The Politics of Furniture Identity Diplomacy and Persuasion in PostWar Interiors download book EPUB, PDF
9781472453556 English 1472453557 Bringing together a range of international studies, this volume discusses the agency of modern furniture in post-war interiors. It argues that modern furniture played a critical and underestimated role in the crafting of political messages in very diverse arenas between the 1940s and the 1970s. This issue is explored through three main themes. The first, Furniture and Identity Politics, focuses on the role of furniture in the negotiation of and between different national, corporate or cultural identities. The second theme, Spaces of Persuasion, considers the role of modern furniture and interiors in the promotion of a positive image of a corporation, institution or country through exhibitions and showrooms. The final theme, The Diplomacy of Furniture, examines the way modern furniture and furnishings answered the explicit diplomatic mission of such highly symbolic official buildings as embassies and government offices. Taken as a whole, the book not only sheds new light on the international distribution, changing meanings and cultural biography of modern furniture elements, it also provides new insights on their agency within different political climates and cultures. The Politics of Furniture demonstrates the value of an in-depth discussion of a multi-faceted subject - the relationships between furniture and the interior, questions of identity, and political and diplomatic goals - within a specific time frame and in a global context. Topics covered include the furniture and interiors of such well-known designers as Geoffrey Bawa, Florence Knoll, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouve, Eero Saarinen, and Hans Wegner, the marketing strategies of Knoll International, Olivetti, and Herman Miller, and the politics beneath the surface of international traveling exhibitions. As well as adding depth and nuance to our understanding of these actors and events, the volume also significantly broadens the view of post-war furniture design and interiors through consi", In many different parts of the world modern furniture elements have served as material expressions of power in the post-war era. They were often meant to express an international and in some respects apolitical modern language, but when placed in a sensitive setting or a meaningful architectural context they were highly capable of negotiating or manipulating ideological messages. The agency of modern furniture was often less overt than that of political slogans or statements, but as the essays in this book reveal, it had the potential of becoming a persuasive and malleable ally in very diverse politically charged arenas, including embassies, governmental ministries, showrooms, exhibitions, design schools, libraries, museums and even prisons. This collection of essays examines the consolidating as well as the disrupting force of modern furniture in the global context between 1945 and the mid 1970s. The volume shows that key to understanding this phenomenon is the study of the national as well as transnational systems through which it was launched, promoted and received. While some essays squarely focus on individual furniture elements as vehicles communicating political and social meaning, others consider the role of furniture within potent sites that demand careful negotiation, whether between governments, cultures, or buyer and seller. In doing so, the book explicitly engages different scholarly fields: design history, history of interior architecture, architectural history, cultural history, diplomatic and political history, post-colonial studies, tourism studies, material culture studies, furniture history, and heritage and preservation studies. Taken together, the narratives and case studies compiled in this volume offer a better understanding of the political agency of post-war modern furniture in its original historical context. At the same time they will enrich current debates on reuse, relocation or reproduction of some of these elements.
9781472453556 English 1472453557 Bringing together a range of international studies, this volume discusses the agency of modern furniture in post-war interiors. It argues that modern furniture played a critical and underestimated role in the crafting of political messages in very diverse arenas between the 1940s and the 1970s. This issue is explored through three main themes. The first, Furniture and Identity Politics, focuses on the role of furniture in the negotiation of and between different national, corporate or cultural identities. The second theme, Spaces of Persuasion, considers the role of modern furniture and interiors in the promotion of a positive image of a corporation, institution or country through exhibitions and showrooms. The final theme, The Diplomacy of Furniture, examines the way modern furniture and furnishings answered the explicit diplomatic mission of such highly symbolic official buildings as embassies and government offices. Taken as a whole, the book not only sheds new light on the international distribution, changing meanings and cultural biography of modern furniture elements, it also provides new insights on their agency within different political climates and cultures. The Politics of Furniture demonstrates the value of an in-depth discussion of a multi-faceted subject - the relationships between furniture and the interior, questions of identity, and political and diplomatic goals - within a specific time frame and in a global context. Topics covered include the furniture and interiors of such well-known designers as Geoffrey Bawa, Florence Knoll, Charlotte Perriand, Jean Prouve, Eero Saarinen, and Hans Wegner, the marketing strategies of Knoll International, Olivetti, and Herman Miller, and the politics beneath the surface of international traveling exhibitions. As well as adding depth and nuance to our understanding of these actors and events, the volume also significantly broadens the view of post-war furniture design and interiors through consi", In many different parts of the world modern furniture elements have served as material expressions of power in the post-war era. They were often meant to express an international and in some respects apolitical modern language, but when placed in a sensitive setting or a meaningful architectural context they were highly capable of negotiating or manipulating ideological messages. The agency of modern furniture was often less overt than that of political slogans or statements, but as the essays in this book reveal, it had the potential of becoming a persuasive and malleable ally in very diverse politically charged arenas, including embassies, governmental ministries, showrooms, exhibitions, design schools, libraries, museums and even prisons. This collection of essays examines the consolidating as well as the disrupting force of modern furniture in the global context between 1945 and the mid 1970s. The volume shows that key to understanding this phenomenon is the study of the national as well as transnational systems through which it was launched, promoted and received. While some essays squarely focus on individual furniture elements as vehicles communicating political and social meaning, others consider the role of furniture within potent sites that demand careful negotiation, whether between governments, cultures, or buyer and seller. In doing so, the book explicitly engages different scholarly fields: design history, history of interior architecture, architectural history, cultural history, diplomatic and political history, post-colonial studies, tourism studies, material culture studies, furniture history, and heritage and preservation studies. Taken together, the narratives and case studies compiled in this volume offer a better understanding of the political agency of post-war modern furniture in its original historical context. At the same time they will enrich current debates on reuse, relocation or reproduction of some of these elements.