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Detroit’s rich history drew further exploration by art historian Deborah Lubera Kawsky, who made a remarkable discovery in Grosse Pointe Shores.
Kawsky will share what he learned in a lecture about Detroit’s design community at 7 pm Thursday at the Edsel & Eleanor Ford House in Grosse Pointe Shores. The lecture revolves around the Detroit Institute of Arts’ 1949 “For Modern Living” exhibition and its impact on today’s design community.
After receiving his Ph.D. in Art History from Princeton University, Kawsky said he was asked to look at the former home of Alexander Gerard, best known for his furniture designs with Herman Miller in the 1950s, located in metro Detroit.
“I later discovered that this is the only surviving private residence designed by Gerard,” Kawsky said, “and also that he lived in metro Detroit between 1937 and 1953 and had amazing design studios .”
Kawsky was raised in Grosse Pointe Shores and was fascinated by discovery and its connections to his neighborhood.
“It’s like discovering treasure,” he said. “I didn’t know this history and these layers of history were there.”
Kawsky’s discovery sparked an exploration of Detroit’s midcentury modern designers, resulting in his first published book, “Alexander Girard, Architect: Creating Midcentury Modern Masterpieces,” with Wayne State University Press. in 2018.
Delving into Gerard’s history, Kawsky learns that he was a linchpin in major projects of the time, including the Warren Technical Center, also known as the General Motors Tech Center, as well as private homes designed in partnership with world renowned architect Minoru Yamasaki.
Among his many creative friends, Kawsky learned of Gerard’s relationship with JL Hudson vice president James B. Weber Jr., and their relationship culminated in the largest-attended exhibition at the DIA in 1949.
The 1949 For Modern Living exhibition transformed the DIA’s Great Hall into what would be today’s version of an immersive exhibition.
“It’s completely covered in ramps and living trees… so people can actually walk through and experience what it would be like to live in a modern house
“At that point in time that was the largest number of people ever seen,” Kawsky said. “It was absolutely groundbreaking at the time.”
In his interview Thursday, Kawsky said he also plans to focus on the relevance of the 1949 exhibit when looking at the world of design today.
“Actually, I suggest that in the future we reboot the exhibition from 1949 but pair it with an exhibition of designers from today, and design companies of today trying to do the same things, using design to make life better,” he said.
Kawsky said the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House served as the perfect location for the lecture because home designers of the time were exploring similar concepts.
Education Programs Manager for Ford House Emily Sullivan said the 1949 exhibit inspired Eleanor Ford’s Christmas decorations that holiday season.
“The tree currently on display in the Main Hall of the house is the design created by Lilian Pierce, Detroit designer who was then head of color and design at the Society for Arts and Crafts, now CCS, and Eleanor for Christmas. of 1949,” Sullivan said.
Detroit’s ‘Design DNA’: The DIA’s 1949 for Modern Living Exhibition — and Why It Matters Today
Edsel and Eleanor Ford House
1100 Lake Shore Road, Grosse Pointe Shores
7 pm Thursday
Tickets are $10 for members, $12 for non-members
www.fordhouse.org/events
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