Artist/Designer: Michael Graves

Title: Monopoly Game 2002

Medium: Wood, cardboard, paper, plastic, metal, fabric

Dimensions: Closed: 16" x 8" x 3.5" Open: 16" x 16" x 3"

Manufacturer: Parker Brothers for Target

Details: Vintage version in excellent condition, with all original pieces, in original carton. Cherry stained wooden box opens to reveal the game board, and side supports swing out to hold up board. Drawer pulls out and stores 6 polished metal game tokens, 2 dice, standard Monopoly money, Chance and Community card sets, and two velour drawstring bags to hold houses and hotels. Graves' signature incised in small metal disk on underside.

Notes from the Archive: American architect, Michael Graves' legacy includes designing over 350 buildings, and 2000 products. The Michael Graves Design brand at Target was the first example of an architect/designer having his own consumer brand of products. This collection transformed the retailer from a  discount store to a design destination. It was Graves' own idea to design new versions of classic games beginning with a chess set in 2000 with inspiration from the famous Bauhaus Chess Set. The Monopoly Game was designed in 2002, and Graves modeled the pewter game pieces on his own product designs, including a teakettle, a cup and saucer, a wall clock, a telephone, a blender and a toaster. The houses are in Graves' signature blue color derived from old fashioned blueprints. The distinctive shape of the hotels is based on a Graves architectural building in The Hague. "In designing everyday objects," says Graves, "I want to encourage the impression of familiarity and also allow these objects to be seen in a slightly different way. Even useful objects can have symbolic function as well as a pragmatic one. In achieving these goals, we often combine simple utility, functional innovation and formal beauty."  

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