Curating “Cultivating Design: Recent Acquisitions”
Curated by Colin Fanning and Alisa Chiles, Assistant Curators of European Decorative Arts
Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer Collab Gallery
June 25, 2022-October 16, 2022
This installation highlighted some recent additions to the museum’s collection of modern and contemporary design, ranging from furniture, textiles, and tableware to posters and consumer electronics. All of the works we chose to include illustrate how design shapes our experience of the world in fundamental ways, some obvious and others more subtle. Design has formed a core part of the museum’s collections and exhibitions since its founding in 1876 as the Pennsylvania Museum and School of Industrial Art, with an original aim of improving the quality of American manufacturing and educating the public about the economic and cultural importance of design, craft, and industry. Our installation aimed to build on these historic roots, while also embracing new narratives and more diverse perspectives in the field—a perennial work in progress.
Another goal of the installation was to give visitors a glimpse into how museum curators think about building a collection. Many factors inform how a collection takes shape over time, including the individual interests of curators and relationships with external supporters. As curators, we evaluate new acquisitions in relation to the existing holdings. Larger cultural shifts can also change how we see a collection, shedding new light on its gaps or inviting different ways of telling the histories it contains.
The model used to determine object placement in the gallery.
Selecting font types for the title wall.
We organized the works on view into five thematic groupings that illustrated how our recent collecting reflects both broader shifts in design culture as well as the specific historical context and forward-looking goals of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Diversifying Design
The first of these, located in the center of the gallery, showed our efforts to address the underrepresentation of works by women designers, Black designers, and Latinx designers in our collection. This section didn’t capture the full scope of diversity we hope to bring to the collection; for example, experiences of disability or the perspectives of Indigenous artists were not included in this display, though they are important dimensions of our ongoing work.
The recent acquisitions on view included some by trailblazing historic figures, like Marianne Brandt of the Bauhaus, and others by contemporary practitioners currently shaping the field, including Ghanaian-British architect David Adjaye. Adjaye’s design for an innovative cantilevered chair, the “Washington Skeleton” Side Chair, was his first foray into designing furniture for large-scale production. As we continue working towards a more inclusive history of design, we ask ourselves: what viewpoints are left out and what stories go untold, due to the historical and ongoing absences within the museum’s collection?
“Washington Skeleton” Side Chair, Designed 2013, Designed by David Adjaye, Ghanaian (active London, United Kingdom), born 1966, Made by Knoll (East Greenville, Pennsylvania, 1938–present), Aluminum, Gift of Lisa S. Roberts, 2015-9-1
“Sappho” Plate, Made 2018, Designed by Judy Chicago, American, born 1939, Made for The Prospect NY (New York, founded 2016), From The Dinner Party, Bone china, Purchased with funds contributed by Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design at Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2018-27-1
View of the unpacking and installation of Office Pet: Dragon Fly, 2007, Designed by Hella Jongerius, Dutch, born 1963, Commissioned by Vitra GmbH (Basel, Switzerland, 1934–present) Leather, metal, polyester, embroidery, Gift of Dominique Lévy, 2021-118-1a,b
Pennsylvania Design and Manufacturing
Along the far wall of the gallery, a second section highlighted the creativity of Pennsylvania-based designers and manufacturing firms. The Philadelphia Museum of Art has had strong connections to our surrounding region’s manufacturing and design sectors since its founding. Once known as the “workshop of the world,” the greater Philadelphia area was a leading producer of textiles and ceramics and home to numerous other industries. While the American manufacturing sector has shrunk considerably since World War II, design and manufacturing still have an important presence in this region and the museum maintains a strong interest in following how makers nearby—whether large corporate establishments or independent practitioners—take part in broader debates about design and its impact on the world.
Several of the works we chose to include here, including a textile by Sven Markelius and Harry Bertoia’s iconic “Diamond” Chair from the 1950s, were designed for the Pennsylvania-based furniture manufacturer headed by Florence Knoll, which redefined the look and feel of corporate America in the 1950s and 1960s. We also featured the First 100 Days poster series, which was conceived by Philadelphia photographer Conrad Benner and supported by Mural Arts Philadelphia. The project used graphic design to shape the public discussion about policy issues that the new administration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris might address in its first hundred days in office.
