Ever wondered how an object develops or why an artist chose a particular form, colour and material? The new permanent exhibition at the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney Australia can answer your questions. Inspired! design across time explores the workings behind design. It recreates the passion of the makers, the relationship between designers, makers, industry and entrepreneurs, the transformation from inspiration to reality, and the meaning and value placed on objects by consumers who use and treasure them.

Objects create, decorate and define the environment we live in. Our relationship with them is a story of creator and creation. Shaped by the hand of the maker they are governed by progression, exploration and the changing attitudes and values of society. They offer the visual stimulus for new or re-creations, and are shaped by but in turn shape our environment. Design is the link from creator to creation and offers a platform for the traditional to be juxtaposed with innovation, and the handmade with the mass-produced. Design in all its forms and process is central to our lives.

10 years in the making the exhibition Inspired! draws upon the Powerhouse Museum's collection of Australian and international decorative arts and design. Crossing past with present the exhibition provides an opportunity to explore the decorative arts and design in the contexts of technology, industry and social history. Broken into five major themes Inspired! presents snapshots of key elements in design spanning across four centuries.

From the 1960s to now Going Global tracks the radical transformations from the pop culture of the 1960s to the globalization and introduction of new technologies of the present. Pop culture, the everyday and the space race contributed to a decade in which tradition was challenged and the new embraced. This era produced objects such as the Globe Chair by Eero Aarnio, an icon of the infatuation with space and the Joe Chair by De Pas, immortalising the supersizing of objects to give them function.

Technology and the introduction of new materials have altered the face of design from the 1960s to now. Experimentation and merging art forms, allows artists to respond to issues of sustainability and affordability. Designers edge object design further into new and unknown territory creating objects which utilise function and aesthetic by opting for new materials, but respond to or create consumer demand. Fashion utilises global communication and big trends are fragmented into seasonal series. Boutique industries collaborate with animation, art, film, fashion and music creating hybrid motion graphics merging communication, design, imagery and mood into a brand label or signature.

Global communication and distribution have dissolved national boundaries and design today is an international phenomenon. Top designers enjoy local and international superstar status with signatures, branding and labels defining not only the individual but the individual designer as well. Highlighting Australia's rise to stardom is Marc Newson's aerodynamic inspired Lockheed Lounge which utilises methods of aircraft construction, and his achievement in combining new technologies with functional design. And also the imaginative bright and colourful use of polyester resin to fashion chunky jewellery and distinctive home wares employed by the collaborative team of Dinosaur Designs. These designs signaled a change in the approach to jewelry design, and the use of resin instead of ceramic, wood and rhinestones. Bright and bold resin is fashionable on the wrist and neck as well as in the home.

Presenting another facet of the intricate movement of design, Mark of the Maker focuses on the crafts revival, the rejection of the cold impersonal nature of industrial modernism and the embracing of handmade objects from non-mechanised methods. From the 1940s craftspeople developed a niche market of those who wanted to use and enjoy objects which showed the mark of the maker. The revival encouraged independent or small team studios, travel and international exchange helped develop education. Inspired by Bernard Leach's A Potters Book, ceramicist's searched for different aesthetic ideals focusing on the Japanese folk craft. Highlighting this focus are the forms and glazing methods of Janet Mansfield, Col Levy, Milton Moon and Peter Rushforth. Glass artists moved from industries to independent practices and the studio artist emerged. Today makers continue to create objects which embrace skill and direct connection with materials. They explore tradition in the field of the contemporary; embrace new technologies and processes alongside old, therefore creating new contexts. The jewellery design of Robert Baines expresses these vales clearly. Spray Brooch: bloodier than black incorporates silver and gold with titanium and stainless steel and redefines the notions of value. The form is reminiscent of a collection of found materials proudly displayed by the collector in the home, and therefore connects the maker and wearer with the emotions knick-knacks and found objects have to an individual. This object touches on the values we place on objects and their connection to our environment and lives.

