Designing Dreams
Reviewed by Jim Sweeney
The image most people have of modern architecture is probably as much due to movies from the Deco period as it is due to experience with real buildings, says Donald Albrecht in his book Designing Dreams: Modern Architecture in the Movies (Hennessey & Ingalls, paperback, $29.95).
Albrecht provides a nice overview of how modern architecture and design have been used in film. He provides plenty of food for thought and good stills to illustrate his point. The book will make you want to see many of these films.
Films probably promoted modern architecture to the general public far more broadly and more successfully than any architect, museum show, or design magazine did, Albrecht says. He argues that "movie designers were often as talented and successful as their architectural counterparts in creating modern designs."
He points out that the 1939 New York World's Fair had 45 million visitors in 18 months. In comparison, he says, the Museum of Modern Art's seminal 1932 "Modern Architecture" exhibit attracted 33,000 visitors. In 1939, Albrecht adds, weekly attendance at the 17,000 theaters in the United States was 85 million. Seven years later it had reached 98 million.
Hollywood also had a major impact on fashion, Albrecht says. Films went from aping fashion trends to creating them. (That trend hasn't ended. Remember the "Annie Hall" look?) Retailers made money producing lines of clothing that were inspired by film costumes.
Some films had an amazing design pedigree. Marcel L'Herbier's French film, "L'Inhumaine" (1924) had exterior design work by Robert Mallet-Stevens; one set by Fernand Léger; furniture by Pierre Chareau; jewelery by Raymond Tempier; costumes by Paul Poiret; and decorative objects by Rene Lalique, Jean Puiforcat, and Jean Luce. Much of the same team was reunited for the 1926 film "Le Vertige," with the addition of artists Robert and Sonia Delaunay. Mallet-Stevens also had his own film studio for a while.
This article originally appeared in Trans-Lux volume 21, number 2, June 2003.
Where to Find the Book
You can find Designing Dreams in local bookstores or purchase it on-line at a discount from Amazon.com Books.
ADSW offers this book in association with Amazon.com Books and receives a small commission on sales referred to them.
Comments
Created Wednesday, September 24, 2003; Modified Monday, September 29, 2003.
