Europe in the 1930s underwent enormous social, political and technological change. To capture some of these changes through contemporary commercial print, Philip James at the V&A’s National Art Library developed the ‘Jobbing Printing Collection’.
Through his professional network, he requested samples of work from high-profile companies and designers in Europe and North America – including items designed by members of the Bauhaus school, made for shops such as Fortnum & Mason, and for companies like Elizabeth Arden.
The New Line presents a selection of items from James’s collection, including lifestyle and trade magazines, beauty catalogues, tourism brochures and a packet for stockings.
The exhibition takes its title from a German lifestyle magazine (Die Neue Linie) published between 1929-43. Die Neue Linie brought avant-garde design to a mass audience, employing leading practitioners from the Bauhaus including László Moholy-Nagy, alongside contributors such as Walter Gropius and Thomas Mann. In 1938, one of its key contributors, Herbert Bayer, emigrated to America to escape the Nazi regime and its uncompromising attitude towards experimental artistic approaches.
The movement of people and ideas is key to understanding global modernism. Presenting examples from America, mainland Europe and the United Kingdom, this exhibition shows how designers from across the Western world influenced each other in the pre-war period.
Using categories that include leisure, new technologies, public services and infrastructure, this exhibition demonstrates how design was used to communicate new technologies, as well as how new technologies and techniques influenced the design that was produced.
In addition to works from the Jobbing Printing Collection, The New Line includes material from the private collections of Alan Powers, Brian Webb and Paul Rennie.
Related events
Saturday 11 March
Panel Discussion: Borders Are For Crossing
2.30pm, tickets £7/ £5
Join Jeremy Aynsley, Sue Breakell, Céline Condorelli, Zenia Maasri and Lesley Whitworth for an afternoon that considers the role of migration in the formation of new aesthetics and ideologies from the 1930s to the present day.
Can’t make it? Watch it live via Facebook. Click here
All installation shots photographed by Nigel Green.
Listing image credit: New Shell Lubricating Oils, Edward McKnight Kauffer, 1937, 30 x 45″, Shell Mex & BP.
There are plenty of welcoming and good value B&Bs & boutique hotels in Bexhill. The De La Warr Pavilion regularly uses the following :
- By Rail
Direct trains go from London Victoria, Brighton and Ashford to Bexhill.
There are also trains from London Charing Cross, changing at St. Leonards Warrior Square and from London Bridge or Charing Cross going to Battle. Battle is only a short taxi journey away (15 mins approx).
Visit www.nationalrail.co.uk for up-to-date train travel information. - Taxis
Town Taxis: 01424 211 511
Parkhurst Taxis: 01424 733 456 - By Car
If driving from the London area:
Take the M25, then A21 to Hastings. Turn off at John‘s Cross and follow the signs to Bexhill.
OR
Take the A22 to Eastbourne, go across the Bishop roundabout to the A271 and follow the signs to Bexhill and the seafront. The De La Warr Pavilion is on the Marina.
From the Brighton area:
Follow the A27 out of Brighton until you arrive in Bexhill On Sea. - Parking
Please be aware the Rother District car park outside the De La Warr Pavilion operates paid parking until 7pm. After this time parking is free. There is also lmiited free car parking along the seafront.
Within the limits of this Grade One listed building, the De La Warr Pavilion strives to be fully accessible with a range of facilities to support your visit.
Assistance Dogs are permitted into the building.
Please contact the Box Office on 01424 229 111 to arrange a visit.
Facilities for disabled visitors
- Ramped access at the front of the building
- A low counter at the Box Office and Information Desk
- Disabled toilets on two floors
- A lift to all floors
- Accessible galleries on both floors
- An accessible Café
- Spaces for wheelchairs in the auditorium for seated events
- Ramped access in the auditorium for events during the day
- Ramped access into the Studio
- Two travel wheelchairs are available for use at the De La Warr Pavilion. To reserve, please call our box office and information desk on (01424) 229111 or ask a member of staff on arrival. The chairs are provided on a first come, first served basis and are intended for use inside the Pavilion. Please contact us for more information.
Facilities for blind or visually-impaired
- Large print season brochures
Facilities for the hard-of-hearing
- An T-Switch induction loop in some areas of the auditorium (please indicate when booking as this facility is not available on the balcony)
- British Sign Language interpretation tours of the building and exhibitions are available on request.