The stimulus for the new technologies, new explorations and ultimately new revivals, were the aftermath of two world wars. New Century New Look is the catch phrase for the exploration into the changes in the way people lived. The development of machine technology and improved communication saw the emergence of a society deeply engrossed in ideas of being modern. Modernism in its many forms defined design concepts. Mass-produced but also handmade furniture, ceramics and other decorative objects defined the modern interior. The two world wars also transformed the role of women. During World War One the movement from the home into the workforce impacted on fashion design and women's dress was reconfigured to suit the changes becoming looser and comfortable. With the clothing and material rationing during the Second World War women's fashion was subject to limited styles and availability of fashionable dress. As a reaction to this Christian Dior launched the New Look collection in Paris in 1947 which highlighted luxurious fabrics and femininity. Dior's name became synonymous with taste and luxury and has continued to influence the fashion spectrum.

The hierarchy of form following function in furniture design developed embracing mass-production and the notion of availability to all classes. Pre World War One Modernist design focused on primary colours, geometric forms, epitomized in the Red/Blue Chair by Gerrit Rietveld. By the 1950s designers had developed a humanising form of modernism introducing natural forms. Finland designer Alvar Aalto sought a humanising design ethic, combining natural forms with new wood bending technologies to create a range of bent ply and laminated wood furniture, which still appears modern today.

The industrial revolution, combined with a fast growing urban population and demand for domestic and luxury objects, changed the direction of design. The 19th Century witnessed growth in factory production and continuing technological advances enabling manufacturers to meet demand. Design was inspired by past styles and exotic cultures. As a reaction to this excess the British Arts and Crafts Movement and Aestheticism and Art Nouveau emerged offering a new point of reference to guide object design, favoring the handmade, natural curvilinear motifs and simple dress. Fashionable dress was reformed to incorporate an increasing health awareness which favored natural colours and the demise of the corset. In Australia a national identity was sought with artists and designers turning to the use of native materials and flora and fauna motifs. Clothing and interiors reflected resourcefulness in a new land. Local resources were used and techniques adapted to master design from pottery to musical instruments. Objects from the Lithgow pottery depict the use and adaptation of local clay and minerals to mimic glazing techniques favored in Europe. The discovery and wealth of gold attracted European jewellers and silversmiths, who in turn searched for a new identity. Native flora and fauna motifs were incorporated into all object design from brooches to jugs, epitomising this period of discovery and identity.

The final theme comes full circle with the Age of Enlightenment which was a period of change, and a momentum for the birth of design. Superstitions and old beliefs gave way to modern science and new ideas based on observation, experimentation and reason. This century was shaped by two styles, Rococo and Neoclassicism. Rich textiles and the open robe dominated dress design which exaggerated the wide hipped silhouette. White porcelain was the choice of fashionable interior design and the bold and inventive marketing of Josiah Wedgwood emerged with the blue and white Jasper ware. This era was dominated by Chinese porcelain, admired for its translucency and mysterious origin and the search to emulate the recipe. Culminating in the imprisonment of German alchemist Johann Friedrich Bottger by porcelain collector Augustus the Strong, King of Poland, a recipe was discovered and the first European porcelain factory in Meissen, Germany was built. The object which symbolises the quest of design, the mastering of material, skill and vision, is the porcelain bust of the court jester 'Baron' Schmiedel by Johann Joachim 1739 manufactured in Meissen. This object speaks of the artists' skill and mastery of porcelain, a material synonymous with technical difficulty, and sets the bench mark for all object design.

Cleverly targeting the mass audience Inspired! is a treat for both academics and collectors who will recognise artists and objects and the general public who can interact through audio visual programs. Become immersed in the 360 degree video experience of Ben Edols and Kathy Elliott glass studio and explore the different elements in making a glass object. Be inspired to design your own screen based quilt or batik. Or watch videos from artists' studios and learn more about process and the act of making. Inspired! design across time will leave your senses tingling and your feet weary. Designed to regularly change and present new objects Inspired! will continue to surprise and fascinate audiences.

Diana Campbell
Artist and freelance writer
December, 2005

Review of Inspired: Design across time
Permanent exhibition Powerhouse Museum