The past only exists through those memories we wish to retain. The period from 1960 to 1973 brings nostalgic thoughts of youth to baby boomers, while for succeeding generations it still provides a constant source of inspiration. The appearance of new substances, plastics in particular, heralded a break with the use of time-honoured materials and the practice of traditional skills. Their merits, stemming from new technological possibilities, lay in their variety and in the new style they generated - radical, sleek and seductive. Objects are already perfect as they come out of the mould. The exhibition features a mix of functional objects and works of art, which combine to form a Utopian house made entirely of plastic. Orange Dreams examines the lifestyle of an era, its creative climate and its quest for symbiosis and reaction in relation to its industrial context. This is the first time that so many objects have been brought together on this basis of selection and installation.
orange dreams
1
living dream
« It’s smooth, it slides and it’s beautiful » Topor The original beauty of the pieces reflects the use of technology and the creative freedom of their designers : corners are rounded to facilitate moulding, flat surfaces are replaced by more rigid, curved forms, and edges are sometimes rolled to thicken them and thus increase resistance. Every plastic object we touch, whether practical or decorative, can be produced in an endless variety of shapes thanks to the moulding process. M o d u l a r / S ta c k a b l e The free space available to each of us has become a luxury. Every nook and cranny - the boiler-room, the laundry-room - is marked out for a clearing session. Younger generations favour multi-purpose spaces and a minimalist look. Even chairs can be tucked away in cupboards if they are of the folding variety. Modular furniture is becoming the norm nowadays: industrialized design allows people to personalize their living space using standardized elements. The endless different ways of combining them have become a means of showing one’s originality. Other, nonstandard items span the borderline between works of art and everyday objects: painters see themselves as urban designers, sculptors as directors of furniture design, and so on.
the kitchen dream Unbreakable The kitchen, that ultimate utility space, radically changed in appearance between the dawn of the 20th century and the 1950s. Through the gradual disappearance of household staff, financial and time constraints, new standards of hygiene, the demands of housewives and the appeal of ever more practical and more elegant utensils, the kitchen regained its long-lost role as the centre of the home and the very heart of family life. In this room, which had become light and spacious, stainless steel and plastics complemented the nowindispenable electrical household appliances. Following on from the fifties, with their pastel toned, multi-coloured melamine tableware and polythyline Tupperware containers, Massimo Vignelli’s dishes were expressly made to be neatly stacked. Reds, oranges and yellows were used for kitchen tableware and coffee grinders, as well as the hairdryers in the bathroom.
mass dream(s) The strikes, pit closures and student protests of 1968 have now been forgotten. Our enduring memory of that time is of women’s liberation and the emancipation of all minority groups. Completely new styles were able to flourish during this period of intense cultural activity. Pop (from « popular ») represented an apology for, or criticism of consumer society based on the cult of the object, while op (from « optical ») used new technological gadgets and psychedelic effects originating from hallucinogenic visions.
…
orange dreams
2
…
As with a piece by Warhol or Vasarely, versions of the apple ice-bucket can be endlessly duplicated. So - mass dreams? Through the moulding process objects could be mass produced, and their low prices made them affordable for the working class : the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom…no interior, no home could escape the intrusion of plastic and its new aesthetic.
sleeping dream As children drift off to sleep, they know that tomorrow will bring better things, that their parents have faith in the future and that each new morning will bring fresh optimism. The adolescents of the baby-boom generation worshipped gods who were just five years older than they were: The Beatles, Jacques Dutronc, Kennedy, Vasarley, Bernstein, Dylan and Warhol. If we wanted it enough, we could create a new world like them, if only for just fifteen minutes. There was no jealousy, just longing – idealistic dreams and hopes of wonderful times to come. The bedroom represented the physical emancipation of young people free from taboos and surrounded by their icons : Jane Fonda, resplendent as Barbarella, or Bardot, barefoot on the beach.
Panton’s chair, from fibreglass to plastic(s) The designer Verner Panton became interested in the principle of a cantilevered chair very early in his career. In 1958, in collaboration with the Danish company Acrylic Teknik, his project culminated in an initial, single-piece prototype, a feat made possible by the use of synthetic material. Panton went on to work with the Vitra company on a version made of polyester reinforced with fibreglass. This material, however, turned out to be too brittle, as the chair needed a certain flexibility. So the first version of the Panton Chair, in 1967, was made in Baydur, a polyurethane foam. Vitra launched into serial production of the chairs, which were sold in 7 colours under the Herman Miller label. Cantilever was the first chair made from a single piece of synthetic material in a single moulding process. In 1970, however, Vitra changed materials and techniques by using Luran S, an injection-moulded thermoplastic, which was mass-coloured. But this technique altered the design of the chair : the edges were thicker and the seat was reinforced by ribbing. Still part of the Herman Miller Furniture Company collection, this version enjoyed great success. Production was halted in 1979. In 1983, Verner Panton relaunched the first version of the chair in its original material, polyurethane, returning to a more slender-looking model, made without reinforcing ribs. This version was produced by Vitra until 1999, the Actuelle collection being made from polypropyline.
nomadic dream After the war, the development of communication technology dramatically transformed the environment and led to the creation of several original objects (telephones, radios, televisions, recording devices, and so on). The companies which produced the bulk of these items represented two schools of thought. The Braun company in Germany favoured rational designs, whereas the Italian firms Olivetti and Brionvega took a more ergonomic approach.
