Weapons of mass desire: WW2 for consumers

SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) - A scooter produced from the spoils of World War Two machinery. A chair inspired by the plywood splints for wounded soldiers. A fashion trend spawned by the military's vital need for protection.

Welcome to the world of "Weapons of Mass Desire: Design and Consumption in the Aftermath of WWII", an exhibition aimed at showcasing the spoils of the last major conflict that devastated the world from a more upbeat perspective.

"It's war, with a twist," said curator Jason Toh of the National Museum of Singapore. "A lot has been said about the violence, the people killed, the politics, but we decided to approach war from a consumer context."

Divided into three segments -- "Desire for Freedom", "Desire for a Better Life" and "Desire for Identity" -- the exhibit includes iconic products from around the world that were born out of the war and that defined the 1950s and 1960s.

And to make it more relevant to locals, there are video presentations that include archive footage of what life was like in Singapore, which was occupied by the Japanese during the conflict, during the post-war era.

Exhibits include a Piaggio Vespa scooter, which was created to address Italy's urgent need for an affordable form of transport by the same factory that used to produce propellers, engines and aircraft for the airforce.

The simple molded plywood chair of husband-and-wife designers Charles and Ray Eames, who used to mass produce molded splints and stretchers for the U.S. Navy, is also on display.

The Eames' pioneered the use of materials such as fiberglass -- which reinforced aircraft radar domes -- in home furnishings, while prominent U.S. designer George Nelson shaped steel and translucent plastic, originally used to wrap battleships to protect them from corrosion, to create his famous Bubble Lamps.

The exhibition displays Japanese rice cookers, radios and hair dryers, products of the country's switch from making war to manufacturing consumer goods by households names such as Mitsubishi, Toshiba and National.

Toh said fashion designers were the first to embrace the optimism of the post-war era, with Christian Dior introducing the material-rich, flounced "New Look" as a reaction to the austerity of the war years.

Designers were also among the first to take camouflage into the mainstream in the 1990s, with Jean Paul Gaultier bringing the protective pattern back into fashion this year with his "warrior woman" 2008 spring/summer collection, an ensemble of which is on display in the exhibition.

The exhibition, which runs until January, will be accompanied by a series of lectures on the aftermath of World War Two and film screenings, starting next month.

Goh said he hoped the exhibit's contemporary tone would help bring history to life for a generation that has lived largely in peace. "We hope to add dynamism to history. This way it won't be forgotten, and its very important that we don't forget," he said.

Weapons of Mass Desire: Design and Consumption in the Aftermath of WWII

Until January 4, 2009

National Museum of Singapore, The Canyon, Basement

Free admission.

(Editing by David Fox)