Chevron (detail), 1968. Lucienne Day. Manufactured by Heal Fabrics. Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III Collection of British Textiles.
The first public screening of Contemporary Days: Robin and Lucienne Day Design the UK, produced by Design Onscreen— The Initiative for Architecture and Design on Film, will coincide with the opening of the exhibition Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain at The Textile Museum. The 90-minute film premieres at 7:30 p.m. on May 15, 2010 at the National Geographic Museum’s Grosvenor Auditorium (1145 17th Street NW, Washington, D.C.). A question and answer session with award-winning Scottish Director Murray Grigor and Cinematographer Hamid Shams will follow the screening. General public tickets are $15, including free garage parking, and may only be purchased online and in advance through Design Onscreen (www.designonscreen.org).
Robin and Lucienne Day. Courtesy of Design Onscreen.
About the Film
Robin and Lucienne Day transformed British design after World War II with striking furniture and textiles that signaled a new modernist sensibility for everyday living. Lucienne’s abstract textile designs brought accessible elegance into the homes of postwar British consumers. Robin’s revolutionary furniture designs introduced materials such as plastic, steel and plywood to homes, offices and schools. Together, their fresh design approach helped fuel the artistic and commercial awakening that led Britain out of the devastation of World War II. The film traces the Days’ personal and professional progression over the course of their careers, spanning more than 70 years–from their days at the Royal College of the Arts in the 1930s, through their long heyday at the forefront of British design, to their recent rediscovery by new generations of design aficionados.
About the Filmmakers
Director Murray Grigor is a Scottish filmmaker, writer and curator renowned for his films on architecture and design. His first film, on Charles Rennie Mackintosh, won five international awards, and he has since co-authored The Architects’ Architect on Mackintosh’s international influence. Grigor’s other award-winning films include groundbreaking documentaries on Frank Lloyd Wright, Robert Adam and John Soane, and the landmark PBS series Pride of Place with Robert Stern. His most recent film, Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner, has been a festival favorite since its premiere in 2008 at UCLA’s Hammer Museum. Cinematographer/Producer Hamid Shams has served as director, cinematographer and/or producer for numerous television commercials, music videos and short and feature documentary/narrative films, including Infinite Space: The Architecture of John Lautner, Tie-Died: Rock ’n Roll’s Most Dedicated Fans, and Painting the Town—all of which received highly favorable reviews for cinematography in major newspapers and festivals around the US and Europe.
About Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain
Opening May 15, Art by the Yard will be view at The Textile Museum through September 12, 2010, and is the first exhibition of its kind in Washington, D.C. The art of textile design changed radically after World War II as Britain was transformed from a country devastated by war into an optimistic consumer society. Three women designers were pivotal in this artistic revolution: Lucienne Day (1917- 2010), Jacqueline Groag (1903-1985) and Marian Mahler (1911-1983). Incorporating dramatic saturated colors and bold motifs inspired by artists like Alexander Calder and Joan Miró, these young designers transformed the market by inspiring elegant yet affordable product lines that brought the world of contemporary art into everyone’s homes. The exhibition showcases the work of these groundbreaking women designers through the display of textiles together with drawings and collages, ceramics and period furniture, all drawn from the Jill A. Wiltse and H. Kirk Brown III Collection of British Textiles.
About Design Onscreen
Design Onscreen is a 501 (c)(3) non-profit foundation dedicated to producing, promoting and preserving high-quality films on architecture and design. Founded in 2007 by Denver documentary enthusiasts Jill A. Wiltse and H Kirk Brown III, Design Onscreen’s other architectural documentaries include: William Krisel, Architect (screening at LA’s Getty Center in April 2010), Journeyman Architect: The Life and Work of Donald Wexler (2009) and Desert Utopia: Midcentury Architecture in Palm Springs (2009). Another Design Onscreen film, Hella Jongerius: Contemporary Archetypes (2009), premiered in May 2009 at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and Museum of Art and Design. Please visit www.designonscreen.org for more information.
To view the press release (PDF), click here.
To download the press kit for Art by the Yard: Women Design Mid-Century Britain, click here.
