 |
| Mid-century modern complete ISBN 978-0500023471 and it's cheaper than Space age design |
Space age design, Populuxe, Atomic pop, or just plain Modernism all mean the same thing when describing a design genre that used simple lines and vibrant colours for products in the fifties and sixties. The author prefers Space age so the book can use seventy-six photos about the space race to the moon (all probably from the NASA PR department) but what have these to do with the eighty-seven photos of seating products mostly produced by French or Italian companies?
The twenty-one pages of text, in five sections throughout the book, mix space developments with seat and product designers. So, is this a book about the space race or comfy seating? There are a few photos of buildings, fashion, cars, lighting and products for the home. Unfortunately, there is no index, probably because there are no page numbers except on the text pages, so if you wanted to see a photo of the chimpanzee used in the 1961 Mercury-Redstone space mission, you'll have to sort it out yourself.
This is hardly a worthwhile look at mid-century design, which is why I found the book very disappointing. If you want to know about this exuberant design style, it's far better to get the definitive 'Mid-century modern complete' by Dominic Bradbury (ISBN 978-0500023471) a paperback with 544 pages and over a 1000 photos and graphics. Oh yes, there is an index and NASA isn't mentioned.
UK
US
No comments:
Post a Comment