audiences as a solution for keeping dirt and outsiders at bay, an approach that reinforced middle-class White privilege. By contrast, media arenas such as Ebony magazine presented African American readers with an image of Modernism as a style of comfort, security, and social confidence. Wilson shows how etiquette and home decorating manuals served to control women by associating them with the domestic sphere, and she considers how furniture by George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, as well as smaller-scale decorative accessories, empowered some users, even while constraining others.
A striking counter-narrative to conventional histories of design, Mid-Ce
Enrich your understanding of interior design history as Wilson reveals how Modernism was marketed and perceived differently across diverse demographics, with a stark distinction in perspectives presented to white versus African American audiences. This comprehensive look examines furniture from iconic designers such as George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, highlighting the duality of empowerment and restriction in their creations.
Whether you're an enthusiast of interior design, history, or cultural studies, this volume provides a striking counter-narrative to traditional design histories. Enhance your collection now and engage with the thought-provoking themes of identity, privilege, and aesthetics.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691208190
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691208190
Format: Trade binding
Year: 2021
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
The first investigation of how race and gender shaped the presentation and marketing of Modernist decor in postwar America.
In the world of interior design, mid-century Modernism has left an indelible mark still seen and felt today in countless open-concept floor plans and spare, geometric furnishings. Yet despite our continued fascination, we rarely consider how this iconic design sensibility was marketed to the diverse audiences of its era. Examining advice manuals, advertisements in Life and Ebony, furniture, art, and more, Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body offers a powerful new look at how codes of race, gender, and identity influenced-and were influenced by-Modern design and shaped its presentation to consumers.
Taking us to the booming suburban landscape of postwar America, Kristina Wilson demonstrates that the ideals defined by popular Modernist furnishings were far from neutral or race-blind. Advertisers offered this aesthetic to White audiences as a solution for keeping dirt and outsiders at bay, an approach that reinforced middle-class White privilege. By contrast, media arenas such as Ebony magazine presented African American readers with an image of Modernism as a style of comfort, security, and social confidence. Wilson shows how etiquette and home decorating manuals served to control women by associating them with the domestic sphere, and she considers how furniture by George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, as well as smaller-scale decorative accessories, empowered some users, even while constraining others.
A striking counter-narrative to conventional histories of design, Mid-Ce