This exhibition is devoted to the “heroes” of everyday life – things that we use on a daily basis, but to which we pay little attention. We know almost nothing about their history, although they influence our lives and have set many standards. We present these everyday heroes together with patent drawings by their inventors, with historical and contemporary advertisements and films, and also with design and art objects that have been inspired by them.
Zipper, press stud, teabag - banal objects we use on a daily basis. Without drawing attention to themselves, they fulfill their function day in, day out, as a matter of course. These classic commodities generally stem from very simple, ingenious ideas. They are durable, efficient and reproduced in their millions. The durability and aesthetic quality, material economy and functionality of these products, which often go unchanged for decades, are essentially the ideals of industry today and the goals of a good designer.
With the exhibition “Heimliche Helden. Das Genie alltäglicher Dinge” (Hidden heroes. The genius of everyday things), the Vitra Design Museum in cooperation with the packaging manufacturer Hi-Cone seeks to end the shadowy existence of these little gems. As well as the exhibits, the respective inventor’s patent specification and drawings are also on show. Alongside numerous products, there are also hidden heroes “on a linguistic level”, such as brand names that have become generic terms for the product, like Tempo, used to denote paper tissues, and Tetra Pak, a general term for drink cartons.
A stage has been constructed at the Buckminster Fuller Dome on the Vitra Campus (the venue of the presentation) especially for the event. Multimedia display cases set the scene for the stars of everyday life. With the aid of contemporary advertisements and films as well as historical photographs and industry films from the period that spawned the exhibits, visitors can gain an idea of the stimuli and sources of inspiration gave rise to these simple products and are still manifest in them today.
The exhibition will be on show from August 20 until September 19 at the Buckminster Fuller Dome at the Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein; open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
design-museum.de
hidden-heroes.net(available from August 19, 8 p.m.)