…
orange dreams
3
…
In the late 1960s, companies in the north of Italy had attained such heights of technical expertise that several foreign firms outsourced the manufacture of their designs there. However, due to the rising cost of European labour this market was gradually reduced and transferred to Asia. In this way, the spectacular development of the Japanese economy in every branch of the technology sector radically altered the European consumer landscape with its low-cost products essentially aimed at a young public. A playful style, inspired by Pop Art, was to develop within Asia, typical examples of this being the products made by the Panasonic company, which manufactured televisions and transistor gadgets.
the MOD dream G etti n g « the l oo k » « I’ve worked hard, so now let me have fun and enjoy being young ! » This was how the baby boomers saw life. No more boring studies, family pressure or drab interiors : let’s be MOD, or modern, enjoying technological progress and colourful, affordable chic. After haute couture came ready-to-wear, enabling everyone to dress in the very latest fashions. With Courrèges and his Cosmonaut line, Cardin and Mary Quant leading the way, fashion became freer and more practical. The image of the svelte, liberated woman was established by media icons Brigitte Bardot, Jane Fonda, Twiggy and Françoise Hardy. Female consumers identified with them, wearing dresses from Biba (London), synthetic jersey by Rodier (Paris), miniskirts, tights and trousers. This marked the start of the « unisex » era, with jeans reigning supreme. Although costume jewellery became enormous, its size was counterbalanced by its simple, light, multicoloured forms : hoop earrings, Kelton watches with detachable coloured wristbands and over-sized sunglasses. The radio, like the slot-in record player, became portable, as music flourished in an explosion of creativity that brought in new dances and new looks every season.
office dream Everything was booming, there was full employment and the future looked bright. There was an inexhaustible supply of petrol and of that magical material, plastic, which was used to furnish the new office spaces. Developments in electronics led to considerable advancements in miniaturization ; plastic, as a material adaptable to every type of form and function thanks to its good electrical insulating properties, was included in this process. Functionalism now presented an optimistic face, offering rounded shapes and bright colours. Heavy, grey machines were transformed into wonderful objects. Plastic invaded the workplace : even that sacrosanct space, the manager’s office, « broke the mould » in a radical departure from the past.
orange dreams
4
space music dream In 1966, Robert Moog put the finishing touches to the electronic keyboard that bears his name and brought fame to « Walter » Carlos for « Switched-On Bach » in 1968 and « A Clockwork Orange », after Beethoven, in 1972. In the early 1970s, Terry Riley with his album « Persian Surgery Dervishes » (1971-72) and Pink Floyd (« Dark Side of the Moon », 1973) composed otherworldly electronic melodies reflecting the grandeur of the cosmos and the floating sensation induced by meditation. « Space rock » reached its zenith in Germany from 1974 to 1982 through the Virgin label, with Edgar Froese (« Aqua » - 1974), Klaus Schulze (« Timewind » - 1975), Tangerine Dream (« Rubycon » - 1975, « Stratosfear » - 1976, « Exist » - 1981, « White Eagle » - 1982) and Peter Baumann (« Romance » - 1976), not forgetting the youthful works of Jean-Michel Jarre (« Oxygène » - 1976) ; Jarre went on to work with Brian Eno (« Music for Airports - Ambient 1 to 4 » from 1978 to 1982). Man first set foot on the Moon on 21 July 1969 ; this opened a whole new dimension to our imagination, which had previously challenged the boundaries of time and reason through artifical visions of paradise.
epilogue Orange Dreams, a groundbreaking installation planned by the curators and the Atomium, offers the public a totally unique experience. The exhibition features a combination of works of art and everyday objects ; it portrays the dreams of a carefree middle class that had never experienced unemployment and whose unfailing optimistism persisted until the oil crisis of 1973 brought a rude awakening, and a new awareness of ecological issues. This period of « tangerine dreams » should not be seen as a sunset, but as the culminating point of certain exceptional and intense artistic and societal experiences, driven mainly by an infectious optimism.
