This is the story of Japanese design, told through works selected from the collection of The Museum of Modern Art, New York.The Museum of Modern Art, New York, and 5 Continents Editions present a new series dedicated to industrial and graphic design.
Each volume, beautifully designed and with superbly printed reproductions, offers an overview of a single country's design achievements and illustrates its particular design history and aesthetic, showcasing prominent architects and designers through exemplary works drawn from MoMA's unmatched collection. Each volume contains an introduction by Paola Antonelli, Senior Curator in the Department of Architecture and Design at MoMA, and an illustrated essay by a distinguished design critic, accompanied by a visual timeline of significant events and a comprehensive bibliography.Japanese designers' special ability to combine aesthetic tradition with contemporary visual culture and material innovation has created a distinctive and exceptionally successful design industry in Japan, which has produced such divergent icons of modern design as Sori Yanagi's "Butterfly Stool", the Sony Walkman, the "Honey-Pop Armchair", by Tokujin Yoshioka, and the Toyota Prius.This book traces the development of Japanese design from the country's craft revival in the early twentieth century to the extraordinary objects of high technology that have been a specialty of Japanese designers since midcentury. Paola Antonelli's lively introduction provides an overview of Japan's design culture; an essay and timeline by Penny Sparke illuminate the masterpieces of modern Japanese design that are superbly reproduced in the volume's plate section.