Kristina Wilson – författare

The first investigation of how race and gender shaped the presentation and marketing of Modernist decor in postwar AmericaIn the world of interior design, mid-century Modernism has left an indelible mark still seen and felt today in countless open-concept floor plans and spare, geometric furnishings. Yet despite our continued fascination, we rarely consider how this iconic design sensibility was marketed to the diverse audiences of its era. Examining advice manuals, advertisements in Life and Ebony, furniture, art, and more, Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body offers a powerful new look at how codes of race, gender, and identity influenced—and were influenced by—Modern design and shaped its presentation to consumers.Taking us to the booming suburban landscape of postwar America, Kristina Wilson demonstrates that the ideals defined by popular Modernist furnishings were far from neutral or race-blind. Advertisers offered this aesthetic to White audiences as a solution for keeping dirt and outsiders at bay, an approach that reinforced middle-class White privilege. By contrast, media arenas such as Ebony magazine presented African American readers with an image of Modernism as a style of comfort, security, and social confidence. Wilson shows how etiquette and home decorating manuals served to control women by associating them with the domestic sphere, and she considers how furniture by George Nelson and Charles and Ray Eames, as well as smaller-scale decorative accessories, empowered some users, even while constraining others.A striking counter-narrative to conventional histories of design, Mid-Century Modernism and the American Body unveils fresh perspectives on one of the most distinctive movements in American visual culture.

A groundbreaking and richly illustrated examination of race in design from 1800 to today, featuring original essays from leading curators, scholars, and designers How do the social structures of race influence the designed world and the disciplines through which we study them? Featuring newly commissioned contributions by thirty-two curators, scholars, and designers, this wide-ranging anthology explores race and design through objects, clothing, buildings, and interior spaces. It includes critical essays, historical case studies, first-person narratives, interviews, and discussions about researching and teaching design history. These pieces critique design as a tool of power and highlight design’s use in acts of resistance and its capacity for cultural affirmation and emotional connection. Race in Design History demonstrates how the history of design becomes deeper and more expansive when it engages with Black, Asian, and Latinx identities and with constructions of whiteness and indigeneity. The result underscores the powerful ways design shapes our world and how we understand our place in it.The book features four sections:The Performance of Race Through DesignDesign and the Spatialization of RaceObjects and Ornament as Signifiers of RaceIdentity at the Intersection of Design History Practice Contributors include Karen R. Baker • Audrey G. Bennett • Leticia M. Brown • Mirjam Brusius • Diana Budds • Stephen Burks • PJ Carlino • Sarah Cheang • Adrienne L. Childs • Sarah H. Cho • Christina L. De León • Chris Dingwall • Javier Gimeno-Martínez • Imogen Hart • Sophie Higgerson • Camara Dia Holloway • Amanda Horton • Katie Irani • Ladi’Sasha Jones • Craig Lee • Zenia Malmer • Cheryl D. Miller • Lesley-Ann Noel • Victoria Rose Pass • John Potvin • Livia Rezende • Jennifer Rittner • Marie Saldaña • Tiana Webb-Evans • Folayemi Wilson