"Design Chronicle Exhibition: What Was Born, What Changed?" (National Crafts Museum) Report: Tracing the Practice of "Design" in Response to Societal Turning Points
A review of the "Design Chronicle Exhibition" at the National Crafts Museum, tracing design history and its relationship with society since the Industrial Revolution.Summary
The National Crafts Museum in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, is holding the exhibition "Design Chronicle Exhibition: What Was Born, What Changed?" until January 11, 2027. This is the museum's first comprehensive attempt to present a general history of design since relocating from Tokyo to Kanazawa. Following the Industrial Revolution from the mid-18th century, as society shifted from handicrafts to mass production, "design" was established through the trial and error of craftspeople. The exhibition consists of four chapters: Chapter 1 covers William Morris's Arts and Crafts movement and Art Nouveau; Chapter 2 examines Art Deco, which affirmed mechanization; Chapter 3 highlights modernist design exemplified by the Bauhaus; and Chapter 4 explores post-World War II diversification and pioneering examples of corporate identity systems. The article notes that while the exhibition surveys history through masterpieces of each era, it raises the question of how contemporary, increasingly multifaceted "design" should be presented, and suggests that further exploration of trends since the 2000s would have made this chronicle more three-dimensional.
(Source：美術手帖)