Confession: I’m a sucker for anything mid-century modern, without the laurels of an in-depth art history background to rest on. What I do know I’ve learned “in the field”—i.e. vintage furniture shops, informed Craigslist ads, glossy design magazines, and the occasional scrap from my more-cultured-than-me best friend Heidi.
So needless to say, when I read about two mid-century exhibits currently showing here in D.C., I hightailed it down to Penn Quarter to the National Building Museum (one of my personal D.C. museum favorites, boasting bonuses of both a spectacular museum store heaving with design gems and an outpost of Firehook Bakery) and the American Art Museum (more on that in an upcoming post).
NBM’s offering, “Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future,” ends this weekend (Aug. 24) and proffers a retrospective of Finnish architect Saarinen, the under-appreciated 20th-century designer behind such culture icons as the St. Louis Gateway Arch, the terminal at Washington’s Dulles International Airport, and seriously amazing (read: $$$$$) furniture like the Tulip and Womb chairs. He’s credited with capturing Americans’ optimism during the post-World War II economic boom.
Notable, sure, but even better: He designed a large portion of my alma mater Drake University’s campus back in 1946, including my freshman dorm, and I was curious to see whether Drake would get its due in the exhibit (it did!). [Side note: A quick search of Drake's website revealed the following hilarious nugget: The reason Hubbell Dining Hall isn’t connected to the Quad Residence Halls is because Saarinen "thought Midwestern girls were hardy enough to go outdoors to get their meals.” I feel like I should be offended, but judging by my and my class's collective freshman 15s, he was right.]
Tragically, Saarinen died suddenly from a brain tumor at the age of 51, very much in his prime.
Obviously, this exhibit isn’t for everyone, but I ate it up like an arty geek. Admittedly, I paused longest at the wall reserved for Saarinen’s mark on Drake, but thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. My favorite takeaway: Turns out the reason he designed his renowned pedestal tables and chairs was because he was trying to alleviate the “slum of legs” prevalent in home décor. (I love the mental imagery that evokes.) Oh, and I totally want one of his “conversation pits” when I own a house.
For a retail tour of Saarinen’s works, check out the Knoll collection at Vastu on 14th Street.
“thought Midwestern girls were hardy enough to go outdoors to get their meals” read: the food at Hubbell will make you so fat that you need the extra exercise.
[...] my recent quest for mid-century modernism, I bring you the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s temporary exhibit, “Local Color: [...]