“Knife/Fork/Spoon”

This chapter examines the social and museological implications of the evolution of "Contour", both in its unorthodox design development and its curatorial display in the accompanying traveling exhibition, "Knife/Fork/Spoon". The "Contour" project poses many questions about conflicting impulses in the modern design movements of mid-century America, and the structural connections between government, cultural institutions, and industry that in many ways defined the postwar art museum. Connections between government and cultural institutions were commonplace, with many museum staff moving back and forth between government and museums. Friedman's free-standing structure and free-flowing plan were in keeping with exhibition strategies at other leading modern art museums. The Walker's collaboration with Towle created a consumer product that directly engaged the rapidly expanding postwar culture of consumerism while maintaining traces of the more traditional social and material associations of sterling flatware.