machine

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Image features: Constructivist-inspired design of ships, cranes, steel girders, and buildings in black and dark yellow on an off-white ground. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Machine Imagery
This Constructivist-inspired textile likely was produced in the United States during the mid-to-late 1920s. The designer is presently unknown, but presumably was an individual familiar with Russian Constructivist design principles, which took inspiration from the industrial world. Printed in dark yellow and black on creamy off-white silk satin, the textile has an overall design of...
Image features key chain made from assembled blue anodized aluminum bolt, red and gold anodized aluminum washers, and violet anodized aluminum nut. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Nuts and Bolts
In celebration of Women’s History Month, March Object of the Day posts highlight women designers in the collection. A 1954 article in Women’s Wear Daily announced the arrival of Patricia Smith’s novel jewelry designs, noting, “highly colored, glamorized nuts, screws, bolts and other industrial products make unusual anodized aluminum jewelry by the new firm of...
Image features a gold brooch of symmetrical geometric form reminiscent of a machine part; composed of a central shaft with two sets of ten small cylinders bundled around the center, encircled by a large beaded band at the center; conical terminals situated at each end of the central shaft with small beaded bands just inside. Please scroll down to read the blog post about this object.
Industrialization and Jewelry, Influences of the Machine
This very modern looking gold brooch dates to the 1870s. Its geometric form is comprised of cylindrical elements and tiny rivet-like bosses (round knobs, studs, or other protuberances). The symmetrical structure features a central shaft with two sets of ten small cylinders bundled around the center. Encircling these is a large beaded band at the...
Meier 75
Personally, I am partial to Richard Meier’s approach to architecture. According to Meier, a building is an act of “willful artificiality;” a “man-made” spatial construct that functions as a receptacle for experiencing the world of nature. Meier’s white walls act as nature’s film screen capturing ever-changing patterns of reflected color and light. While Meier credits...