75th Anniversary Exhibit “For Modern Living ”
View of the Great Hall and exhibition rooms, For Modern Living exhibition, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1949. Courtesy Detroit Institute of Arts.
The 1949 For Modern Living exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts was a watershed moment in design history. Centered on the DIA’s Great Hall (totally transformed with nine fully-furnished modern-style rooms), For Modern Living marshalled midcentury masters Alexander Girard, Minoru Yamasaki, Eero Saarinen, Florence Knoll, Charles Eames and others to create a “new ideal of beauty” for the modern era.
More importantly, the exhibition – which focused on modern design for the home and employed civic/corporate partnerships, innovative exhibition displays and pioneered new design technologies — provides lessons for Detroit’s design community today.
View of the Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI during the For Modern Living exhibition, 1949. Courtesy Detroit Institute of Arts.
Art Impact Connect is supporting the concept envisioned by Dr. Deborah Lubera Kawsky for an exhibit and symposium celebrating the For Modern Living 75th Anniversary and featuring contemporary designers and their current vision for modern living.
