1970–1990
Post-Modern
Modernism, quoted back at itself
Post-Modernism is what happens when a generation raised on modernism starts treating it as a set of references rather than a set of rules. Colour returns, ornament returns — but as quotation, and often as a joke the designer is in on.
It is the first period in this museum whose objects are frequently about other objects. Memphis, Sottsass and the Graves furniture are not trying to solve a problem; they are arguing with the solution.
What to look for
Deliberate clashing colour, asymmetry without a functional excuse, and surfaces that refuse to be honest about their material.
Within this
Each has its own page, with its own searches.
Search the collection
The searches this style is worth looking at. Each opens the collection for it.