Lester L. Wheeler, Orto Heller, "Aristocrat" stapling machine, 1937, Cast phenolic resin and chromium-plated steel base, The Robert J. Ulrich Works of Art Endowment Fund

Streamline Design: The Essence of Speed

Monday, October 9, 2006—Friday, September 28, 2007
Wells Fargo Center, Seventh St. and Marquette Ave., Minneapolis
Free Exhibition

Inspired by the acquisition of the aerodynamic 1936-designed Tatra T87 automobile, the eighteenth consecutive modernist exhibition at Wells Fargo Center is devoted to streamline design. In the 1930s, the essence of time and speed were exemplified in a body of work that embraced industrial design, new synthetic materials, worship of the machine and the cult of the future. The advent of the teardrop form, the sexy, windswept, contour, speed lines and sleek, shiny surfaces are manifested in an array of imaginative concoctions that convey a residue of charm and innocence.

The exhibition comprises works drawn from the MIA’s extensive Modernism collection in which superstar designers such as Norman Bel Geddes, Kem Weber, Henry Dreyfuss, Raymond Loewy — among many unheralded but equally talented designers — are represented. The streamline aesthetic remains one of the most enduring episodes of the 20th-century, characterized by panache and energy. Little wonder there is a widespread resurgence of interest in this fascinating chapter of design.