The Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences will showcase its design and
technology collection through a compelling new exhibition at the Powerhouse
Museum from 15 August 2014 to 11 October 2015.
To be held as part of Sydney Design 2014, the exhibition ‘Interface: people,
machines, design’ will be hosted at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.
Interface will trace the evolution of iconic products designed and manufactured
by world-leading brands, including Olivetti, Braun and Apple. Citing the
example of the mobile phone that progressed from the heavy object of a few
decades ago to the sleek multifunctional device of today as best representing
the evolution of technology and design, Minister for the Arts, Troy Grant
commented that the exhibition was a fine example of the way the Museum’s
collection could communicate the history of technological innovation.
The Museum’s collection contains many technological items that are
beautiful and elegant yet their designers remain anonymous to this day in
contrast to the cult status enjoyed by contemporary designers. Interface pays
homage to designers past and present and explores their philosophies and
inspirations. The exhibition also reveals how many design methods from 50 years
ago have stood the test of time and remain influential in object design today.
Some of the design visionaries included in the exhibition are Dieter
Rams, the German industrial designer who was Braun’s design visionary; Steve
Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founders of Apple; Doug Engelbart a seminal figure of
computer interface design; Olivetti designers Marcello Nizzoli, Ettore Sottsass
and Mario Bellini; the early Apple designs from Hartmut Esslinger who helped
shape Apple's transformation into a global brand and current designer Sir
Jonathan Ive.
Apart from coveted pieces from the 20th century such as a rare Apple I
computer, one of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak’s Blue Box phones from the early
1970s, and a Xerox Alto computer that Steve Jobs saw working in the Xerox labs
in the late 1970s, one can see examples of typewriters, radios, telephones and
computers up to the present day digital media players, smart phones and
tablets.
A new catalogue developed in conjunction with the Interface exhibition
takes a broader look at the evolution of information technology design and includes
an exclusive interview with revered architect and designer Mario Bellini as
well as essays by curator Campbell Bickerstaff, design academic Jesse Adams
Stein and technology journalist Seamus Byrne.
Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences Director, Rose Hiscock describes Interface
as a rich and inspiring story of the extraordinary designers who revolutionised
technology design in the 20th century, and whose influence continues to shape
modern living.