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The American Decorative Arts Forum's June 11th illustrated presentation is by John Stuart Gordon, curator at the Yale University Art Gallery. Mr. Gordon's lecture draws from his exhibit, "A Modern World: American Design from the Yale University Art Gallery, 1920 - 1950," and explores the varied influences and myths surrounding the appearance of modern decorative arts during the Jazz Age.
Though skeptical at first, Americans eagerly embraced modernist design during the 1920s and applied its aesthetic to furniture, housewares, textiles, silver and glass. Mr. Gordon shows how modern design was more than merely another decorative style and implied a new world view. Modernism became equated with modern life and was associated with progressive social and cultural issues of the day.
Modern objects were fabricated from newly-discovered polymers, utilized novel manufacturing processes, or adapted industrial materials for domestic use in ways that proclaimed their liberation from past traditions. Innovations in transportation, radio broadcasting and film all became equated with modern design, as did social issues, like the evolution of gender norms and anti-prohibition sentiments which were closely aligned with modernist designs.
Our mini-exhibit, which opens at 7:15PM, adds another fascinating dimension to each month's lecture topic. Come and view sleekly sophisticated Art Deco and streamlined objects brought by ADAF members from their collections. Mr. Gordon's lecture begins at 8:00PM. A question and answer period follows the lecture and members and guests are encouraged to participate. All ADAF lecturers are also very approachable after the Q&A session.
The June 11th lecture is held at our alternate location, the Walt Disney Museum in the Presidio at 104 Montgomery Street, San Francisco 94129.
DATE/TIME:
Tuesday, June 11
7:15pm-9:00pm
LOCATION:
Walt Disney Museum, Presidio of San Francisco
104 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA, 94129
COST/REGISTRATION:
$15 to the public; free to ADAF members.
MORE INFO:
Website: http://www.adafca.org
Email: info@adafca.org
Phone: 415-609-1657
Contact: Rob Speaks
About American Decorative Arts Forum of Northern California:
The American Decorative Arts Forum is a support group of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and is dedicated to the study, understanding, enjoyment and preservation of American fine and decorative arts from their earliest beginnings to the present. The Forum has earned a national reputation for excellence through its monthly lectures by leading scholars and intensive study opportunities.
