Ukrainian State Theater: Foyer - Norman Bel Geddes, Horizons

Norman Bel Geddes was a Broadway stage designer turned industrial designer. During much of his life, his ideas stretched beyond the vision of most people. He encountered a lot of apprehension toward his innovative ideas, many of which never left the drawing board. Yet, Geddes' notions of "Streamlining" are important to understanding public life. Steven Heller and Louise Fili (1995) write, "[Streamlining] was at once the engine of progress and a metaphor for the fast tempo of daily life" (p. 80). To Geddes, streamlining illustrated courage: We are too much inclined to believe, because things have long been done a certain way, that that is the best way to do them. Following old grooves of thought is one method of playing safe. But it deprives one of initiative and takes too long. It sacrifices the value of the element of surprise. At times, the only thing to do is to cut loose and do the unexpected! It takes more even than imagination to be progressive. It takes vision and courage. Geddes deserves our attention because so many of his visions remain a part of our collective consciousness in the form of "semiotic phantoms" that endure the many changes that have taken place sense his age.

Photo borrowed from Dannysoar's Geddes page.

Norman Bel Geddes was born in Adrian, Michigan, in 1893 to a wealthy family. But, by the time he was seven, his father lost everything in the stock market and drank himself to death a few years later. Norman, his mom, and younger brother lived in poverty for the rest of his childhood. But his mother was a cultured woman and she shared her interest in the theatre and opera with her sons. Norman loved to draw and paint and his mother encouraged him (Russell, 1974, p. 8). During this time, they moved a lot. When Norman was in the ninth grade, he was expelled from school. A cartoonist who'd heard about him helped him get into the Cleveland Institute of Art. Norman also attended the Chicago Art Institute for a short time, but school really wasn't his thing. His strong interest in stage and opera grew and soon he found his niche (Russell, 1974, p.10). Geddes' most notable contribution to stage design was in lighting. Back then, the sole purpose of lighting was visibility. Geddes envisioned placing and funneling lights from different parts of the stage to create moods and for spotlighting. But, his ideas were rejected or ignored (Russell, 1974, p. 15). It took several years for him to display his ideas but when he did, they were met with praise. Over 200 theatrical productions were credited to him throughout his lifetime (Garraty and Carnes, 1999, p. 823). One of Geddes' most successful Broadway stage designs was in the production of "The Miracle." For this play, he took New York's Century Theatre and gutted it, transforming the theatre into a cathedral. He removed all the seats and brought in pews. Bel Geddes wanted the audience to feel as if they were a part of the performance.

Motor Car Number 8 - Norman Bel Geddes, Horizons

In 1926 he began an industrial design company, using the concept that "form follows function." He wanted to take everyday devices and make them eye-appealing by "streamlining" them - taking geometric forms and smoothing them out, using lots of glass and chrome. Another aspect of streamlining was the dream of perfect aerodynamics. Borrowing the shape of fish, the teardrop car was developed, with the front end rounded off. While Geddes rose in prominence, our country had just been through the Depression and the public had a very unfavorable view of the business community. It was seen as irresponsible, irrational, wasteful, and inefficient. The 1939 New York World's Fair was the perfect opportunity for large corporations to sell a new image. Fair planners hired industrial designers, engineers, and technicians to represent them as rational, employing intelligent planning to improve lives through technology (Maffei, 1997). Invited to help design key Fair exhibits, Geddes' approached the General Motors exhibit, "Futurama," as if he were a Machiavellian "armed prophet" - he built a model of the country starting from scratch, in the same way he approached his theater work. This kind of comprehensive control over a singular vision of public life was bold - and inspiring to a range of planners, from urban design experts to entertainment luminaries like Walt Disney who also tried his hand at city planning.

Postcard view of Futurama

The "Futurama" exhibit in the 1939 World's Fair demonstrates the application of Geddes' love of streamlining as a vision of public life. Visitors were promised that [in the world of tomorrow] "abundant sunshine, fresh air, fine green parkways" would blend together seamlessly with dazzling skyscrapers and seven-lane highways (Lefcowitz, 1999, online). Despite the gathering gloom of war, economic struggle, and a host of other fears, Futurama offered an optimistic promise of better times. This presentation proved to be the most popular exhibit at the fair. When the ride was over, each spectator received a pin that boasted, "I have seen the future," and most of them were convinced they had. President Roosevelt later enlisted Geddes' help with the National Motorway Planning Authority, which greatly influenced the growth of suburbs and our present interstate highway system (Russell, 1974, p. 33). Bel Geddes had one other exhibit at the 1939 World's Fair. It was called the "Crystal Gazing Palace" and, along with several others, was an "adult only" site. In it, a scantily-clad dancer performed on a stage with a multitude of mirrors. The reflected images created the illusion that the audience was being entertained by a whole chorus of dancers (Harrison, 1980, p.110). While the Fair closed in 1940, we continue to see Geddes' reflection on our America's dreams of the future. Geddes continued designing, planning, and writing until his death in 1958. A man of vision and courage, his influence, whether in the theater, on the roadways, or in semiotic phantoms, Geddes' influence on public life remains with us even today.

References

Harrison, H.A. (1980). Catalogue of the exhibition. New York University Press: New York.

Heller, S. & Fili, L. (1995). Streamline. San Francisco: Chronicle Books.

Lefcowitz, E. (1999, March 22). The original futurama of 1939. Available online: http://retrofuture.web.aol.com/futurama.html.

Maffei, N. (1997). American interwar industrial design and its innovative use of the rhetoric of efficiency to sell corporate images and products. Essay abstract available online: http://www.hud.ac.uk/schools/design_technology/design/File15.htm.

Russell, G.N. (1974). Norman Bel Geddes and the art of stage lighting: A short biography of the man and analyses of selected designs. Unpublished Thesis. San Jose State University.

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