i+D - January/February 2020 - 46

The Making of a Movement - By Cara Gibbs

Modern Ideas
But perhaps one of the most influential movements of the
20th century might just be Cubism. Laurent ruminates on the
thought-provoking period that represented a perpetual look
toward the future: "The movement focused on depicting a
world that had been changed and was largely expressed by
aggregating geometric shapes and constructing an object
through several varying viewpoints," she says.
It began first with art-think Picasso's disparate figures
and Paul Cézanne's three-dimensional paintings-and it was
Le Corbusier who turned Cubism on its head with the birth of
the more minimalist-minded Purism era along with Amédée
Ozenfant. When Le Corbusier opened an architecture studio in
Paris with his cousin Pierre Jeanneret, the two translated this
minimalist approach to architecture. "After the war, Jeanneret
started experimenting with minimalist design, which led to his
iconic chair, foregoing fasteners," Laurent says. "In later years,
he collaborated with Jean Prouvé, known for his mastery of
industrial metals and their use in furniture design. The style is
set apart from the Bauhaus steel furniture of the time, more
rigid in form."

"Aristotle was the first philosopher to
introduce the idea that cities were
to be shaped with the political regime
of the time in mind."
-LAETITIA LAURENT, LAURE NELL INTERIORS

A present-day
example of
Cubist design in
a Florida home
designed by
Laetitia Laurent.
(Image: Anthony J.
Rayburn)

Coffman illuminates the arousal of Modernism, explaining its connection to democracy. "Louis Sullivan-one of
the seminal Modernist thinkers, writers, and architects-saw Modernism as an emancipation from servility and
an expression of democracy," Coffman states. "Sullivan believed that fulfilment and expression of function was
what architecture was about, and that the function latent in American architecture was democracy. So, Sullivan,
like many architectural thinkers before him, attached a very specific and urgent political meaning to the style
of architecture that he used. Such claims make for pretty grand reading, but they don't always stand the test of
time-to this day, there's no real consensus on what a 'democratic' building should look like."
There's certainly no deficit of powerplays from one design movement to the next, but perhaps the lasting imprint
has trickled into our most personal of realms. Perhaps home is the most impactful ground for a strong political
statement-the structures we dwell in and the interiors that support them. Coffman put it simply and concisely:
"Every species has its way of marking territory," he says, "and humans tend to do it with design."

i+D - January/February 2020

CARA GIBBS
is a freelance design and lifestyle writer,
editor, and stylist residing in Manhattan.
Formerly the principal style editor at
Luxe Interiors + Design, she now is a regular
contributor to Architectural Digest, Apartment
Therapy, House Beautiful, Wallpaper, and The
Wall Street Journal, among other publications.
She also is the co-founder of the artisan
marketplace, In The Pursuit, a platform that
aims to marry content with commerce
through a lifestyle lens.

i+D - January/February 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of i+D - January/February 2020