Modern Design Icons Exhibition
Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
Included in the exhibition were works by William Morris, Alphonse Mucha, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Elbert Hubbard, W.A. Dwiggins, Le Corbusier, Marcel Breuer, Josef Albers, Harry Bertoia, Alvar Aalto, Merle Armitage, Rockwell Kent, Charles and Ray Eames, Miltom Glaser, Sister Mary Corita Kent, Dick Higgins, Richard Eckersley, Rudy Vanderlans and Zuzanna Licko, April Greiman, Walter Hamady, Tibor Kalman, Gary Kelley, Charles Spencer Anderson, and others.
At the time, Professor Behrens, who originated the exhibition, was a Professor of Art (graphic design) at UNI. He later retired from teaching at the end of 2018. He recalls the circumstances that made the exhibition possible:
“When I joined the Department of Art faculty in 1990, a course in the history of design had never been offered, and, in subsequent years, nearly all gallery exhibitions featured the work of artists, to the exclusion of designers. There were two notable exceptions: soon after I arrived, the Gallery of Art featured (to my great surprise and delight) a small exhibition of the posters of California designer April Greiman, and then, a decade later, there was a memorable exhibition of contemporary classic chairs, gathered from buildings on campus, jointly curated by UNI campus interior designer George Pavelonis and interim Gallery of Art director Matthew DeLay.
It was the chair exhibition that especially emboldened me to propose a full exhibition of iconic components from the history of modern design. Further motivation came when, at last, the departmental faculty approved the offering of a course in the history of design: graphic, industrial and architectural. I was slated to teach that course, and I saw the exhibition as an instructional opportunity, by which all departmental students—art, art history, design and art education—could be introduced in person to design artifacts. By this time, Darrell Taylor had been hired as the new gallery director, and he and I worked together in assembling the components and mounting the exhibition.
There was virtually no budget with which to make this happen. So I faced the daunting challenge of gathering artifacts from design history without funds for shipping. I addressed that problem by contacting collectors in the Waterloo and Cedar Falls vicinity, as well as several others from Iowa City. As much as possible, objects in the exhibition were obtained from sources on campus. I sought out rare examples of book design from Gerry Peterson at the Rod Library’s archival book collection, as well as a large case for their secure display. As in the earlier chair exhibition, I borrowed examples of famous Modern-era chairs from various buildings on campus, especially the Commons. I found an assortment of posters in the personal collections of design faculty, including my own.
The exhibition was well-received by students and others, and it provided a rare opportunity for the department’s graphic design majors (whose enrollment numbers were climbing) to witness artifacts from their profession with the same reverential regard that artists’ works are always displayed.
The response of one unidentified viewer stands out in my mind: In advance of a faculty meeting one day, one of my colleagues (who had just been in the gallery) told me that he had talked with an out of town visitor, who had stopped by, not knowing the exhibition schedule. That visitor said to my colleague that the Modern Design Icons exhibit was as ‘rich and professional’ as the exhibitions he had viewed at large city museums. To me, those were greatly encouraging words.”
The postcard for the exhibition was designed by UNI graphic design professor Philip Fass.
Related collections by Roy Behrens located in UNI ScholarWorks:
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Photo 01, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Postcard in two color blocks, lime green on top and navy blue on bottom. A black & white image of a raised located in the center. Red colored text.
Description: This postcard for the exhibition was designed by UNI graphic design professor Philip Fass.
Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 02, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with a number of objects displayed on a wall with descriptions.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 03, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with two chairs one wood and one metal with a number of objects displayed on walls with descriptions.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 04, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with a number of objects displayed on the wall with descriptions and a metal arm chair on a pedestal.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 05, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with a number of objects displayed on walls with descriptions and a metal arm chair on a pedestal.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 06, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with several chairs displayed on pedestals and a number of objects displayed on walls with descriptions.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 07, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Closeup view of an exhibit space with a large arm chair on pedestal and three objects displaysed on wall with descriptions.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 08, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Closeup view of objects displayed on the wall with descriptions.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 09, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with two wall displays with descriptions and a metal chair on a pedestal.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 10, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with two wooden chairs in the foreground and wall displays and a pedestal display in the background.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 11, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of a corner exhibit space with several objects displayed on the wall with descriptions. Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 12, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Panoramic view of an exhibit space with opjects displayed on two walls with overhead lighting. Three free standing exhibits including an enclosed table display case, an arm chair, and an enclosed pedestal.<.p>
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 13, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of two wall exhibits with descriptions. One exhibit displays an open book.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 14, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Closeup view of an enclosed table exhibit displaying a number of open and closed books.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 15, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: Closeup view of an enclosed table exhibit displaying a number of open and closed books.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
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Photo 16, Modern Design Icons Exhibition, 2001
2001
Alt Text: View of an exhibit space with exhibits hanging on two walls and a large enclosed exhibit table in the foreground.
Description: Modern Design Icons: 20th Century Graphic, Industrial and Architectural Design, curated by Roy R. Behrens, was an exhibition held in the Gallery of Art, Kamerick Art Building, on the campus of the University of Northern Iowa. It opened on August 27 and continued through September 21, 2001.
