100 Objects from Century of the Child

Libuše Niklová. Train dispatcher, Barbórka, chimney sweeper, nurse, doctor, motorcyclist, lion tamer, and cosmonaut. 1964; Hanka. 1958–59 In a country famous for its wooden toys, Czech designer Libuše Niklová fully embraced plastic. She studied plastic molding, which flourished after World War II, and predicted that “in the future products from plastic will surround man just like the air.” Plastics and air were both central to her inflatable toys, including stylized figures of children of different races and cultures and larger animal-shaped play-furniture. Her other experiments with different plastics produced blown PVC figures representing various professions and polyethylene animals with accordion-shaped torsos (the most common and beloved of which was the cat). Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild Libuše’s son Petr talks about her toys and their influence on his own artwork:

Libuše Niklová. Train dispatcher, Barbórka, chimney sweeper, nurse, doctor, motorcyclist, lion tamer, and cosmonaut. 1964; Hanka. 1958–59

In a country famous for its wooden toys, Czech designer Libuše Niklová fully embraced plastic. She studied plastic molding, which flourished after World War II, and predicted that “in the future products from plastic will surround man just like the air.” Plastics and air were both central to her inflatable toys, including stylized figures of children of different races and cultures and larger animal-shaped play-furniture. Her other experiments with different plastics produced blown PVC figures representing various professions and polyethylene animals with accordion-shaped torsos (the most common and beloved of which was the cat).

Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild

Libuše’s son Petr talks about her toys and their influence on his own artwork:

09/13/12
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moma  Century of the Child  cotc  child  kids  art  design  toy  play 

Accent theme by Handsome Code

Get your daily dose of design from the MoMA exhibition Century of the Child: Growing by Design, 1900–2000. During each of the 100 days of the exhibition we will showcase an object featured in the show.

To find out more about Century of the Child visit MoMA.org/centuryofthechild.

Purchase the exhibition catalogue on MoMAStore.org or get the digital edition for the iPad on iTunes.

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