Modernism Exhibition V&A

I went to the Modernism Exhibition at the V&A - a bit disappointed to be truthful. I tend to judge exhibitions by what I learnt - not the little facts but the big revelations and I did not feel this gave me much. Lots of information, lots of interesting images but I don't think I understand modernism that much more.

I guess if you did not have much knowledge of modernism you would learn a lot but if you know a bit what did I learn that was new?

What I did learn was that Walter Gropius of the Bauhaus believed that modernism should not be symetrical. Now this was a true revelation because all the things that people hate about British post 60's modernism is its uniformity and dull listless symetry.

It found a place in my mind because when we went to Boston and saw buildings by Le Corbusier and Gropius that was the very thing that impressed me about their work - the adventure of the lines, the wonderful use of light and space, a real revolution.

Its just that the followers let them down!

What disappointed me about the exhibition was that beginning and the end.

The displays began with a 100 line intro basically: world war 1, russian revolution, cubism blah - modernism.

Almost as if modernism came out of nothing! Surely, the discovery of reinforced cement and the high rise in Chicago, photography, the Russian Revolution new printing processes and such like has a lot to do with it?

Secondly the post 1930 section was laughable - a few short strands on modernism in a few countries, england, germany, italy, etc but so short as to be worthless.

England was really represented by the Ikon building in Highgate.

The issue of fascism and modernism was touched upon but really put to one side - having visited Mussoline's EUR in Rome I wanted much more!

As to post 1939 there was really just an image wall.

Very disappointing. Design was a series of primary colours and stripped down displays, - really annoyed me the floor was the normall wooden floor and it looked completely wrong!