Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everday Things
February 23 - May 11, 2014
What makes an everyday object a Hidden Hero? It must be based on an ingenious (yet easily comprehensible) idea. It has been produced a billion times over and constitutes an indispensable fixture of daily life. It has proven itself time and time again and remained essentially unaltered for decades. In other words, a Hidden Hero is an everyday classic.
In 2014, MODA hosted Hidden Heroes: The Genius of Everyday Things, an exhibition developed by the Vitra Design Museum. Hidden Heroes spotlighted items including, but not limited to, pencils, egg cartons, tea bags, carabiners, shipping containers, and paper clips, and it drew attention to the innovation behind the items we so frequently take for granted.
But why would a design museum devote its attention to such common objects? Because as industrial products, they embody the ideals of modernism that have remained highly relevant to this day: economy of material, functionality, and longevity. And because it is the desire of every designer to create such enduring products as these.
This exhibition was curated by Katie Simms