a practitioner of the plastic arts encounters… plastic In 1987, Philippe Decelle picked up a Joe Colombo chair that had been left out on a dustbin and saw this as an indication of our society’s short memory ; today’s iconic object becomes tomorrow’s rubbish. The Plasticarium came into being and was established in Brussels. This collection, the only one of its kind in the world, is continually being developed. From the everyday object to the work of art, from the mainstream to pop art, never before have so many pieces been brought together in a single space. « The Plasticarium offers a quintessential vision of the sixties » says Philippe Decelle, the guardian of the temple and a pioneer who instigated a new appreciation of a muchdisparaged material. In this way, the collection celebrates the creations of an era of prosperity, conceived from a heady cocktail of freedom, new ideas, innovative technology and above all, of design liberated from the weight of tradition. The Plasticarium today is more than a museum – it is a source of inspiration and information for contemporary designers who are motivated by curiosity and creativity rather than nostalgia.
orange dreams
5
Componibili, Anna Castelli
Electric Plug, Peter Klasen (1971)
The architect prompted her husband, Kartell founder Giullo
With this Electric Plug, Klasen, one of the founders of the
Castelli, to use his company to produce household furniture
New Figuration movement, ironically questions the dangers
made from moulded plastic. By means of a simple stacking
of modernity and of new technology. This sculptural piece
operation, a variety of containers can be combined to create
illustrates the harmonious relationship between electricity
extremely practical storage furniture. Componibili, which
and plastics.
comes in a huge range of different colours, enables users to adapt their personal living space by arranging the basic set
A cc u m u l a t i o n o f U p h o l s t e r y T o o l s ,
of modules to suit their own personal taste or circumstances Arman (1970) G a r d e n Egg , P e t e r G h y c z y
An advocate for New Realism and a major figure within that The comfortable Garden Egg, with its polyurethane foam
movement, here Arman offers a new take on reality. With
seat pads covered in jersey fabric (containing nylon fibres),
this accumulation of upholstery tools encased in orange resin,
was designed for outdoor use. In the event of rain, the chair can
a standard item becomes idealized. This Pop-Art creation,
be closed to form a perfect egg shape. It has its place among
which exhibits a combination of enthusiasm and earnestness,
those iconic pieces that transcend the status of designer objects
allows us to explore the paradoxes of the consumer society.
and are seen as true works of art.
These Scrapers illustrate “the pure poetry of industrial chemistry”, to quote the words of the critic Pierre Restany.
N e s s o , G i a n ca r l o Ma t t i o l i ( 1 9 6 5 ) F o o d P r o c e s s o r , N o va ( 1 9 7 0 )
The Nesso lamp illustrates the idea that “useful is beautiful”. Initially made in fibreglass-reinforced resin, it was later injection-
The Belgian manufacturer Nova, a company specializing in
moulded. This change in plastic enabled the lamp to be
the production of irons and deep fryers, developed this food
mass-produced, rather than sold as an exclusive designer
processor in the 1970s. The aim behind this appliance, a
object. The Nesso was presented at MoMa in 1972 at the
sort of motorized Swiss army knife, was to free housewives
exhibition Italy: The New Domestic Landscape, where it
from various kitchen tasks. Difficult to clean, this dinosaur
contributed to the international renown of Italian design.
was to end its days at the back of cupboards, having been replaced by machines which were less versatile, but also less
B o o m e r a n g , Ma u r i c e C a l k a
cumbersome.
In his quest for the perfect synthesis of form and function, the
T h e Pa n t o n C h a i r
French sculptor sought to revolutionize drab office furniture with the Boomerang. It was first produced by Leleu-Deshays
This chair, which marked a radical break with the past, became
in a limited series of 35 items. Georges Pompidou, President of
the icon of an era. The designer shook up traditional practices
the French Republic (1969-1974) and a promoter of contempo-
by transforming the conventional four-legged chair and reject-
rary design, had a white version of the desk installed in the
ing the use of classic materials; the sensational form of the
Elysée Palace.
plastic Cantilever model counterbalanced the commonplace character of its material.
Va l e n t i n e E t t o r e S o t t s a s s ( 1 9 6 9 ) T h e Ra d i o B r ac e l e t
In 1969, Ettore Sottsass created the Valentine typewriter. At the time he was head of the design department at Olivetti,
Portable versions of both the radio and the slot-in record
having been appointed to the position in 1958 at just 23
player made their appearance during an explosion of musical
years of age. The Italian firm created the very first office
creativity that brought in new dances and new looks with
computer in 1965, giving rise to an amusing paradox: with
every season. Worn around the wrist, the playful style of this
the Valentine the designer, who had become the precursor
Japanese transistor radio recalls the extravagant designs of
and later the high priest of Postmodernism, had given a fresh
‘MOD’ jewellery. This was the ancestor of the Walkman.
makeover, with a brightly coloured portable container, to a soon-to-be outmoded piece of technology.
orange dreams
6