Arne Jacobsen’s cutlery looked so “strange and futuristic” that it was used in the 1968 futuristic scifi film 2001: A Space Odyssey. The chair still shows up in B-list science fiction films,” McGee notes. “Saarinen would have made it entirely of fiberglass if he could have at the time. Saarinen’s Tulip chair, he notes, was designed in 1957–right at the beginning of the Space Age–and is made predominately of fiberglass. The telltale signs include a shift away from wood to materials such as plastic and chrome.
“While classic Mid Century Modern design continues to look contemporary, Space Age design continues to look futuristic,” McGee explains. While this is part of the Mid Century Modern era, McGee notes that this is later in the period. McGee defines the Space Age era as beginning in 1957 with the launch of Sputnik and ending in 1972 with the end of the Apollo missions. Now he’s a collector, dealer, and his collections have formed exhibitions. This all had an influence on design, and Martin McGee has been working to unearth what the era still has to offer. Space Age design tells the story of an era characterized by a drive to innovate, to (quite literally) shoot for the stars, when the lines between science and science fiction began to blur.
The Corona Chair’s elliptical back is reminiscent of the astronomical Corona, and the chair’s chrome base places it within the Space Age’s aesthetic shift away from wood.
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