Marshmallow Sofa Analysis

For this assignment, I chose the Marshmallow Love Seat #5670, or more commonly known as the Marshmallow sofa. This specific piece came from the Modernism movement and was produced by the American furniture company Herman Miller that was originally manufactured between 1956 and 1961. It is considered the most iconic of all modernist sofas (Fleisher 2009). It was produced in two sizes from 1956 to 1961, and consists of a metal chromatic frame with round discs of covered foam, a sustainable and conservative way to incorporate different materials to create an effective furniture piece. It was so effective, in fact, that in the smaller of the two sizes it was produced in, it was re-issued in the 1980s as part of the "Herman Miller Classics" line, and continues in production today.
To begin, modernization is the idea that replaces or transforms traditions, collective identities, and past-orientations with …show more content…
The "marshmallows" spread across the seat and back in a framework arrangement, and the piece’s medium consists of chrome frame and differing fabrics. Originally, George Nelson was thought to have designed the sofa with contribution from Irving Harper of George Nelson Associates, but it turns out that Irving Harper was the one who has come up with the concept.
The spark that ignited this iconic piece was in 1954, when an inventor salesman from a Long Island plastics company visited the office of George Nelson Associates, and told them about a new technique for making self-skinned upholstered cushions (Makovsky, 2016). Irving concocted a model out of a checkers set, and stuck the checkers disks on a metal frame, which “looked good” to him. So he drew it up, brought it in to his work, and that was the birth of this incredibly simple but exceptionally efficient and functional furniture