The Salon of the Household Arts in the 1950s
Type de matériel :
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The Salon of the Household Arts, a major commercial operation under public auspices, interrupted during the Occupation, reopened in 1948 and was held until 1961 in the Grand Palais in Paris. This article describes the change in behavior and standards in consumption as can be seen through regulations, comments and publications that accompanied the Salon. The first post-war fairs saw the definition of consumption models that allowed visitors to overcome the frustrations due to wartime shortages. The return to abundance in the 1950s had the visitors learn their new role as buyers. They were helped by the Salon’s organizers who strove to make the now plethoric supply clearly understood by applying pressure on the catalogue design, the distribution and decoration of the stands, and by the promotion of standardized quality brands. The Salon favored a rapid circulation of technical and aesthetic innovations by providing them great visibility. Stakes of social-distinction strategies, household appliances became banal while their consumption became more democratic at the same time they were standardized and streamlined.
Réseaux sociaux