EXHIBITION | DESIGN ICONS – FRANCE/BRAZIL
Photos: Mariana Chama
On display from August 13th to September 20th, 2009.
As part of the celebrations of the France-Brazil Year, the exhibition brought together 22 products from each country and presented works made by French and Brazilian designers since the beginning of the 20th century, such as Le Corbusier’s Chaise longue LC4, Pierre Jeanneret and Charlotte Perriand; the Copacabana sidewalk, with redesign by Roberto Burle Marx; the Bic pen; Havaianas sandals; Philippe Starck’s Juicy Salif juicer; and the Mole armchair, by Sergio Rodrigues.
Check out records of the opening of the exhibition, which took place on August 13, 2009:
Curated by Frenchman Cédric Morisset and Brazilian Adélia Borges, the exhibition highlighted the presence of design in people’s daily lives and proposes a reflection on the presence of objects in the construction of individual and collective memory, and questions about what gives an object the icon title.
“Icons always provoke worship as much as hate,” says the French curator, who asks: “What gives an object status as an icon? The story? Business success? Notoriety? The choice and recognition of fans? ”. His response: “Undoubtedly, all of this simultaneously. But also, without a doubt, the object’s ability to symbolically and visually mark its time, while relegating its use value to a secondary position ”.
Check out the media highlights about the exhibition:
O Estado de S. Paulo | Jornal do Commercio
In her curatorial work, Adélia Borges stated that she favored products that presented a great penetration in the daily life of Brazilians over the years and those whose creation was important in the history of our design. “The broad spectrum of segments involved in the show gives an idea of the extent of design’s presence in people’s daily lives, and of the ability of objects to express the time and place in which they are made, communicating with its audience beyond its strict functionality ”, said Adélia Borges.
Cédric pointed out that “the show presents striking symbols of French creation and its capacity to break established codes, to reinterpret them, to be well with its time or to anticipate its time, with the same desire to serve, to seduce and to surprise ”. It also intends to question the relationship with the image more ubiquitous than ever in the universe of design, as well as in our Western societies in a much broader way.
Check out the list of French icons below:
Chaise longue LC4, Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret, Charlotte Perriand, 1928 – Cassina 1964
Standard chair, Jean Prouvé, 1934 – Vitra 2002
Tolix Chair, Xavier Pauchard, Tolix – 1934 puis 1986
Pressure cooker Cocotte-minute Seb, SEB – 1953
Pen Stylo BIC, Marcel Bich, stylo BIC – 1950
Trois Bras Lamp, Serge Mouille, Editions Serge Mouille – 1953
Car Peugeot 403, Pininfarina, Peugeot – 1955
Ribbon Chair, Pierre Paulin, Artifort – 1966
Chaise longue Djinn, Olivier Mourgue, Airborne International – 1965
Concorde Airplane, Sir Archibald E. Russell / Pierre Satre / Bill Strang / Lucien Servanty – 1967
Stool Tam Tam, Henry Massonnet, Branex – 1968
Sofa Togo, Michel Ducaroy, Ligne Roset – 1973
Juicy Salif Juicer, Philippe Starck, Alessi –1990
Toothbrush, Philippe Starck, Fluocaril – 1990
Bubu Stool, Philippe Starck, 3 Suisses – 1991 / XO –1996
Perrier Glass, Martin Szekely, Perrier – 1996
Armchair La Marie, Philippe Starck, Kartell –1998
Rainbow Chair, Patrick Norguet, Cappellini – 2000
Modular partition Algues, Ronan et Erwan Bouroullec, Vitra – 2004
Mach 2000 watch, Roger Tallon, LIP – 1974
Set of bowls Um parfait, Philippe Starck, Darkside Collection, Baccarat – 2005
Mobilete E-solex, Groupe Cible – Cible – 2006
Check out some of the French pieces below:
Check the list of Brazilian icons below:
Demoiselle Airplane, 1907, Santos Dumont
3 Feet Chair, 1942, Joaquim Tenreiro
American Cup1947, Nadir Figueiredo
Stool Z, c. 1949, Zanine Caldas
Bowl Armchair, 1951, Lina Bo Bardi
Poltrona Mole, 1957, Sergio Rodrigues
Paulistano Chair, 1957, Paulo Mendes da Rocha
Havaianas Sandals, 1962, Espadrilles
Peg Lev Bookshelf, 1968, Michel Arnoult
Copacabana Sidewalk, 1971, redesign Burle Marx
Children’s cutlery Comer Brincando, 1975, Bornancini & Petzold
Telephone booth, 1971, Chu Ming Silveira
Eva ice bucket, c. 1975, Jorge Zalszupin, Paulo Jorge Pedreira and Oswaldo Mellone
Red Chair, 1983, Fernando and Humberto Campana
Chair São Paulo, 1982, Carlos Motta
Eclipse lamp, 1991, Mauricio Klabin
Spirit Fan, 2001, Indio da Costa A.U.D.T – Guto Indio da Costa and Martin Birtel
Legacy business jet, 2001, Embraer
Melissa sneaker and bag, since 2004, Fernando and Humberto Campana
Bossa Lamp, 2005, Fernando Prado
Bikini, since the 1970s
Sleeping hammock – at least since 1500
Check out some of the Brazilian pieces below:
After the season at the Museu da Casa Brasileira, the show was presented at Paço Imperial, in Rio de Janeiro.
Realization: Tisara Arte Produção
About MCB
The Museum of the Brazilian House, an institution of the Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy of the State of São Paulo, which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2020, is dedicated to the preservation and diffusion of the material culture of the Brazilian house, being the only museum in the country specialized in architecture and design. The MCB’s program includes temporary and long-term exhibitions, with an agenda that also includes activities of the educational service, debates, lectures and publications contextualizing the museum’s vocation for the formation of critical thinking on topics such as architecture, urbanism, housing, economics creativity, urban mobility and sustainability. Among its numerous initiatives, the Design MCB Award stands out, the main segment award in the country held since 1986; and the Casas do Brasil project, to rescue and preserve memory about the rich diversity of living in the country.
Museu da Casa Brasileira
Brig. Faria Lima, 2705 – Jardim Paulistano
Tel .: +55 (11) 3032.3727
