^{George Nelson for Herman Miller, "Coconut” Lounge Chair, ca. 1950s. Courtesy of Herman Miller, Inc.}

The baby-boom years of the 1950s defined Americans’ ideal of “home” for decades to follow. As veterans returned from World War II, they settled down into family life with a sense of purpose. Spurred by the economic stability of the Eisenhower era, American factories churned out a huge array of new domestic products. The Phoenix area began its long growth spurt: the advent of air conditioning brought waves of newcomers and vast suburban tracts of affordable housing to the Valley. The 1950s also gave us television sets and sit coms, leisure-time activities, new-fangled household conveniences, UFO sitings here and elsewhere and Hollywood movie stars ranging from the bubbly Debbie Reynolds to the rebellious James Dean.

At Home with Ozzie and Harriet: Mid-Century Design looks at these pivotal years through the lens of domestic design. (The project was inspired by a recent gift to SMoCA of period dinnerware from Christopher Geoffrey McPherson and Matt Hinrichs.) It explores the objects that domesticated democracy and made modernism a lifestyle. Once low-cost, mass-produced furnishings for middle America, these mid-century design objects are now coveted collectibles. They stand as progenitors of the waves of “nesting” and of high design that today, once again, color the consumer world. Among the many objects included are classic designs by Charles and Ray Eames and George Nelson for Herman Miller, Inc.; a 1959 El Camino styled by Harley Earl; a George Nakashima chaise; and a host of vintage ephemera, from Silly Putty to paint-by-number paintings.

At Home with Ozzie and Harriet is guest curated by Debbe Goldstein, former professor of design history and ethics at Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, California, and continues SMoCA’s commitment to modern and contemporary design. The exhibition is accompanied by a free brochure with essays by Debbe Goldstein and Prasad Borakdar, assistant professor of industrial design at Arizona State University.

^{Organized by the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art.}

^{Presentation made possible in part by the SMoCA Salon.}

^{In-kind support provided by Herman Miller, Inc.; Goodman’s Furniture and Office Systems; and AmeriSuites, Scottsdale Old Town. Special thanks to David Sheflin, Prasad Boradkar and Marg Mojzak. Brochure made possible by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, Arizona State University; the Industrial Designers Society of America, Arizona Chapter; and Ira Levy.}