Avantgarde in their day

The fifties produced many classic icons of design. These include the estandard lamps „Ssymmank“ and „Schliephake“, timeless modern pieces that can be named in one breath with the famous works of Arne Jacobsen, Eero Saarinen or Charles and Ray Eames: the organic lamp by Scharoun's assistant Guenter Ssyemmank – a sensation even for the fifties with its lamp head made out of six brightly colored sheets of nylon- can now be found in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The multifunctional „Schliephaken“ by architec Friedjof Schliepehacken is copletely different: its reduced formal laguage obviously adopts the Bauhaus of design.
Before the background of contemporary design and architecture, this book tells the story of two lamps whose contrary approaches to design exemplify the post-war debate on functionalism Germany – lamps that have lost none of their fastination even today.