Eames La Chaise. Courtesy of The Modern Museum of Art.

On a daily basis, we overlook ergonomic objects as works of art. Yet, at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, these objects are displayed in a whole new light, responding to the age-old question: ‘What is art?’.

What Was Good Design 1944-56 is comprised of 100 works, ranging from chairs to lamps, irons to bowls, proving that art lies in the eye of the beholder. Swiftly blowing away the dust particles, the museum revisits design aesthetics that were prevalent in Europe and New York City during the mid 1940’s.

“What was Good Design? is meant to open a chapter of MoMA’s past…to re-examine, even problematise, a legacy that looms large in both the history of the Museum and the larger scholarly field of Design History,” said  MoMA curator Juliet Kinchin,  accompanied by curatorial assistant Aidan O’Connor.

“For this show, we were inspired to look at the immediate post-war period after coming across a few hundred uncatalogued design panels in our storage,” they added.

Standing out above the rest are two classic artworks– Charles Eames’ 1948 full scale model of “Chaise Lounge” (La Chaise) and inventor Peter Schlumbohm’s 1941 glass Chemex Coffee Maker. The two  brought to light that what appears effortless in design can be complex when viewed from an innovative perspective.

“Works such as “La Chaise” or Hans Wegner’s oak and cane chair (known as “The Chair”) capture the ability of so-called good design to withstand the test of time; these remain iconic pieces today,” Kinchin and O’Connor commented.

Yet, they are just the beginning of a controversial debate on what constitutes good design.

“We believe that this installation is visually engaging with furniture and objects in dialogue with textiles, photographs, and lamps. There is also a substantial amount of contextual information offered as further food for thought,” Kinchin and O’Connor concluded.

The exhibition can be viewed at New York’s MoMA until November 30, 2009.