Now through November 5th, the Museum of Modern Art will be running Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900-2000, a new exhibit that surveys modern design and innovation through the exploration of childhood development and well-being. Prior to the 20th century, childhood was not considered a time of development for the human brain. As Ken Johnson points out in his reviewof the exhibit, “children were considered small adults to be put to work as soon as possible”. The 20th century changed all that and modern psychology bore a great deal of influence on investigations into childhood and development. Modernist design followed, creating a whole new set of tools that children could interact with, learn from, and be entertained by. The exhibit has an assortment of furniture, toys, books, games and posters all designed for the child.Read on for more after the break.
The exhibit is laid out chronologically and demonstrates the changing attitudes towards what childhood is and what a child needs to develop into adulthood. The collection contains work from notable designers and theorists.
