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Modern vs Contemporary
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Modern and Contemporary - What's the difference? The first glimmerings of a modern European design, appeared in the decades leading up to the second world war. Germany's Bauhaus school of design saw the birth of this form of Modern. Inspired by a brave new world of social reform, and by a huge range of new technologies and materials - their designs were courageously simple in a world of Baroque ornament. But most of all they emphasized utilitarian function, and affordable style. In the strictest sense of the term 'Modern Classics' relate specifically to the works of this era, and perhaps even the students and professors of this school. Seeking a broader definition though it is quickly apparent that the spirit of Bauhaus lived on long after the school was closed and many of its members sought to escape from Germany during the war era. The professors and the students moved on to practice and teach elsewhere, many traveled to the US seeking refuge and fortune, and in so doing their unique perspectives were spread far and wide. Their designs became the inspiration of a generation (or perhaps several generations) of designers the world over. Mies Van der Rohe and Le Corbusier are two of the best known leaders of the Modern Classics movement to move to the US, brining with them fabulous and inspirational new ideas. However this is not the end of the story of Modern Furniture Design, but rather it is the beginning. The journey between Modern and Contemporary is long and quite literally growing by the day. The intervening years have seen just as much innovation in both stylistic development and of course in technology and available materials. The Bauhaus designers were most certainly inspired by primitive cultures and their simple and beautiful designs, but perhaps their greatest legacy in this regard is that they opened a door to exploration and use of stylistic forms from far away cultures and countries: ( most notably Africa Japan and India). In the years that have followed this door remains. Indeed our technological revolution has given almost the whole human race access to the world of 'the other', the foreign and the new. Mid century Modern designers such as Japanese form with modern function and materials, for an American audience. In recent years though we have seen a truly artful blending of styles from multiple cultures. A single design might draw from Japanese purity, Scandinavian simplicity, French Art Nouveau and Italian sophistication. If done well, (and this is by no means an easy task), the results can be quite electrifying. We see other examples such as the synthesis of African contrast and pattern, with modern materials, and almost oriental elegance is surely a sight to behold. Just as valid and beautiful we also find the influence of traditional and well loved western European and early American furniture, emerging within this flow of creativity. Most notably we see the influence of the Shakers and Amish in vividly modern forms. For example the influence of an old farmhouse table, seen in the design of a sleek ultra modern almost Scandinavian design, is unmistakable, and the fact that it might be manufactured in Portugal, of Indonesian wood, and finds its primary market in the United States seems only to reinforce the impression that our world is getting smaller, and yet more exciting and diverse by the day. |
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