Lectures “The dream of design”
To inaugurate Archives du Design Romand, mudac has invited Alexandra Midal to give two lectures entitled Rêve du design (Dream of Design), which will revisit the foundations of the design discipline today.
“By 1954, consumerism, in terms of the materialistic ‘American Dream’ was viewed with growing suspicion by the Eames, leading Charles Eames to say, ‘Somehow we find the dream was incomplete’.” [1]
Behind this apparently simple statement, the problem raised by the most famous American designer of the 20th century is crucial, and raises the now historic question: what is design? This project for a museum as a place for collecting and educating through exhibitions is a response to the first British museum devoted to design: Marlborough House (1852), precursor of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Dream of Design traces the history of design and takes stock of the redefinitions of the discipline. These lectures defend the idea that, contrary to popular belief, designers are characterised by their ability to transcend categories and mediums in order to expand their field of operation ever further, a reality that any 21st-century design museum must be able to embrace.
With these two lectures – “What is design?” and “The museum from Henry Cole to the present day” – Midal will take us from world history to local specificities, from the American dream to the “mudac dream”, helping us to contextualise and refine the museum’s collection and archiving strategy.
| Day of 9 and 16 October 2024 At mudac |
| These lectures, given by Alexandra Midal, Professor of Design at HEAD - Geneva and independent curator, are part of a series of six themes explored in the ‘Archives du Design Romand’ exhibition, on show at mudac from 13.09.2024 to 09.02025. This exhibition-laboratory is accompanied by a rich and varied programme of lectures, round tables and workshops. |
