Joseph-André Motte
{{Short description|French designer (1925–2013)}}
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{{Infobox artist
| name = Joseph-André Motte
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date |1925|1|6|df=y}}
| birth_place = Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur, France
| death_date = {{death date and age|2013|6|1|1925|1|6|df=y}}
| death_place = Paris, France
| field = Furniture Design; Interior Design
| training = École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art
| awards = * Silver medal Triennale di Milano,
- 1st prize, Concours National du Centre Technique du Bois (1956),
- Award René Gabriel (1957),
- Grand Prix Brussels World's Fair Expo 58 (1958),
- 1st Prize Concours des Glaces de Boussois (1960),
- 1st Prize Mazda, Formica, Surnyl Contest (1960/1964),
- Silver medal, Médaille d'Or, Médaille d'Honneur de la Société d'Encouragement à l'Art et à l'Industrie (1957,1958, 1965),
- French Academy of Architecture award (1982),
- Commander 'Ordre des Arts et Lettres' (1990)
}}
Joseph-André Motte (6 January 1925 – 1 June 2013) was a French furniture designer and interior designer and ranks among the most influential and innovative figures of post-war French design.{{cite web|url=http://www.fiftease.com/en/designer-5-Joseph_Andre_MOTTE_fifties.php |title=Joseph-André MOTTE - French designer '50s (design 1950 - furniture) © fiftease |publisher=Fiftease.com |date= |accessdate=23 August 2013 }}
Joseph-André Motte was born in Saint-Bonnet-en-Champsaur (southeastern France in the Hautes-Alpes).
After passing his ‘baccalauréat’, he studied at the École des Arts Appliqués in Paris (École nationale supérieure des arts appliqués et des métiers d'art), where he graduated in 1948 at the top of his class.
His career is divided into two different stages. At first, he focused on furniture design up to the end of the 1960s. Later, he shifted his career to interior design.
Furniture design
In the period after World War II (1939–45) there was increased interest in using new methods and materials for mass production of furniture. Manufacturers of materials such as Formica, plywood, aluminum, and steel sponsored the salons of the Société des artistes décorateurs. Designers who exhibited their experimental work at the salons in this period included Motte, Pierre Guariche, René-Jean Caillette, Jean Prouvé, Charlotte Perriand, Antoine Philippon and Jacqueline Lecoq.{{cite web|url=http://www.demischdanant.com/projects/les-salon-des-artistes-decorateurs/ |title=Les Salon des Artistes Décorateurs |publisher=Demisch Danant |date=20 October 2010 |accessdate=11 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150411205655/http://www.demischdanant.com/projects/les-salon-des-artistes-decorateurs/ |archivedate=11 April 2015 }}
Motte began his career as a furniture designer at the Bon Marché, one of the oldest Parisian department stores and cooperated with Marcel Gascoin’s workshop.
In 1954, he founded his own agency and co-founded the Atelier de Recherche Plastique (Studio for Plastic Research) with Michel Mortier and Pierre Guariche.
His prolific career let him rise to the top of postwar designers whose mission was to refurnish French homes with industrial materials and contemporary style, integrating modern forms with conventional techniques, using traditional and modern materials: rattan, foam, plastic, Formica, plywood, stainless steel, and glass.{{cn|date=March 2018}}
Motte’s projects covered a global range of furniture and furniture accessories: office furniture, chairs, tables, lights, sanitary and heating facilities.{{cite web |url=http://www.larcobaleno.com/designers/joseph-andre-motte.html |title=Joseph-André Motte - Designer - L'ArcoBaleno |publisher=Larcobaleno.com |accessdate=2013-08-23 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130712091818/http://www.larcobaleno.com/designers/joseph-andre-motte.html |archivedate=2013-07-12 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyicon.net/2012/12/exhibition-joseph-andre-motte-the-art-of-living/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121223060257/http://www.dailyicon.net/2012/12/exhibition-joseph-andre-motte-the-art-of-living/ |url-status=usurped |archive-date=23 December 2012 |title=Exhibition: Joseph André Motte: The Art of Living |publisher=Daily Icon |date= |accessdate=23 August 2013 }}
Some of his most famed chairs are the: Tripod Chair (1949),{{Cite web |title=Tripode fauteuil (Tripod armchair) |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/2010.181/ |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}} Catherine Chair, (1952), Sabre Chair (1954), 740 Chair (1957), 770 (1958).{{cn|date=March 2018}}
File:Métro de Paris - Ligne 7 - Cadet 06.jpg
He and Paul Andreu are credited with the design of the 1970s "Motte-Andreu style" shell seating used in the Paris Métro from 1974 to 1984.{{Cite web |date=2025-01-23 |title=Are you familiar with the history behind Paris metro seats? {{!}} Culture |url=https://www.ratp.fr/en/paris-metro-seats |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=www.ratp.fr |language=en}}
Motte participated in many exhibitions such as Salon des artistes décorateurs, Salon des arts ménagers and Universal exhibition Brussels Expo’58.
Interior design
From the 1960s to the early 1990s (until his retirement), Motte was in charge of prolific and prestigious interior design commissions like public interiors for the French government including:
- Paris Métro stations (more than 100 stations)
- the interiors and furnishings for the Orly Airport
- the interiors and furnishings for the Charles de Gaulle Airport
- the interiors and furnishings for the Lyon Airport
- parts of the Louvre Museum
- parts of the state radio's Broadcasting House, Paris
- French prefectures and town halls
- The Council of Europe in Strasbourg
He also got many contracts abroad in Sub-Saharan Africa and North Africa including the presidential palace in Bamako and many hotels in Algeria, Tunisia, Congo and Mali.
He was honored with many awards such as La Triennale di Milano, Prix René Gabriel.
In 1990, he was awarded the French Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Grade of Commander).{{Cn|date=July 2024|reason=All of these claims need to be checked and sources added (also see Talk).}}
See also
References
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External links
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Category:Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres