Mid-century modern

Armchair by Vladimir Kagan, 1953

Mid-century modern style residential building facade , Palm Springs, California

Residential house in Tujunga, California. Part of the living room with open roof racks, wall hangings and wall heating, 1960

Mosaic mural in San Mateo (California) from 1963, designed by Louis Macouillard, implemented by Alfonso Pardinas

Mid-century modern [ ˈmɪd-ˈsɛnʧʊri ˈmɒdə [r] n ] is a style of design in architecture and furniture design , which in the middle third of the 20th century was mainly characterized by clear lines, organic forms and streamlined design without any further adornment excellent.

Time limitation

The temporal location of mid-century modern is not uniformly defined. In literature, some authors limit the era to the years 1947 to 1957, others to the years 1950 to 1965. The American journalist Cara Greenberg first used the term mid-century modern in the title of her 1983 overview work of the same name, in which she referred to the Furniture of the 1950s focused. In a broader context, mid-century modern is a term for architecture, interior design, product and graphic design that describes the modern design of the mid-20th century from the 1930s to the 1960s. The design movement, recognized worldwide by art scholars and museums, took up the modern age of the Bauhaus and Le Corbusier .

Expression

The mid-century modern style was characterized by clean lines and smooth organic curves and geometric shapes. Functionality replaced ornate ornaments; form should follow function. The contemporary designers used materials and colors that had period-specific recognition value. Materials were now plastic, vinyl, glass, plexiglass and acrylic glass, veneer, plywood, solid wood and aluminum; the colors varied from neutral to daring; For reasons of graphic contrast, black and white was mostly used without shades of gray.

Due to the flourishing US economy after World War II, large parts of the American population had strong consumer power. The optimism, the joy of consumption, the new techniques and materials, paired with the creative enthusiasm of the designers had the effect of a social sigh of relief. There was a great demand for new, affordable and quickly buildable houses with modern furnishings. For the first time models could be mass-produced, which was seen as an advantage.

Cara Greenberg described: “The early 1950s wasn't the first time modern furniture was offered to the American public, but it was the first time audiences queued around the block to buy it. And they bought, with the hard cash of post-war prosperity, fueled by a sudden insatiable hunger for flowing, parabolic, amoebic curves; after long and deep drawn lines; without ornamental decoration; made of materials that until recently could only be found in aircraft factories. ”The design was made for young families. “It was comfortable, child-proof, and sized to fit into the smaller post-war houses and apartments.” You could afford it, if maybe not in every room. In addition, you didn't necessarily have to buy entire sets. "But above all, it was stylish ."

Mid-century modern soon developed into an international style that also included Scandinavian , Italian, Czech and German design ( see also: Post-War Modern ). Disciplines were hardly separated; Sculptors such as Harry Bertoia designed furniture, as did the architects Eero Saarinen , George Nelson , Norman Cherner and Richard Neutra , who liked to complete their new way of building with their own designs. In America, Herman Miller (who also worked with George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames ) and Florence and Hans Knoll were known as furniture makers of the style. Other well-known designers of the time were: