The essay includes 4 elements:
B: Investigate with an appreciation of social, historical, cultural and technical contexts in relation to design
C: Exemplify techniques of analysis to history and theory in relation to interior design
D: Demonstrate cognitive and persuasive writing skills to develop an argument about a key design movement and its influence
E: Integrate historical knowledge into current design practice and contemporary context
Details on each element will be provided in class and on other documents provided throughout the trimester. Ensure your name is first on all files and folders submitted.
‘Ours is the era of the machine. Machinery is creating our style. It is imposing a new tempo and a new mode of life. With shameful sentimentality we still cling to the outgrown “styles” of the past – to houses designed in period styles ridiculously alien to their settings to gilded gewgaws and polished marbles, to pseudo-period furniture’. Frankl, Paul 1930, Form and Re-form: A Practical Handbook of Modern Interiors, Harper Brothers, New York, 1st Edn., pp. 25
Write a persuasive essay in the form of a magazine article that defines what the term ‘modern’ means in early 20th Century Interior Design. You will focus on the Modernist Movement from the inter-war period (1919-1939) and compare it to the other dominant style of Art Deco. Using the above quote as a starting point consider the following to make a statement about which of these two movements is the most ‘modern’:
Why these two movements existed at the same time in history?
What social, political, economic and cultural factors of the period 1919-1939 created this dichotomy?
How did the technical advancements of the period support the design of interiors and interior products?
Is there visual evidence that proves the assumptions in the quote?
Highlight influences on the two movements from historical styles of the past
Analyse the influence both movements have had on contemporary interior design practice (illustrate with images)
Submission Instructions:
Title page including student name, student number and assessment title
A maximum of 2000 words essay (+- 10%)
Contain a minimum of eight (8) and maximum of ten (10) images (annotated with a descriptive caption) to support argument
You will be required to use quotes and In Text referencing (cite at least 6 sources, including at least 4 academic book/s or journal/s) and a Reference List at the end of the assessment
Portrait, A4 (297mm x 210mm) in size
Please note you are required to upload your assignment to Canvas as a single PDF and submit via Turnitin
