Eventually Everything Connects / Cranbrook Art Museum
Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US
This exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum was the impetus for heading out to the Midwest. I met two friends in Detroit for six days of architecture and design sightseeing.
Inspired by Charles Eames’s quote, “Eventually everything connects: people, ideas, objects,” the exhibition included over 200 works by100 designers and artists. It centers on the Cranbrook Academy's role in the evolution of modern design along with emphasizing the often-overlooked contributions of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and designers of color.
The exhibition and accompanying book were curated by Andrew Blauvelt and Bridget Bartal.
Near the beginning of the exhibition is the Wartime Experiments section, with pieces from the 1941 Organic Design in Home Furnishings competition, which was sponsored b MoMA. On the left is a chair design Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames submitted to the competition. This example has original upholstery and was donated to Cranbrook by the Saarinen family.
Ralph Rapson rocker. He studied at Cranbrook and then worked as a designer for Eliel and Eero.
New Materials for a New Age: Fiberglass and Plastic
Erwine and Estelle Laverne, Bill Lam, Sori Yanagi, Georgle Nelson, Eero Saarinen and more Eames.
It was nice to see my old Sori Yanagi Elephant stools, which are now part of the Cranbrook Art Museum collection. I'm sure they're much happier there than stacked up in my storage.
Bill Lam
John Risley People chair, Estelle and Erwine Laverne Tulip Chair, abnd the Eames child's chair all belong to Cranbrook.
This display was called Humanizing Modernism. It's a response to the International Style and the "house as a machine for living" modernism being touted by Europeans such as Le Corbusier.
Alexander Girard
Environmental Enrichment Panel, Girls comes from MillerKnoll. Saul Steinberg Nude was painted in 1950 when he visited 901. From the collection of the Eames Institute.
It was initially just sitting on the ground without a base. I've also seen a period photo with a rocker base.
Leisure Time and Lounge Seating
Matt Kahn, Round Dance textile, 1949 by Konwiser Inc. Another Cranbrook student and rare textile from their collection. He moved to California and was a longtime professor at Stanford. He also worked as an "artistic consultant" for Eichler development company.He also lived in an A.Q. Jones house on the Stanford campus.
I thought I remembered seeing it in the Konwiser catalog I have
Checkmate Noguchi
On this trip, I heard a story from a friend about a picker buying one of these after seeing the bottom of the chess table being used as a bird bath in rural Michigan. Apparently the person had the rest of it in the barn. It seems like a wild tale. I hope it's true.
Prototype Eva Zeisel Resilient Chair, which never went into production. The only other one I've seen was at MoMA in 2005. Collection of the Hagley Museum and Library
Harry Bertoia chaise prototype from 1952. One of two known to exist. Cranbrook collection.
Did you know that Paul Evans went to Cranbrook? I didn't.
Evelyn Ackerman"Campesina" Woven Hanging, 1969. Collection Henry Ford Museum. There are also some Natzlers and Heath ceramics.
Natural Materials: Indoor-Outdoor living.
Isamu Noguchi Akari Light Sculpture from 1952. Cranbrook collection.
Isamu Kenmochi and Isamu Noguchi Bamboo Basket Chair, designed in 1950. It was never produced and nobody knows if the original prototype still exists. The Noguchi Foundation produced a small number of them in 2007 and the one shown belongs to them.
Pipsan Saarinen Swanson and J. Robert F. Swanson for Ficks Reed, Lotus Chair by Miller Yee Fong for Tropi-Cal and Isamu Kenmochi. Cranbrook collection.
On the wall are Robert David Sailors room divider samples. He went to Cranbrook and donated the pieces to their collection.
Noguchi and Kenmochi
Source: Noguchi Museum
Marianne Strengell textile from the Cranbrook collection. In 1937, Eliel Saarinen invited Strengell to teach at Cranbrook Academy of Art, and shortly after became the head of weaving.
This Alexander Girard banner hung at the 1975 Walker Art Center exhibition, Nelson, Eames, Girard, and Propst: The Design Process at Herman Miller. It's from the collection of the Henry Ford Museum.
An Edward Wormley for Dunbar Janus chair with Jack Lenor Larsen fabric is on the pedestal, along with more Larsen fabric behind it. They are from Cranbrook's collection. In the exhibition's book, Amy Ausherman wrote an essay on Noguchi. She mentioned a young Noguchi attended a "learn-by-doing" school in Indiana founded by Wormley.
Coat with Dorothy Liebes fabric from The Henry Ford.
Ruth Adler Schnee is another Cranbrook alum and the textiles are part of the museum's collection.
A Ray Komai section in an exhibition isn't something you see very often.
It's also nice to see Olga Lee in the limelight.
Greta Grossman desk and chair by Glenn of California from R & Company. The Ralph O Smith lamp belongs to Cranbrook.
This is based off a 1964 Herman Miller ad art-directed by Tomoko Miho. I guess since the MillerKnoll merger, it's OK to let some Knoll on the display. I'd also put the Don Knorr chair on the top of the pile.
The Herman Miller Textile & Objects department. The banner is on loan from The Henry Ford.
The Knoll department. Florence Knoll and Harry Bertoia both went to Cranbrook. The Bertoia sculptures all belong to Cranbrook.
Drawings of Mathematica exhibition, c. 1961 by Miyoko Sasaki from the Eames Office
From the Collection Toad Atelier. Their ephemera collection is just insane.
Side note: I was able to play with Mathematica on this trip. More about that in a future post.
Jet Age and the Rise of the Airport
Irving Harper and Philip George Supergraphics for Braniff Airport Lounge, 1969
Alexander Girard chair for Braniff International Airways, c. 1967 for Herman Miller. Collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
Hexgonal Table, 1967 for Herman Milller. MillerKnoll Archives
George Nelson and Associates Prototype for Airport Seating, c. 1967 for Herman Miller. MillerKnoll Archives
George Nelson and Associates. Lucia DeRespinis in the Nelson Office designed the Beehive Lamp (this one is a prototype from The Henry Ford) and the Howard Miller Eye and Spool clocks from the collection of Ken Shotkoski. Nelson Associate Charles Pollock designed the Swag Leg Desk and Chair and Irving Harper designed the Marshmallow Sofa and all three belong to the Cranbrook Art Museum.
Alexander Girard Environmental Enrichment Panels and the corresponding ink on paper drawings, from MillerKnoll and The Henry Ford.
Action Office by George Nelson and Robert Propst
I believe these came from Herman Miller's Founder D.J. De Pree's personal office. They are part of The Henry Ford's massive Herman Miller collection. More on that in a future post.
Herman Miller Research Division Model Kit for Action Office 2, from the MillerKnoll Archives
A personal favorite is this Angelo Testa textile for IBM from The Henry Ford. Kristen Gallerneaux wrote a great essay about it in the Eventually Everything Connects book, which you should definitely pick up.
I barely made it to this and I'm so glad I did. It closed yesterday but they have a virtual walkthrough.
The last time I was at the Cranbrook Art Museum was ten years ago. The Jewelry of Harry Bertoia was on display at the time. This exhibition was a great reason to get back there. I hope it's not another decade before the next visit.