Masters of modern design : a critical assessment /
George H. Marcus.
- 176 pages : illustrations (some colour) ; 28 cm
Includes bibliographical references (pages 170-172) and index.
William Morris : joy to the maker -- Henry van de Velde : a line is a force -- Josef Hoffmann : a house should stand as a perfect whole -- Frank Lloyd Wright : face to face with the machine -- Le Corbusier : type-objects and type-furniture -- Marianne Brandt : art and technology, a new unity! -- Raymond Loewy : never leave well enough alone -- Charles and Ray Eames : a method of action -- Achille Castiglioni : the formal qualities of the industrial product -- Ettore Sattsass, Jr. : a way of discussing life, sociality, politics, food, even design -- Shiro Kuramata : I don't propose anything or try to instruct -- Philippe Starck : to open the gates to people's imagination.
"The twelve designers featured in Masters of Modern Design -- originators of ideas vital to the contemporary world -- have had an immeasurable impact on the buildings, houses, furniture, cars, and basic products we use daily. George Marcus offers biographical sketches and critical evaluations of William Morris, Henry van de Velde, Josef Hoffmann, Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, Marianne Brandt, Raymond Loewy, Charles and Ray Eames, Achille Castiglioni, Ettore Sottsass Jr., Shiro Kuramata, and Philippe Starck. These profiles present a parallel history of design movements from the nineteenth century on: Arts and Crafts, Art Nouveau, the International Style, the Bauhaus, postmodernism, and more. Marcus discusses the history, development, philosophy, and process of these influential designers. He focuses on the definitive stances each took in regard to modernism -- issues of decoration, simplicity, functionality, and mass-production -- and the inescapable connections of their works and ideas. This thorough survey is an essential contribution to the history of art, art history, architecture, and design. George H. Marcus teaches the history of twentieth-century design at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of Le Corbusier: Inside the Machine for Living, Design in the Fifties: When Everyone Went Moden, Functionalist Design: An Ongoing History, and co-author of Landmarks of Twentieth-Century Design. Pilar Viladas is the design editor of the New York Times Magazine."--Publisher description.
158093160X 9781580931601
2005020086
Designers--Biography--History and criticism Design--History--20th century