Front: “Diamond” Chair, Designed around 1950; made around 1957, Designed by Harry Bertoia
American (born Italy), 1915–1978, Upholstery fabric designed by Antoinette Lackner Prestini (American, 1909–1998), Chair: plastic-coated wire frame, foam rubber ,Upholstery (“Prestini” in Yellow): cotton plain weave, Gift of Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture, 2011-107-4
Rear: “Pythagoras” Printed Textile, 1952, Designed by Sven Markelius, Swedish, 1889–1972 Made by Knoll (East Greenville, Pennsylvania, 1938–present), Printed linen plain weave, Gift from the George R. Kravis II Collection, 2018-205-47
The First 100 Days poster series, 2021, Printed by Fireball Printing (Philadelphia, founded 2008), Commissioned by Conrad Benner (American, born 1985), Collaborator: Mural Arts Philadelphia (Philadelphia, founded 1984), Inkjet print on wove paper, Gift of Conrad Benner and Mural Arts Philadelphia through Collab: The Group for Modern and Contemporary Design, 2021-7-1–13
Robert Venturi’s Legacy at the PMA
A third grouping of objects in the installation honored Robert Venturi’s legacy at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. As one of the most influential architects of the last century, native Philadelphian Robert Venturi left indelible marks on both the field of architecture and the PMA. This included furniture, household goods, and gallery designs that Venturi created together with his wife and architectural partner, Denise Scott Brown, over the course of several decades. Several of the works on view, including a neon griffin, a bench, and a large rug, came from Venturi’s colorful and inventive redesign of the museum’s West Entrance in 1986–89. These were retired from use and accessioned into the collection in 2019, following new building renovations by Frank Gehry.
Rug, Bench, and Griffin from Lenfest Hall, 1982–89, Designed by Robert Venturi American, 1925–2018, Commissioned by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2019-85-2a,b, 2019-85-4, 2019-85-1.
Gifts from the Kravis Design Center
The installation also featured works that were given to the museum in 2018 as part of a generous bequest made by the late George R. Kravis II. Kravis, an Oklahoma-based broadcasting executive, had amassed one of the largest and most impressive private industrial design collections in the world. A particular strength of Kravis’s collection was American industrial design between 1930 and 1960. Some of the highlights from the Kravis gift on display included innovative plywood designs by Charles and Ray Eames, such as a child’s chair from around 1945 and a mass-produced leg splint that was successfully used to treat US soldiers during World War II. We also featured Alberto Meda’s “Light Light” Armchair (1988), which incorporated extraordinarily lightweight synthetic materials originally developed for the aerospace industry, and German industrial designer Ingo Maurer’s poetic “Bulb” Table Lamp (1966), designed for Herman Miller.
Left: Child’s Chair, 1945, Designed by Charles Eames, American, 1907–1978, and Ray Eames American, 1912–1988, Made by Evans Products Company (Venice, California, and Grand Haven, Michigan), Plywood, red aniline dye finish, Gift from the George R. Kravis II Collection, 2018-205-30
Right: Leg Splint, 1941–42, Designed by Charles Eames, American, 1907–1978, Made by Evans Products Company (Venice, California, and Grand Haven, Michigan), Molded plywood, Gift from the George R. Kravis II Collection, 2018-205-4
Left: “Light Light” Armchair, 1988, Designed by Alberto Meda, Italian, born 1945, Made by Alias S.p.A. (Grumello del Monte, Italy, 1979–present), Carbon fiber, Nomex composite honeycomb, Gift from the George R. Kravis II Collection, 2018-205-35
Right: “Bulb” Table Lamp, 1966, Designed by Ingo Maurer, German, 1932–2019, Made by Ingo Maurer GmbH (Munich, 1966–present), Enameled steel, glass, metal, Gift from the George R. Kravis II Collection, 2018-205-46a,b
The Everyday Art of Consumer Electronics
Finally, our installation also highlighted recent acquisitions of consumer electronics. A historical strength of the museum’s collection, these works illustrate the rapid pace of technological change over the past century and point to how mass media and popular culture permeate our social networks and individual experiences. The physical forms of these devices suggest the different ways people have imagined such technologies should fit into their lives. Should they recede quietly into the background, or stand out as examples of the latest innovations? Should they be timeless and durable, or fashionable and disposable? Objects like the ones we chose to display can help us understand design’s role in how we communicate, inform, and entertain. At an institution largely focused on collecting and preserving physical objects, we continue to think about how we might capture and display the intangible kinds of design that increasingly shape the way we live.
Curator Colin Fanning arranging objects in the consumer electronics case.
“Watchman” Portable Television, Designed around 1982, Made by Sony Corporation (Tokyo, founded 1946), Plastic, grayscale cathode-ray tube display, Gift of Eileen Tognini, 2015-83-1a,b
“Praxis 48” Electric Typewriter, 1964, Designed by Ettore Sottsass, Italian (born Austria), 1917-2007, and Hans von Klier, German, 1934–2000, Made by Olivetti (Ivrea, Italy, 1908–present), Metal, plastic, fabric, paint, Gift of Morton Abromson and Joan Nissman, 2017-25-1a–d.