Modern Living: Design in 1950s New ZealandTe Noho Hou: Te Hoahoa ki Aotearoa i ngā tau 1950

The 1952 Auckland exhibition Art and Design introduced New Zealanders to a vision for a more equal, happier way of life that grew from the devastation of World War II. Modern Living offers a lens into this ground-breaking exhibition, and an exciting era of new design in Aotearoa.

When | Āhea

22 Aug 2020 – 26 Apr 2021

Where | Ki hea

Toi Art, Level 4

Accessibility | E wātea ana ki
  • wheelchair accessible

  • accessible toilet

  • large print labels available at gallery entrance

A vision for a more equal, happier way of life grew from the devastation of World War II. Good, affordable design was seen as key to society’s transformation and a growing sense of national identity was emerging in 1940s and 50s New Zealand.

In 1952, Auckland’s Art and Design exhibition aimed to attract as large an audience as possible, showing the public that modern art and design were available, affordable, and often made in New Zealand. Through local and international furniture, ceramics, and art, the exhibition explored new ways of making, new use of materials, and new architectural ideas.

Modernist artists and designers introduced recognisable symbols of Aotearoa into their work: Māori art and mythology, native flora and fauna, and local materials like clay and wood, they claimed New Zealand’s position as a unique, modern, and progressive nation.

The manifesto

Read On the necessity for architecture, the manifesto of the Architectural Group, 1946

Tubular lamp: industrial design in the home

Made from exposed tubular steel, John Crichton’s lamp brought industrial materials and processes into the domestic interior and would have seemed radical in 1950s New Zealand. By exposing materials in this dramatic way, Crichton celebrated a new age of affordable industrial design for the home.

For Modern Living, Te Papa recreated it using historic photographs, as Curator Decorative Arts & Design Justine Olsen describes here:

‘Experiment in Housing’ archive footage

Group Architects build their Second House at Takapuna, and visitors look at the completed First House:

Excerpt from ‘Experiment in Housing’, Weekly Review 455 1950, National Film Unit (1941–89), New Zealand. Digitised footage courtesy of Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga

Installation shot of Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand | Te Noho Hou: Te Hoahoa ki Aotearoa i ngā tau 1950 exhibition, 2020. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa

Spatial design for 2020 Modern Living exhibition reinforcing the original ideas of the 1952 show: Art and Design – those of affordability, functionality, and the use of standardised construction. Design by Rosanne Kwan. Te Papa

Living and dining room displays, Frank Hofmann, View of the Art and Design Exhibition, 1952. Courtesy of the Estate of Frank Hofmann. Special Collections, Libraries and Learning Services, University of Auckland

Charles and Ray Eames, DCW (Dining Chair Wood), manufactured by Evans Products Company, Moulded Plywood Division, about 1946, laminated plywood. Te Papa (2018-0023-1) 

Cona Coffee Machine Company, Coffee Maker, Model FB 103, about 1952, metal, plastic, glass. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa

Installation shot of Modern Living: Design in 1950s New Zealand | Te Noho Hou: Te Hoahoa ki Aotearoa i ngā tau 1950 exhibition, 2020. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa

Spatial design for 2020 Modern Living exhibition reinforcing the original ideas of the 1952 show: Art and Design – those of affordability, functionality, and the use of standardised construction. Design by Rosanne Kwan. Te Papa

Children’s bedroom display, Frank Hofmann, Art and Design Exhibition, 1952, black and white negative. Gift of the Frank Hofmann Estate, 2016. Image restored by Maarten Holl, 2020. Te Papa (B.078101)

The Tri-ang was a familiar sight in many New Zealand households of the 1950s. The tricycle featured in the 1952 Art and Design exhibition alongside children’s paintings and child-sized furniture. Families were integral to the exhibition’s vision of a happier, healthier postwar life.

Lines Brothers Ltd., Tri-ang Tricycle, about 1950, steel, plastic, rubber. Photo by Maarten Holl. Te Papa

In this block-printed textile, designer May Smith took inspiration from Māori art forms, using a simplified koru (spiral) motif. In the 1950s, many Pākehā artists referenced Māori art and history in an attempt to create a local form of modernism. Māori ownership of intellectual property was usually not considered.

May Smith, Printed textile, about 1949, fabric with hand-printed design using lino-block stamps. Gift of Helen Hitchings, 2001. Photo by Kate Whitley. Te Papa (GH009472)

Spatial design for 2020 Modern Living exhibition reinforcing the original ideas of the 1952 show: Art and Design – those of affordability, functionality, and the use of standardised construction. Design by Rosanne Kwan. Te Papa

Get our newsletter

Stay in the loop about our wide range of events and exhibitions.

REGISTER

Follow us

Follow our social media channels for a glimpse behind the scenes at Te Papa.

Join Friends of Te Papa

Friends enjoy benefits and discounts including invitations to previews and private viewings.

JOIN

Donate

Find out how you can support Te Papa through a donation or bequest by becoming a patron.

DONATE