Modernism, Interior Design, and the Evolution of the Chair Object

This essay explores the impact of modernism on interior design, specifically focusing on the evolution of the chair as a design object. It examines how the Industrial Revolution, urbanization, and social mobility, as highlighted by Penny Sparke, have influenced the perception and function of chairs in modern interiors. The essay traces the shift from Victorian-era designs to modernist aesthetics, emphasizing the role of technology, abstract art, and changing societal values in transforming chairs from mere functional items to decorative and aesthetically significant elements within households. Furthermore, the essay considers the influence of modernism, the rise of the bourgeoisie, and the desire for self-expression through interior design, illustrating how chairs have become reflections of individual character and cultural status. The analysis draws upon the works of various scholars and thinkers to contextualize the transformation of chair design within the broader framework of modernity and its impact on the interior design industry.

Running head: MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
Modernism and Interior Design
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so
complicated1.”
The above quoted lines of Paul Rand give an overview of the importance which has
traditionally been attached with the concept of design. It is significant to note that the human
beings have an inherent desire within them to surround themselves with objects which are not
only beautiful but also pleasing and soothing to the eyes as the famous romantic poet John
Keats says in his poem Endymion,
“A THING of beauty is a joy forever:
Its loveliness increases; it will never
Pass into nothingness; but still will keep
A bower quiet for us, and a sleep
Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
………………………………………………
From our dark spirits.”2
However, it is significant to note that the concept of beauty is a very relative one
especially in the context of the arts and aesthetics. Therefore, the concept of beauty and
design has been undergoing rapid transformation ever since the tradition3. Thus, the thing
which was appealing as well as enticing to a particular generation might not prove be equally
pleasing to the next generation or any other generation for that matter4. This particular essay
1 Rand, Paul. Thoughts on design. Chronicle Books, 2014.
2 Keats, John. Endymion. Estes and Lauriat, 1888.
3 Burrell, Gibson, and Robert Cooper. "Modernism, postmodernism and organizational analysis: an
introduction." In For Robert Cooper, pp. 149-175. Routledge, 2015.
4 Kirkham, Pat. "Humanizing Modernism: The Crafts,‘Functioning Decoration’and the Eameses." Journal of
Design History 11, no. 1 (1998): 15-29.

2MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
intends to analyze the particular an interior designing object namely chair in the context of
the famous quote “Industrialization, urbanization and an increased potential for social
mobility – the defining features of modernity – encouraged ever larger numbers of
people to regard the design of their interiors as an increasingly important aspect of their
lives” of Penny Sparke from her famous work “The Modern Interior”.
The “Industrial Revolution” of the 19th century greatly modified not the way business
was conducted at that particular period of time but also impacted the way the society as well
as the culture of the contemporary world at that particular period of time5. It is significant to
note that the technologies as well as the latest innovations which the “Industrial Revolution”
made available to the people at that particular had an impact on the interior design and the
architecture industry6. Furthermore, in the present times, the various contemporary art
movements have also made a significant contribution towards the interior designing as well
industry. The opinion of Penny Sparke is significant to note here “Through the impact of
shops like Habitat and IKEA, and of the countless glossy magazines, books and catalogues
that focus on the concept of ‘interior design’, we have all become familiar with the idea of
our homes and public interiors containing items of modern furniture and decor….promoted
through exhibitions, retail contexts and the mass media, and that it rarely exists in an absolute
form”7. This change has generally been attributed to the advent of the “Industrial Revolution”
and its related aspects like globalization, urbanization, social mobility and others.
Chairs form an important part of almost all the households and have been in use since
the ancient times. However, it is to be noted that in the present with the development of the
5 Mantoux, Paul. The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century: An outline of the beginnings of the modern
factory system in England. Routledge, 2013.
6 Mantoux, Paul. The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century: An outline of the beginnings of the modern
factory system in England. Routledge, 2013.
7 Sparke, Penny, and Fiona Fisher, eds. The Routledge companion to design studies. Routledge, 2016.

3MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
genre of interior designing and architecture the purpose of the chairs in the households have
undergone a drastic transformation8. It is significant to note that the various chairs which
once used to serve the purpose of sitting objects are now increasingly used as objects of
decoration and also for contributing to the aesthetic beauty of the household9. Furthermore, it
is also significant to note that with the advent as well as the development in the field of
abstract arts the primary purpose for the use of the various chairs have undergone a drastic
transformation. The advancement in the technological field is generally attributed as one of
the primary reasons for this particular change in the use of the chairs. This particular change
can be traced back to the “Victorian Age” when with the advent of the various art movements
the designing of the chairs also underwent a rapid change10. It is a reflection of this that the
various Victorian chairs when observed through the lens of the present advancements in the
fields of art will reveal rudimentary forms of the various present day art movements in
caricature form11. However, in the present times, the interior designing experts like Mika
Tajima take into consideration the current needs as well as the requirements of the customers
and also the recent developments in the field of technology and innovations to render moving
designs12. Furthermore, another significant thing to note is that the people have become much
more sophisticated than they were a century ago or for that matter a few decades ago. It is a
reflection of this that the chairs in the present times have undergone a drastic both in artistic
design as well as the purpose for which they are being used.
8 Mitton, Maureen, and Courtney Nystuen. Residential interior design: A guide to planning spaces. John Wiley
& Sons, 2016.
9 Mitton, Maureen, and Courtney Nystuen. Residential interior design: A guide to planning spaces. John Wiley
& Sons, 2016.
10 Sparke, Penny. An introduction to design and culture: 1900 to the present. Routledge, 2013.
11 Sabatino, Michelangelo. "Ghosts and Barbarians: The Vernacular in Italian Modern Architecture and
Design." Journal of Design History 21, no. 4 (2008): 335-358.
12 Burrell, Gibson, and Robert Cooper. "Modernism, postmodernism and organizational analysis: an
introduction." In For Robert Cooper, pp. 149-175. Routledge, 2015.

4MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
There are various factors which facilitated the shift from the Victorian era designs to
the modernist designs. In the opinion of Penny Sparke “the realities as well as concepts of the
modern interior, whether in the hands of professional decorators and designers, or in those of
its amateur inhabitants” have necessitated the transformation which the interior designs have
undergone in the present times13. Furthermore, her work provides a penetrating account of
“the shift from Victorian to modern style, and demonstrates that the easy transition to the
modern interior so frequently portrayed is little more than a mythology”. It is significant to
note that in the light of these comments of Sparke the transformations undergone by the
household object, namely, chairs begins to unravel itself14. Moreover, in the opinion of
Margaret Fuller “Art can only be truly art by presenting an adequate outward symbol of some
fact in the interior life”. Thus, in the present times the various household objects have
coterminous with the character as well as the personality of the individuals who own that
particular place. Therefore, in the present times, the various individuals like to procure chairs
and other household objects as per their economic, cultural or educational status.
Modernism is often considered to be one of the primary driving factors for the
transformation which the art and the interior designing industry have experienced in the
recent times. In the opinion of T.J. Clark articulated in his famous work “Farewell to an Idea:
Episodes from a History of Modernism”, “Modernism had two great wishes. It wanted its
audience to be led toward a recognition of the social reality of the sign (away from the
comforts of narrative and illusionism, was the claim); but equally it dreamed of turning the
sign back to a bedrock of World/Nature/Sensation/Subjectivity which the to and fro of
capitalism had all but destroyed”. In the later part of the 20th the concept of modernism
penetrated not only the genre of literature but of art as well and it is a reflection of this that
13 Sparke, Penny. An introduction to design and culture: 1900 to the present. Routledge, 2013.
14 Sparke, Penny. An introduction to design and culture: 1900 to the present. Routledge, 2013.

5MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
the art industry experienced the transformation. The factor which most influenced the
transformation of interior design industry was the uneasiness which was caused by the
modern hectic and which finds its adequate portrayal in the book “All That Is Solid Melts
Into Air” by Marshall Bernam “I'm beginning to feel the drunkenness that this agitated,
tumultuous life plunges you into. With such a multitude of objects passing before my eyes,
I'm getting dizzy. Of all the things that strike me, there is none that holds my heart, yet all of
them together disturb my feelings, so that I forget what I am and who I belong to”15.
Furthermore, the desire to use the modern day objects and also to take the help of the latest
technology as well as innovations has been adequately captured in the words of the same
author when he says that “All fixed, fast-frozen relations, with their train of ancient and
venerable prejudices and opinions, are swept away, all newformed ones become antiquated
before they can ossify. All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned, and men at
last are forced to face ... the real conditions of their lives and their relations with their fellow
men”16. The “Industrial Revolution” entailed with itself the rise of the bourgeoisie and it was
the rise of this particular which contributed in a significant manner to the further development
of the concept of interior designing by their wish to decorate their households with the latest
household products and goods17. Thus, the author comments that “The bourgeoisie cannot
exist without constantly revolutionizing the instruments of production, and with them the
relations of production, and with them all the relations of society .... Constant revolutionizing
of production, uninterrupted disturbance of all social relations, everlasting uncertainty and
agitation, distinguish the bourgeois epoch from all earlier ones”18. Furthermore, the remark of
15 Berman, Marshall. All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. Verso, 1983.
16 Berman, Marshall. All that is solid melts into air: The experience of modernity. Verso, 1983.
17 Mantoux, Paul. The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century: An outline of the beginnings of the modern
factory system in England. Routledge, 2013.
18 Mantoux, Paul. The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century: An outline of the beginnings of the modern
factory system in England. Routledge, 2013.

6MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
Nietzsche's articulated in his famous work “Beyond Good and Evil (1882)” are pertinent to
observe in this particular context “At these turning points in history there shows itself,
juxtaposed and often entangled with one another, a magnificent, manifold, jungle-like
growing and striving, a sort of tropical tempo in rivalry of development, and an enormous
destruction and self-destruction,….Again there is danger, the mother of morality-great
danger-but this time displaced onto the individual, onto the nearest and dearest, onto the
street, onto one's own child, one's own heart, one's own innermost secret recesses of wish and
will”19. Thus, it can be said that modernity formed one of the basic reasons for the
transformation which the interior design underwent in the later part of the 20th century and
also in the present times.
The transformation underwent by the household object chair becomes totally logical
when seen through the lens of the concept of modernism. It was the advent of the concept of
modernism as well as the “Industrial Revolution” which necessitated the change undergone
by the chairs as household objects20. Therefore, it is seen that in the present day, the chairs are
no longer just a sitting object but a decorative object as well. Thus, the various individuals in
the present times select as well as buy chairs which go along with the interior design as well
as the decoration of their household21. It is significant to note that individuals in the present
times more than concentrating on the comfort level of theirs focus on the artistic beauty of
their homes22.
19 Mantoux, Paul. The industrial revolution in the eighteenth century: An outline of the beginnings of the modern
factory system in England. Routledge, 2013.
20 Guillén, Mauro F. "Modernism without modernity: The rise of modernist architecture in Mexico, Brazil, and
Argentina, 1890-1940." Latin American Research Review 39, no. 2 (2004): 6-34.
21 Dodsworth, Simon, and Stephen Anderson. The Fundamentals of interior design. Bloomsbury Publishing,
2015.
22 Dodsworth, Simon, and Stephen Anderson. The Fundamentals of interior design. Bloomsbury Publishing,
2015.

7MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
To conclude, it becomes apparent that the genre of interior designing in the present
times has undergone much transformation since its initiation in the traditional times. The
advent of industrialization, globalization, social mobility and various others are significantly
responsible for this particular transformation. Thus, the common household object chair in
the present times is no longer just an object which is used for the purpose of relaxation but
has become an important tool for the decoration of the interior of the household. This
particular change has commonly been attributed to the advent of modernism and the various
art movements which entailed it.

8MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
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9MODERNISM AND INTERIOR DESIGN
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