Butterfly Stools. 1956
©
All rights reserved
Sori Yanagi 2011 United States
Molded plywood and metal, 15 1/2 x 17 3/8 x 12 1/8" (39.4 x 44.1 x 30.8 cm). Manufactured by Tendo Co., Ltd., Tokyo. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designer, 1958.
Plywood: Material, Process, Form
The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA
Wednesday 02 February 2011 to Sunday 01 January 2012
“Plywood,” explained Popular Science in 1948, “is a layer cake of lumber and glue.” In the history of design, plywood is also an important modern material that has given 20th-century designers of everyday objects, furniture, and even architecture greater flexibility in shaping modern forms at an industrial scale.
Plywood: Material, Process, Form, and installation in MoMA’s Philip Johnson Architecture and Design Galleries, features examples from MoMA’s collection of modern designs that take advantage of the formal and aesthetic possibilities offered by plywood, from around 1930 through the 1950s. Archival photographs illuminate the process of design and manufacture in plywood. Iconic furniture by Alvar Aalto, Charles and Ray Eames, Eero Saarinen, and Arne Jacobsen appear alongside organic platters by Tapio Wirkkala (1951), Sori Yanagi’s Butterfly Stool (1956), an architectural model for a prefabricated house by Marcel Breuer (1943), and experimental designs for plywood in the aeronautics industry. The installation is organized by Juliet Kinchin, Curator, and Aidan O’Connor, Curatorial Assistant, Department of Architecture and Design, The Museum of Modern Art.
Location
The Museum of Modern Art - MoMA11 West 53 Street
Midtown Manhattan Precinct
New York
United States
Lounge Chair. c. 1944
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood and steel rod, 28 3/4 x 30 1/8 x 30" (73 x 76.5 x 76.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1973.
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood and steel rod, 28 3/4 x 30 1/8 x 30" (73 x 76.5 x 76.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1973.
Lounge Chair. c. 1944
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood and steel rod, 28 3/4 x 30 1/8 x 30" (73 x 76.5 x 76.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1973.
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood and steel rod, 28 3/4 x 30 1/8 x 30" (73 x 76.5 x 76.2 cm). The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1973.
Lounge Chair. 1934
© All rights reserved Gerald Summers 2011 United States
Bent birch plywood with pigmented lacquer, 29 5/8 x 23 1/2 x 35" (75.2 x 59.7 x 88.9 cm). Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, Ltd., London. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Barbara Jakobson Purchase Fund and Peter Norton Purchase Fund and Gift of Robert and Joyce Menschel, 2000.
© All rights reserved Gerald Summers 2011 United States
Bent birch plywood with pigmented lacquer, 29 5/8 x 23 1/2 x 35" (75.2 x 59.7 x 88.9 cm). Manufactured by Makers of Simple Furniture, Ltd., London. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Barbara Jakobson Purchase Fund and Peter Norton Purchase Fund and Gift of Robert and Joyce Menschel, 2000.
Leg Splint. 1942
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood, Each: 4 1/8 x 7 3/4 x 42" (10.5 x 19.7 x 106.7 cm). Manufactured by Evans Products Co., Molded Plywood Div., Venice, CA. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1950.
© All rights reserved Charles Eames and Ray Eames 2011 United States
Molded plywood, Each: 4 1/8 x 7 3/4 x 42" (10.5 x 19.7 x 106.7 cm). Manufactured by Evans Products Co., Molded Plywood Div., Venice, CA. The Museum of Modern Art, New York. Gift of the designers, 1950.
