Modernism, Inc.

Details

Directed by: Jason Cohn

Runtime: 1h 18min Certificate: U

Topics: Arts & Culture

Mid-century architect and designer Eliot Noyes built the design programmes for some of America’s most powerful postwar corporations.

Modernism, Inc. weaves Noyes’ story with the broader context of corporate America’s embrace of Modernism during the period of postwar economic expansion. Modernsim started out as a European movement with idealistic values of social reform, with the promise of improving people’s lives with high-quality yet affordable goods and housing. However, once it became installed in America, a lot of the idealism was lost as it was adopted by multinational corporations, becoming the preferred architectural style of the super-rich.

Jason Cohn’s film explores this journey, culminating in the backlash against Noyes and his generation during the countercultural upheaval of the Vietnam era.

The life and work of Eliot Noyes is a vehicle to explore the intersection of postwar business, technology and design – a story that continues to resonate in the contemporary world.