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READING LIST

The Writing Is on the Wall
The enthusiasm the authors show for wall coverings is infectious.

The impetus for writing the lush, hypnotic Off the Wall: Wonderful Wallcoverings of the Twentieth Century came from the delight authors Lena Lencek and Gideon Bosker took in the “riotous imagination of wallpaper designers of the twentieth century,” as well as the unshakeable image of a brilliant yellow striped paper—replete with primping monkeys—found in an old Parisian hotel. It is clear that the two writers have had an ongoing love affair with all things wallpaperly for quite some time. It is this infectious enthusiasm that imbues every page of Off the Wall, filled with gorgeous prints, lovingly reproduced in its pages.

This glorious homage to wall coverings, however, is also an art lesson because, as Lencek and Bosker state, wallpaper is a more complex and fascinating medium than plaster, paint, wood or bare stone—it is a medium that bears a message. “Figural or abstract, traditional or avant garde, wallpaper transforms the surfaces it covers into billboards of taste, psyche and fantasy,” say the authors. Wallpaper, they stress, dresses the home in the same way that clothing adorns the body.

LIVELY READ
Once only a medium that the privileged could afford, 20th century mass production allowed anyone to transform a dank kitchen into a blooming garden; a spare bedroom into a perky nursery.

The authors begin with a fascinating history lesson, discussing technology, design, and use of wall coverings from inception to the present. Various methods of attachment, a hair-raising description of the creepy crawlies that once lived behind the seams in 19th-century homes, and color application are a lively read.

As expected, a short discussion of the “evils” of painted walls, mostly done in a bewildering variety of whites, ends the first chapter. It is a battle cry for individuality, and one that made me begin planning my next run at turning my home décor on its ear. Safe and/or pompous design should be, in my opinion, against the law.

What follows next are chapters on the types of coverings popular in the 20th century, chapters containing papers so yummy, colors so vibrant that I found myself frequently reaching out to touch the pages, as if I could feel the textures of each paper under my fingertips. Of course, the pages are flawlessly reproduced in association with the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution. Chapters such as Grand Floral Parade: Blooms, Foliage, Garlands, Swags; Circles and Squares: Geometrics, Abstracts, Op Art, Minimalist Art; and High Art: From Bauhaus to Pop, with Stops Along the Way transfix with “lively text and captions to capture the designers, trends, and world events relevant to each piece.”

ONE COMPLAINT
With 150 color images to dig deep into, I found this book captivating and well worth the purchase. My only complaint was that no mention was made as to whether or not any of these papers were still available to the public. I’m wanting the 1948 wall covering design by Alexander Calder entitled, “A Piece of My Workshop” for my living room and the 1920s frieze pattern of elves (with pointy hats, of course), bunnies, frogs and mice for my laundry room. Or maybe I should do something from the chapter, On the Go, because after all—who wants to spend much time at all in their laundry room? It’s hard to choose because after all, as the authors so aptly state, “When all is said and done, we are our wallpaper.”