Review: Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000

Abstract

Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000 Museum of Modern Art, New York 29 July–5 November 2012 A large photograph of a boy, hanging precariously from a tall wall with one hand and smiling mischievously, greets visitors. Nearby, an early twentieth-century film clip shows a father frantically running to catch his child, who is rolling away inside some fantastic circular contraption, demonstrating how the pursuit of fun, parental angst, and the concern for radical design can, at times, be intricately tied. In the center of the space, a giant table and two oversize chairs reveal that when sitting on the Tripp-Trapp—a Danish wooden high chair designed in 1971—a toddler can feel (and seem) much more adequate in scale next to a large table. On the day I visited Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000 , people lined up to get their picture taken sitting on that chair, confirming that play belongs in the category of “tacit knowledge”; it is immediate, intuitive, and universally understood. Imparting this idea in the entrance lobby established a sense of direct connection to the artifacts on display and the promise of fun. In the rooms that followed, the experience was one of constant curiosity and engagement. Through an accumulation of artifacts that included furniture, toys, books, school supplies, clothing, advertisements, and art, a tapestry of impressions addressed seven chronological themes reflecting the shifting place of child-oriented design throughout the twentieth century. In the first three rooms, spanning the first forty years of the century, discovery and innovation appeared synonymous with childhood. “New Century, New Child, New Art (1900s–1910s)” explored pedagogical tools, such …