|
In reaction to the severe and tight look of the modern era, there were several major style changes that began taking place in the middle of the 20th century called “contemporary,” with contemporary furniture highlighted by newly designed contemporary lighting. The look of streamlining, smoothness and ultra-sanitary surfaces were combined with extremely simple proportions and straight lines. Shapes opened up, allowing light and color to blend and harmonize with the new look of architectural designs in a softer look of the modern century look. Mass production took over where expert handcrafting ended; a new era had begun for contemporary lighting.
New material came into existence making the contemporary look of furniture and contemporary lighting look entirely different from what was the traditional material of the previous times. It was also undergoing a serious change during this time; natural woods were no longer as popular as were synthetic products: plywood, plastics, steel, aluminum and others synthetic products. The word “contemporary” evolved from the First World War, where poverty and inflation forced people to create something new out of desperation and depression ... a new way of looking at things. This new consciousness eventually influenced the fields of art and architecture, along with design of furniture such as the contemporary dining furniture and contemporary lighting. During this period there was a reaction going on which led to social changes in our country, which changed the way we looked at aesthetics in our contemporary furniture and contemporary lighting. This was demonstrated by the contemporary furniture and contemporary lighting look that developed. The ideal became a different “sort of man,” who was influenced into a new way of living with a purism effect with emphasis on straight edges and straight, smooth, and slim forms. A fresh way of looking at things yet were sparse began to prevail. Anything that appeared to be superfluous was out of the picture and totally taboo. There were many furniture styles involved in this change during this time. Modern furniture was “austerely functional” in form, and was considered an extreme of the Art Deco movement. Art Deco was an early 20th century design period whose age represented a way of incorporating new material, using bold and geometric forms. Its characteristics drew on the machine age, with minimized ornament designs, now consisting of extreme simplicity of form following function. The contemporary dining furniture was simple, bold and had lots of geometric straight lines and a feeling of “uniqueness” that had not been seen before. Items such as contemporary lighting drew on straight geometric lines with a look of simple and bold, with a feeling of “uniqueness” that was new and fresh.
|
Design Ideas