Michigan Modern Exhibit at Cranbrook

As readers of this blog know, Cranbrook was and still is a world center of Modern architecture and design.  Without Cranbrook, Modern design may have never taken hold in the United States and the world.  Grosse Pointe, the Detroit area and Michigan can directly and indirectly trace nearly all their modern architecture to the Cranbrook Academy.  Grand Rapid's furniture industry and the Herman Miller company would have been a footnote of a long ago obscure and dead industry in the state without the direct impact of Cranbrook.  The famous post-war American car with chrome, tail fins and bubble windows may have never happened without the influence of Cranbrook.  The "Mad Men"; jet-set architecture of the St. Louis Arch, Dulles Airport, TWA terminal at JFK Airport; and countless pieces of modern furniture (Tulip chair, Eames chair, Wassily chair, Marshmallow chair, etc.) would never have become (possibly may have never existed) the iconic and as well as vernacular furniture we have today.  Grosse Pointe's beloved Central Branch Library and several homes would not exist without Cranbrook.

 

To celebrate and commemorate the amazing world changing history of Cranbrook, an exhibit has recently opened at the Cranbrook Museum of Art titled: Michigan Modern: Design that Shaped America.  It runs through October 13 and will be well worth a visit for any fan or person interested in Modern design and architecture, particularly in Michigan.