LANDMARK EXHIBITION ON TWENTIETH-CENTURY DESIGN AT THE CANADIAN MUSEUM OF CIVILIZATION
Hull, Quebec, October 8, 1997 — The Canadian Museum of Civilization (CMC) will present, starting October 10, an important exhibition from the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts (MMDA) that explores the full range of creative and stylistic influences on twentieth-century design. Tracing such themes as fantasy, ornamentation, and the use of the body as a design element, and comprising more than 200 objects from around the world, Designed for Delight: Alternative Aspects of Twentieth-Century Decorative Arts presents the diverse aesthetics, beyond the realm of functionalism and rationalism, that have informed and defined modern design. The exhibition will be presented in the Special Exhibitions Hall, from October 10, 1997 to February 15, 1998.
"This is a witty exhibition that makes us realize that design is an integral part of our daily lives," declares Dr. George F. MacDonald, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "The public will get the chance to see many very original pieces created by master designers from all over the world. It is therefore with great pleasure that we present this exhibition within the framework of its international tour."
After its presentation at the CMC, the exhibition will embark on an international tour that will take it to three museums in the United States, followed by a visit in Krak¢w, Rome and Paris. The exhibition and its international tour are sponsored by Philip Morris Companies Inc. and Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.
Designed for Delight includes furniture, glass, ceramics, metalware, jewelry and textiles from the Montreal Museum of Decorative Arts. Renowned for its important and comprehensive collection of mid- and late- twentieth-century design and crafts, the MMDA has now added numerous examples from earlier decades in order to fully develop the concepts of this exhibition. Objects in the exhibition include outstanding works by many internationally renowned designers, including furniture and lighting by Ron Arad, Edgar Brandt, Wendell Castle, Shiro Kuramata, Gaetano Pesce, Niki de Saint-Phalle, Philippe Starck and Louis Comfort Tiffany; ceramics by Roseline Delisle, Piero Fornasetti, Wilhelm Kage, Pablo Picasso, Gio Ponti, Peter Voulkos and Vally Wieselthier; glass by Fulvio Bianconi, Dale Chihuly, Vicke Lindstrand, Maurice Marinot and Ettore Sottsass; jewelry and metalware by Andrea Branzi,Riccardo Dalisi, Camille Fauré, Arline M. Fisch, Josef Hoffmann, Sam Kramer, René Lalique and Jean Puiforcat; and textiles by Junichi Arai, Jack Lenor Larsen, Peter Max, Alessandro Mendini, Emilio Pucci and artists of the Wiener Werkstätte.
Dr. Martin Eidelberg, curator of the exhibition and a specialist in the field, comments: "Traditional scholarship on this century's design history often proclaimed that less was more. Now, however, with the advent of postmodernism, we are also able to see that sometimes more was more. The richly ornamented surfaces and textures, as well as elements of fantasy and rich imagination, of much twentieth-century design indicate that there was a great deal of interest among designers in irrational styles such as surrealism and in ornament inspired by fine art movements. "
A major catalogue has been published under the direction of Dr. Eidelberg, in English and French editions, by the MMDA in association with Flammarion. It includes color photos of each object with an accompanying quotation from the designer or a contemporary source to help further acquaint viewers with the design process.
The CMC's Public Programmes Division is organizing a design contest with the region's French and English secondary schools that offer a visual arts programme. Participating students will have to create a piece that relates to one of the four themes in the exhibition and a jury of three specialists will evaluate the works of art. Prizes will be announced on Sunday, December 14, at 11:00 a.m., at the entrance of the exhibition hall where the winning pieces will be exhibited for the duration of the exhibition.
An illustrated Web site, developed by the MMDA in collaboration with the University of Louisville, presents the exhibition (www.madm.org).
Information (media):
Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7169
Senior Media Relations Officer: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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