EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art opens it’s main exhibition of the year 2015 the 18th of February 2015. The exhibition, Pop Art Design, is from the Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany. EMMA’s production also incorporates Pop Art and contemporary design from Finland.
The exhibition:
Pop Art Design is an exhibition about the relationship of Pop Art and design from the 1950s to the early 1970s. It explores the ways in which everyday phenomena became an influetical factor in popular culture and how art and design shaped society.
The exhibition consists of different sections describing the history of and themes of Pop Art and design. Most of the exclusive design objects shown in the exhibition come from Vitra Design Museum’s collection. The Finnish section of the exhibition includes Pop Art and design of the 1960s from Finnish art museums’ and private collectors.
Highlights include: the famous but rarely seen Leonardo sofa from Studio 65; Eduardo Paolozzi’s sculpture Diana as an Engine; and Allen Jones’s Chair. The Finnish Pop Art on display includes pieces by Harro Koskinen, Mikko Jalavisto, Paul Osipow, Leo Lindsten and Risto Vilhunen.
In connection with the Pop Art Design exhibition, EMMA shows the English contemporary artist Liam Gillick's (born 1964) tribute to the British Pop Art icon, Richard Hamilton: Hamilton: A Film by Liam Gillick.
The exhibition, Pop Art Design, was prepared by the Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein) in cooperation with Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (Humlebaek) and Modern Museet (Stockholm). EMMA’s production also incorporates Pop Art and contemporary design from Finland.
The exhibition is curated by Mathias Schwartz-Clauss from Vitra Design Museum. The Finnish section of the the exhibition is curated by Päivi Talasmaa from EMMA.
More about the exhibition: http://www.emma.museum/en/popartdesign
Pop Art:
Born in the USA and UK in the 1950s, Pop Art is regarded as the most significant artistic movement since 1945. Pop Art was a continuation of the post-war cultural change which derived, in various ways, from democracy, affluence and the consumer society. Nudging art down from its elevated pedestal, pop art aligns itself with everyday aesthetics reflecting the image created by consumerism and the media and, consequently, foreboding modern times. Pop Art made a major impact on visual arts and design in Europe in the 1960s.
Finnish design in the 1960s:
Through increasing affluence and modernisation, Finland developed in the 1960s into a consumer society ruled by commercialism and the media. The rapid technological and social development meant drastic changes in everyday life and consumer habits as well as faith in the future.
Plastics and textiles become design icons
The influence of colours and shapes from pop art and design was manifested in the strong colours and sculptural forms of textiles and plastic objects. Finnish designers showed proof of extraordinary versatility. They tried and combined various materials, especially plastic.
In the 1960s, plastic became the symbol of the brave new world – the forward-looking material whose use increased exponentially. Everything was possible. Thanks to the plasticity of the material, the objects could be given any shape or size. For instance, when creating his chairs, Eero Aarnio capitalised on free and sculptural globes and ellipses, while Matti Suuronen created Futuro, the futuristic “space dwelling”, from reinforced plastic.
The rise of Finnish printed fabrics to international acclaim was based on a new way of thinking and doing. A brave and unique attitude is what makes Marimekko fabrics and clothing different from other products of the time. Their design shows that Marimekko artists were both interested in and familiar with visual arts. That is the foundation of “doing things differently”, using fresh and lively colours, eye-catching graphic patterns, big blocks of colour and free forms.
Further information:
Päivi Talasmaa, Intendent, EMMA.
[email protected] , p. +358 50 511 4206
Press material: http://kuvat.emma.museum/kuvat/Lehdistokuvat-Press/POP+Art+Design/
Keyword: emmamuseum
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