《Across the Shores》
How the style of American and Italian cars merged during the 1950ies?
When speaking about automobiles, many people will think the brand of America, German and Italy. The development of automobiles industry in many countries around the world with a very deep influence, the America and Italy played a very important role. Automobiles designed and until the end of the Second World War began to flourish.
What is the relationship between car design and the culture of these countries?
What happened to the style of American an Italian cars merged during the 1950ies?
This essay will mention three parts, background, history and analysis.
Firstly, The design of the rapid development in America, the industrial design of the production of professional and designers, have formed the style design and streamline agitation, and influential figures in American design history, called “Industrial design four elders” (Walter Darwin Teague, Raymond Loewy, Henry Dreyfess, Norman Bel Geddes) series of design being world renown.
However, with the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the United States involved into the war, the United States in the international stage of the position and growing up very fast, gradually formed as a superpower.
In this process, the United States with its strong economic strength, not only during the war, trying to use design to encourage their Allies(like posters) and defeated fascism and militarism, and endeavored to modernist design to develop into the international style, and to the world.
Almost can say Raymond Loewy is a founder of industrial design in the United States, also accomplished at graphic design and Corporate Design. He even design the Coke bottle. Raymond Loewy spent most of his career in the United States, a profound influence in American culture.
Because of the German Nazi government their outrageous behavior in Europe, in the late 1930s, caused the largest in the history of the migration of intellectual property and the creation ability. European scientists, writers, architects, artists and designers, have come to the United States from Europe. After arrived in the United States. They made a great contribution to the field of design in this country.
Secondly, Italian industrial design represents the “novelty, improvisation, stimulation, radical, humor, good taste”.
“Rome was not built in a day”
Italian design is not a whim of imagination. Effulgent culture accumulation and strong humanistic spirit, built a huge Italian design foundation. Italian design style on the dividing line and other countries or regions, should be a combination of function and to the life of the touch of the mix.
Italian design is not as neat as Germany streamline and cold, and don’t like the United States is extremely thick commercial feeling, and don’t like French have history to refer, less Northern Europe strong traditional taste and too much soft feeling, Italian design can always hold a good balance between the TECH and TOUCH.
Italian designers tend to put the modern design as a kind of art and culture.
At the end of the war of 1945, the Italian economy was complete destroyed by the war. In 1946, the national referendum, in favor of the abolition of the monarchy, the building of the republic of Italy. Post-war America gave the huge amount of economic assistance, industrial technical assistance, fostering the growth of Italian industry directly.
Between 1944 to 1952 Italy accept the U.S. government assist more than $3.1 billion dollars, through the Marshall plan (European Recovery Program). In 1951, only one years alone has taken $150 million in aid.
These funds and materials, promote righteousness Italian reconstruction process, has a very important role. Italy already develop slowly of the Industry. Due to the destruction of the second world war, so Italian design and art development started relatively late.
However, with the Marshall plan assist in 1940s to 1950s, the Italian expand the work of reconstruction. Accompanied by the introduction of America industrial production mode, the Italian modernistic design beyond other countries gradually.
In just ten years after the second world war, rapid rising of Italian design art in furniture, cars, clothing, electronic products, household appliances and other fields of design, won the national recognition of the market, so that the development by the end of the 20th century, Italian design almost become synonymous with the term “outstanding design”.
Thirdly, as in previous articles mentioned, after the second world war the United States and Italy have close relations of cooperation, in addition to business, the design field as well.
In 1950s, In Italy, some automobile manufacturer (ex. Carrozzeria Ghia) provided car’s building services for the design company which those in Unite States.
At this point in time the design style of American an Italian cars began to produce some chemical change. With building automobiles for the American client, Italian coach-builders always fulfill the ask of their customers and never refused to give their customers what they expect what they want.
At that time the America car design style was so common to see that two tone color and boldly to use chrome to modify in cars elements, therefore Italian designer built cars for the America clients, was not unexpected to see these elements.
For example, Carrozzeria Ghia which automotive manufacturer founded in Turin Italy, they designed the Ferrari 375MM coupe for their client who called Robert Wilk (an America film actor).
After 1953 the Italian design style have some changes, the reason of Italian design is to pursue their national historical and cultural characteristics, it is a typical Italian designer’s state of mind and thoughts.
Italian designer are resourceful. They emphasis on innovation to choose unusual materials and save natural resources. And properly beyond habits design rules, change the traditional form, create a surprising plastic, achieve good purpose, through design shows man’s existence and dignity, which fully reflects the Italian personality.
Italian designer inspired the design of car body line from the America style, and put more avant-garde, more dynamic and more beautiful feeling in the car body shape. Also consider in the aerodynamic shape of the cars.
And the most representative and the most attractive experimental design work was done by Franco Scaglione, these automobiles are called BAT 5, 7 and 9. Then Italian started to build their production car based on these style of design.
After world war two, American stylists and manufacturers seeking to Italian’s design heritage, native art and talent of artisan. They also wanted to lend glamour and sophistication to their mass-production. And put these property into powerful and hungry domestic America market through the building of concept cars in Italy and employment of freelance Italian designers.
Italian design language is formed — Simplicity and Beauty.
In conlusion, the custom coachbuilding had suffered an irreversible decline in the automobile manufacturing nations of the world during the 1930s. Most of manufacturers moved their body construction unit to built their in-house styling departments, and luxury market disappear in the pre-war.
After the second world war broke out, many countries collapsed economy. Coach-building became a victim of worldwide economic depression.
Every countries in order to revive and develop the economy, began to mass production manufacturing, make many luxury marque fall down.
But at this critical point in time, with the America’s strong economic strength help, Italy was coming out of the woods. Because of this relationship and cooperation. Make the car design style between the American and Italian have more close communication.
We can feel the beauty in the design style of American, and Italy also can learn the business management mood from the United States.
— 08.02.2017 Ping-Chun Chen
這篇是我去年二月的期末小論文，題目是探討五零年代美國和義大利汽車造型風格如何融合。
我認為義大利和美國這兩個國家在整個汽車設計史上扮演相當重要的角色，相輔相成，作為文藝復興的起源地，義大利有著深厚的藝術背景和歷史，加上資本雄厚的美國，兩國在二戰之後的密切合作關係，衝擊整個工業設計領域。
汽車工業的進步和衰敗與戰爭有很大的關係。
像是德國大眾(福斯Volkswagen) ，當時在德國，汽車為奢侈品，德國民眾主要的交通工具是摩托車和單車，希特勒希望每一個人都買得起車，經過設計改良，提升燃油效率、降低成本等等，被大量製造，在二戰爆發後，戰爭策略的關係，車輛的製造被轉移至軍事用途(很多車廠在戰時都是被作為軍事用途，製造軍卡、武器，甚至飛機)，也為往後的工業打下基礎，相信德國工藝的高品質在大家心中已經很難被撼動了。
戰後，伴隨汽車工業也發展出很多新科技，汽車真的橫跨太多領域了，雖然科技進步帶給人類很多的便利，但這過程也付出龐大的代價。
References：
Osborne, D. (2016). Transatlantic Style. 1st ed. USA: Coachbuilt Press.
WANG, S. (1997). MODERN DESIGN. 1st ed. TW: Artispublishing.
Raymond Loewy research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raymond_Loewy
Pininfarina S.P.A research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pininfarina
Carrozzeria Ghia S.P.A research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrozzeria_Ghia
Franco Scaglione research: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franco_Scaglione
Alfa Romeo BAT research: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_BAT
Alfa Romeo 2000 Praho research: https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_2000_(1958)
