Select TWO examples of modern functional INTERIOR DESIGN (entire room, or furnishings) CREATED FOR A MODERN INTERIOR from any culture (could be furniture, glassware, lamps, textiles including rugs, etc.) from ANY MUSEUM OR HISTORIC ARCHITECTURAL SITE IN THE WORLD (including the Met, MoMA, the Cooper-Hewitt, the Neue Galerie, Brasília, National Assembly Building in Dacca, Falling Water, etc.), which you feel are the MOST EFFECTIVE examples, for reasons you will explain, in showing INFLUENCES FROM MORE THAN ONE CULTURE, with a mixture of European or U.S. modern design combined with forms/styles/materials/approaches derived from cultures other than Europe or the United states. Which of the two shows the most effective synthesis of design elements from more than one culture, and which is second most, and HOW/WHY? What aspects of the works communicate ideas/forms from specific cultures, based on the specific artistic/historical/cultural/economic context of the work? Are there any aspects of these design choices that might carry stereotyped notions of the non-European or U.S. “exotic” “Other” embedded in the design choices? What drew you to these particular examples?
Choose TWO examples published by TWO DIFFERENT MAKERS that you can contrast in terms of different forms and styles.
BE SURE TO PICK DESIGNS from the period we are studying in class, so dates c. 1850 to c. 2020.
As with the other essay choices, consider all aspects of FORM and CONTENT.
Then RATE THEM from 1-2 based on which is the most effective, in your view, based on points you will argue, in representing influence on a modern western interior by the design of a foreign culture, second most effective, and HOW/WHY.
For each example, provide a thorough descriiption of the formal qualities of each work: composition and use of positive/negative space, line quality, shape, contour, color, shading, pattern, texture, scale, style, etc. Then give a thorough explanation of the content of the work.
The format of the essay is a “compare-and-contrast” project that asks you to choose examples which you feel best illustrate your points.
Please include PHOTOS to illustrate your examples (minimum ONE PHOTO of each example; you may also include details if you so choose).
Please include a minimum of five books for your paper.
More ideas on types of sources (books or articles) to look for:
Museum special exhibition catalogues
Museum permanent collection texts
Monographs on a particular interior designer, architect, or design firm
Thematic texts on a particular period or movement of design history (Brazilian Modernism, British Arts & Crafts Movement, U.S. Prairie Style,, German Bauhaus, Czech Art Deco, American Neoclassicism, etc.) or a specific culture’s design production (England, U.S., etc.), or on specific design forms (chairs, etc.), etc.
Books about specific media and processes of making (gilding, tubular steel production, stained glass making, etc.)
** You must include at least 1 citation (footnote) from EACH SOURCE USED. **
In other words, do not “pad” your bibliography with books you did not look at!
INFORMATION TO BE INCLUDED:
For EACH of the designs you have chosen to write about, please provide the following information, in addition to the specifics asked in your question. Consult the individual wall labels for each work as well as longer text panels for specifics, if necessary.
THE FIVE ID FACTS:
1) Designer/architect/craftsperson’s name(s), if known (and manufacturer’s name, if known)
2) Title/name of the work (note: the title of an artwork given by an artist/designer is always put in italics), while general terms for design objects with no title is not italicized (like “chair,” for example)
3) Date (use “circa” when necessary).
4) Medium/media and “original format” (the physical object) of the work – i.e., it’s a chair, etc. If it is supposed to have a practical function, like a garment, what was it specifically intended to be used for?
5) Art-historical culture and period/movement from which the artwork/artist comes (i.e., French Art Deco? Iranian Contemporary? American Aesthetic Movement? German Bauhaus? Indian/British Colonial Neoclassical? etc.). Use your textbook to help identify the art-historical period.
