Albert Kahn
Victor Gruen
Ruth Adler Schnee
Mitten Modern
Exhibit explores the epicenter of
modern design in postwar America.
I
Suzanne Chessler
Contributing Writer
T
he architectural designs of
Albert Kahn and the iconic
textiles of Ruth Adler Schnee are
among the focal points for an upcoming
exhibit and symposium to be featured at
the Cranbrook Educational Community in
Bloomfield Hills.
"Michigan Modern: Design That Shaped
America" can be seen June 14-Oct. 13 as
launched by a symposium (June 13-16) of
the same title.
"This project covers Michigan's
contribution to Modernism:' explains
Shoshana Resnikoff, collections fellow at
the Cranbrook Center for Collections and
Research.
"When you see what contemporary
America looks like and what architectural
and design landscapes look like, you really
can trace a lot of the beginnings back to
Michigan7
Visitors will view cars, furniture proto-
types, textiles, experimental pieces, archi-
tectural models, plans, photographs and
even rebuilt structures.
"The exhibition celebrates the contri-
butions made by Michigan people, and
Kahn and Schnee are primary Jewish
figures in that:' says Resnikoff, curator of
the companion display "A Driving Force:
Cranbrook and the Car," which gives a
sense of the evolution of design elements in
the automobile industry
"The symposium supports the exhibi-
tion with a more academic, in-depth explo-
ration as scholars explain their work and
research7
Dale Allen Gyure, professor of architec-
ture at Lawrence Technological University,
will discuss "Serenity and Delight: The
Architectural Humanism of Minoru
Yamasaki" during the symposium.
Lonny Zimmerman, vice president of
Siegal/Tuomaala Associates Architects and
Planners in Southfield, for the first eight
years of his career worked for Yamasaki,
sometimes on models similar to those dis-
played in the exhibition.
"The size of Yamasaki's projects ranged
from small to large, but the constant in all
his work was a search for human scale and
sensibilities to enhance environments,"
explains Zimmerman about the architect
who disliked all-glass skyscrapers.
"In his high-rise towers, including
the World Trade Center, he wanted the
design of the building facades, materials,
Saturday, June 15th 1-3 p.
We will be dancing to celebrate
landscaping, lobby artwork and all other
aspects to provide a sense of serenity, a
simple elegance that made people feel
delight and enjoyment
"Yamasaki's humanism is represented
best by some of the diverse projects he
designed that were not high-rise build-
ings, including Wayne State University's
McGregor Memorial; North Shore
Congregation Israel in Glencoe, M.; Temple
Beth El in Bloomfield Township; Far East
religious temples; and projects in Saudi
Arabia7
The symposium's long list of speakers
will include architect and historian Alan
Hess, who will discuss Jewish architect
Victor Gruen, a pioneer in the design of
shopping malls, in a talk titled "Gruen's
Northland and the Landscape of Suburban
Modernism7
Among many tour destinations for sym-
posium participants will be the Melvyn
Maxwell Smith House in Bloomfield Hills,
where a Jewish couple realized their dream
of owning a Usonian home, designed and
visited by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Beyond Cranbrook, the exhibition and
symposium are being arranged by the State
Historic Preservation Office, Michigan
State Housing Development Authority and
MPd1 Studios of Ann Arbor.
David Fredenthal, a Jewish Detroiter
who studied under Zoltan Sepeshy at
Cranbrook before going to work as a
wartime painter for the State Department
and then Life magazine, will be featured
in another complementary exhibit, "What
to Paint and Why: Modern Painters at
Cranbrook, 1936-19747
"I think this summer will be an excit-
ing time to think about the ways in which
Michigan really transformed the American
architectural, industrial and domestic land-
scapes of the 20th century:' says Resnikoff,
who came to Michigan this past autumn
and has attended services at the Isaac
Agree Downtown Synagogue.
"I hope exhibition viewers will agree7
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The exhibition "Michigan Modern:
Design That Shaped America"
runs June 14-Oct.13 at the
Cranbrook Art Museum, 39221
Woodward, Bloomfield Hills. Hours
are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-
Sunday. Admission runs $4-$8;
free for Cranbrook Art Members
and children 12 and younger. (248)
645-3320; cranbrookart.edu .
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June
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2013
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