Norman Bel Geddes: American Designer

FAIN: GE-50145-09

University of Texas at Austin (Austin, TX 78712-0100)
Cathy Henderson (Project Director: February 2009 to March 2011)

Planning of an exhibition on how American culture and lifestyle have been shaped and influenced by the theatrical and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958).

The Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at The University of Texas at Austin requests $39,609 to plan the exhibition Norman Bel Geddes: American Designer (working title) which will demonstrate how American culture and the American lifestyle have been shaped and influenced by the theatrical and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes (1893-1958). Bel Geddes is most closely associated with popularizing and applying the principles of streamlining to the design of everyday objects, ranging from soda siphons to automobiles, yet his influence ranges far more widely, impacting disciplines as seemingly disassociated as the arts and urban planning. Given the range and breadth of Bel Geddes' accomplishments and influence, a retrospective of his career, documenting the way his vision has shaped American life, is long overdue.