"It is something of a cliché to state that children are the future,
but for modernist designers with a clear vision of the society and
values they wanted to shape, children have been an obvious starting
point," says [MoMA's "Century of the Child"] curator Juliet
Kinchin...Over the last 100 years or so, the idea of the "modern
child" was shaped by the same forces that shaped the rest of
society: industrialization, urbanization, and consumerism...This
may be the single most important, overriding dynamic regarding
design for children from the early 20th century to today: Adults
create new products for kids and kids, in turn, create new
worlds.--Steven Heller "The Atlantic"
Kids had it good in the 20th century. Designers gave them
revolutionary playthings like Lego and Tinkertoys and the Rubik's
Cube, made to be both fun and good for them. Geniuses like Frank
Lloyd Wright gave them deluxe schools..."We're looking at
principles and issues that take us to the core of thinking about
creativity in every aspect of our culture," says Juliet
Kinchin...MoMA's curator of modern design. "You really see how
fundamental design and children are to the modern world." In the
tumult of the last century, governments left and right, democratic
and tyrannical, invested lavishly in children and their spaces, as
a way to seize the future and plant the national flag
there...[Kinchin's] exhibition lays out how the children's
"colonies" of fascist Italy and the kindergartens of the Soviet
Union each housed their charges in shiny modern structures, away
from the old-fashioned views and tastes of their parents.
Schoolkids, both receptive and captive, were the ideal audiences
for radical modern ideas and objects...Kinchin's show puts the
Sputnik playgrounds of Czechoslovakia beside Barbie's Dream House
and the wooden toys of Creative Playthings to give a picture of a
culture where children were separate, but better.--Blake Gopnik
"Newsweek"
This is the first published survey of the 20th-century design for
children. And what an amazing publication! Taking inspiration from
Ellen Key's Century of the Child (1900), this book bridges the gap
between childhood and progressive design by examining individual
and collective works from the world of children. Kinchin and
O'Connor (both, MOMA) cover toys, books, games, and playgrounds,
but also furniture, safety equiptment, and architecture, providing
an exceptional overview of the history of design for the past 100
years. The book illustrates how designing for children stimulated
creative freedom and encouraged experimental aesthetics...
Beautiful illustrations accompany every section. An easy-to-use
index and an extensive list of references are included. Given its
multidiscliplinary content, this volume is a must for any
collection. Art students will love it, and students involved with
history, politics, health, child studies, and communication-- just
to mention a few other discliplines-- will discover unique
information about the world of children.--A. Zanin-Yost "Choice"
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