Chesapeake Home

On a recent visit to MoMA, I couldn’t help but peek into the Architecture and Design wing of the museum. Not surprisingly, it was my favorite part of my self-guided tour. (No offense to Picasso and Klimt…)  After all, part of what makes my job so great is that I am reminded on a daily basis that art is not just what is hung on the walls of a home.

With good architecture and interior design, the very walls on which it is hung are masterpieces in themselves (as are the chairs that sit within them).

The first fixture to catch my eye was Ingo Maurer’s “Porca Miseria! Chandelier,” 1994. I first became smitten by the work of German-born Maurer when I wrote a short piece for ChesapeakeHome in 2008 about his “MaMo Nouchies” series, a collection of paper lamps named for ancient tribal spirits from around the world.

The chandelier seeks to emulate cinematic slow-motion blasts. Only ten are made per year, as they require an intensive process involving the breaking of plates with tools (or sometimes by dropping them on the floor). The final design of each chandelier manufactured is different, since it relies on the composition of arbitrarily shattered pieces.

The tongue-in-cheek title Maurer gives the piece (“Porca Miseria!” is loosely translated in Italian as “dammit!,” or a variety of other expletives expressing surprise at the accidental breaking of a dish…) just adds to the fun of it.

Another lighting fixture that stood out was Tony Palladino and John Mascheroni’s “Tube Floor Lamp,” 1968. Whether intently created to look like one or not, the lamp was reminiscent of an elegantly long-necked kitchen faucet, and I’m always impressed and intrigued by designers who take it upon themselves to marry two otherwise unrelated forms with two very different functions—in this case, a lamp and a spigot.

And finally, what could be better than art engineered to comfortably seat its admirers? Italian designer Fabio Lenci’s “Chain” Armchair, 1967, has beautifully fluid lines, but is most assuredly masculine and modern at the same time. It’s truly a feat to use brown leather, glass, and aluminum in such a way that an object still appears sumptuous and inviting.

For more of MoMA’s architecture and design collection, go here.