‘Raymond Loewy: Designs For A Consumer Culture’

Lexington, Mass.

:From the very beginning, man has always sought ways to improve the wheel. And, like the wheel, nearly every object created has evolved from its initial concept through a continuum of refinement. Most often dictated by use, function and taste, objects are presided over by artists, artisans and designers.

By the early decades of the Twentieth Century, manufacturers wanting to popularize their products turned to a new group of designers who incorporated market research and the emerging science of human factors in their quest to produce the perfect combination of style and functionality. Providing a platform for the new sleek worldly goods, the 1925 Exposition Internationale des arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris and other expositions were widely received, whetting the American appetite for the modern.

At the forefront of the stylish Modern movement in America was French-born Raymond Fernand Loewy (1893–1986), who successfully tapped into the nascent American fascination with industrial design. Celebrating the period and Loewy's achievements is the exhibition "Raymond Loewy: Designs for a Consumer Culture," on view at the National Heritage Museum through March 23.

Loewy was the Twentieth Century manifestation of a creative professional, arriving on US shores at the time some describe as the beginning of consumption engineering, according to Regina Lee Blaszcyk of the Hagley Museum and Library in Wilmington, Del., which organized the traveling exhibit.

Born in Paris, Loewy studied engineering, served in the French army in World War I and came to the United States to seek employment as an engineer. Despite his engineering training, Loewy demonstrated an innate creativity early in life. In his 1951 autobiography, Never Leave Well Enough Alone, Loewy described his dissatisfaction with the French government-issue military uniform. His solution was to fashionably custom tailor the uniform to suit himself — nipping here, tucking there.

He also delineated his improvements to life on the frontlines. In one instance, he and his comrades built a dugout that he furnished with two chairs, red carpet, wallpaper, one slightly cracked mirror, drapery, pillows and magazines for the enjoyment of any and all who cared to stop by. It became a popular place. He planted the area with masses of geraniums and posted a carefully lettered sign "Studio de la Rue de la Paix."