Review: Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America, by Amy L. Arnold and Brian D. Conway and Mid-Michigan Modern: Frank Lloyd Wright to Googie, by Susan J. Bandes

Abstract

Amy L. Arnold and Brian D. Conway, eds. Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2016, 352 pp., 200 illus. $50 (cloth), ISBN 9781423644972 Susan J. Bandes Mid-Michigan Modern: Frank Lloyd Wright to Googie East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, 2016, 320 pp., 150 illus. $49.95 (cloth), ISBN 9781611862164 The term midcentury modernism , coined by Cara Greenberg in 1984, applies to design at all scales created from 1940 to 1970 in the United States.1 With designs featured prominently on television shows like Mad Men and in the spreads of periodicals such as Dwell and Metropolis , the names Bertoia, Saarinen, and Eames have increased in cachet through the decades, and midcentury modern works, especially home furnishings, have become highly prized collector's items. Office employees today might sit in Herman Miller or Steelcase cubicles, and their conference rooms may be outfitted with Knoll office chairs. In practical use and in the popular imagination, the midcentury legacy is alive and strong. What is not widely known, however, is that all these designers and manufacturers have something in common: Michigan. Two recent publications seek to set the record straight on Michigan's contributions to the midcentury modern story by drawing attention to the state as an incubator of design ideals and technologies that not only informed work within the Midwest but also transformed design across the United States and even internationally. Both volumes, Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America and Mid-Michigan Modern: Frank Lloyd Wright to Googie , emerged from a 2009 initiative in the Michigan State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) to research, record, preserve, and promote Michigan's modern legacy. This effort led to a variety of protective measures, including National Register and National Historic Landmark designations. In addition, the SHPO launched a website (http://www.michiganmodern.org) to serve as a central repository for research and documentation on Michigan modern architecture and to provide an opportunity for the broader public to learn more about this heritage. In 2013, in association with the Cranbrook Art Museum, the SHPO organized an exhibition at the museum titled Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped America , which was …