Good taste for sale. The image of modern domestic interior space in the advertising in Arts & Architecture

Abstract

The end of the Second World War set the domestic space at the center of a new technological, economic and cultural revolution, in the epitome of the American triumph over the rest of the countries of the world. The demographic consequences of the post-war economic expansion unleashed a boom in the construction of new housing that led to the development of an industry specifically dedicated to the manufacture of furniture and all kinds of household items. Architects and designers, architecture magazines, cultural institutions and business associations orchestrated enthusiastic campaigns to promote new products that would crystallize in the development of essentially contemporary domestic interiors. This article analyzes the contribution to the creation of that new image through the visual discourse of the advertisements published in Arts & Architecture, a key medium in that commitment to architecture and avant-garde design in the local scene of Southern California.