100 Objects from Century of the Child

Ladislav Sutnar. Build the Town building blocks. 1940-43 In keeping with his commitment to modernist principles, Sutnar believed in the cognitive power of a visual language rooted in elemental shapes and colors. Building entire cities with blocks, he believed, would give children an awareness of form and structure that made direct reference to the simple, geometric volumes of functionalist architecture, while also giving a sense of the functional and aesthetic interrelationships between different types of buildings in the modern city. He described these nonverbal, object lessons, taught through play, as “mental vitamins necessary for the right development of a child.” The prototype sets seen here were never put into full production. Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild

Ladislav Sutnar. Build the Town building blocks. 1940-43

In keeping with his commitment to modernist principles, Sutnar believed in the cognitive power of a visual language rooted in elemental shapes and colors. Building entire cities with blocks, he believed, would give children an awareness of form and structure that made direct reference to the simple, geometric volumes of functionalist architecture, while also giving a sense of the functional and aesthetic interrelationships between different types of buildings in the modern city. He described these nonverbal, object lessons, taught through play, as “mental vitamins necessary for the right development of a child.” The prototype sets seen here were never put into full production.

Learn more at MoMA.org/centuryofthechild

11/4/12
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moma  Century of the Child  cotc  child  kids  art  design  toy  play 

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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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