Object of the Day
Discover a different object from the Museum’s collection every day of the week!
Museum curators, conservators, and educators, as well as design enthusiasts like our teen Design Scholars, docents, and Master’s students, are sharing their favorite objects from Cooper-Hewitt’s incredible collection.
Many of these objects will be featured in the expanded collection galleries when Cooper-Hewitt reopens in 2014. Until then, “Object of the Day” is your uniquely-curated corner of the Museum!
Printing FurniturePosted by Cara McCarty, on Tuesday December 04, 2012“Stereolithography has enabled us to…imagine, on an industrial level, a new freedom of creation, which would notably emancipate us from the limitations of molds.”[1] Patrick Jouin Patrick Jouin, C2 Chair, furniture, rapid prototyping, printed furniture, Materialise, Sterolithography, mass customization, Solid Collection |
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A Poster by Michiel SchuurmanPosted by Ellen Lupton, on Monday December 03, 2012Every summer, hundreds of thousands of visitors travel by ferry to Governors Island, a former Coast Guard outpost that has become one of New York City’s most popular public parks. In summer 2012, Cooper-Hewitt was proud to host our exhibition, Graphic Design: Now In Production, on Governors Island, and I was proud to be among the organizing curators. Michiel Schuurman, Graphic Design: Now in Production, posters, graphic design, 21st century |
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Learning Can Be FunSunday December 02, 2012Alphabet border by William Wegman was a charming addition to the field of children’s wallpapers in 1993. Wegman began photographing his weimaraners in 1970 and his photographs became a huge favorite with adults and children alike. What’s not to like about a beautiful dog holding a goofy pose! Alphabet border takes the dog photography a step further by making it educational. The dogs are arranged in groups of 2 to 5 dogs, spelling out the different letters of the alphabet from A to Z. wallpaper, border, dog, ABCs, alphabet, Wegman |
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Alpha WorkshopsPosted by Gregory Herringshaw, on Saturday December 01, 2012Block-printed on a painted ground, Sunflower is a contemporary wallpaper created using techniques popular in the early years of wallpaper production. The design is printed in two colors with a single set of blocks, with the registration shifted after the printing of the first color. This two-layer printing over painted ground creates a subtle all-over effect. Eliminating voids in the pattern creates a nice flow over the wall surface. Sunflower, Alpha Workshops, wallpaper, block print, New York City |
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The Dome and Cupola that Were Not TherePosted by Gail S. Davidson, on Friday November 30, 2012This perspective tour de force dazzles the eye with the complexities of its illusionistic architecture. The story behind the work is equally compelling. Andrea Pozzo, Architecture, Italian architecture, Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Jesuit Order, Counter Reformation, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Baciccio, fresco, foreshortening, dome, perspective, drawing, illusionism, Japanese, painting, cupola, Rome |
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Bingo!Posted by William Aung, on Thursday November 29, 2012"Cavagnole!" This is something we might hear today if this 18th-century game still being played. Cavagnole, a pre-modern version of bingo, was much more than just an ordinary board game—its aesthetic appeal reflected the culture, beauty, and art forms revered in the height of its popularity. Cavagnole, board game, Europe, 18th century, play, games, paintings, gilding |
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Collegiate Banners, Textile DesignPosted by Alison Charny, on Wednesday November 28, 2012There is no evidence that Tommi Parzinger’s textile design of collegiate banners was ever produced. Nevertheless, the brightly-colored red, blue, yellow and green flags speak to both the designer’s aesthetic and the time period. Throughout the postwar 1950s, as Parzinger’s career in New York took off, a wave of college spirit swept the United States. textile design, 20th century, Tommi Parzinger, New York |
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On Pins and NeedlesPosted by Stephen H. Van Dyk, on Tuesday November 27, 2012This catalog and sample book, circa 1930, contains needle and sewing items manufactured by The Dominion Steel and Coal Corporation (DOSCO), a Canadian coal mining and steel manufacturing company. Included are more than 50 steel sewing, crocheting, and knitting needles and safety pins. Some are even in their original packaging. Brief captions, images, illustrations, and item numbers accompany each item—most captions are in English, with some in German. sewing equipment, pins, needles, sample books, trade catalogs |
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AbacusPosted by Ellen Lupton, on Monday November 26, 2012Among the most influential books in the history of American graphic design is Paul Rand’s Thoughts on Design, published in 1947. Covering the jacket of this ground-breaking manifesto of modernist theory and practice is a series of oblong dots arranged in uneven rows, rendered in translucent shades of gray. The image is based on a photogram, made by exposing a wood-and-wire abacus to a sheet of photographic paper. At once abstract and recognizable, the photogram is a direct imprint of a physical object. textiles, graphic design, abacus, Paul Rand, photogram, L. Anton Maix |
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Tiffany and CarnegiePosted by Sarah Coffin, on Sunday November 25, 2012I love the fact that this Tiffany lamp was purchased by the Carnegies, and that Cooper-Hewitt is located in their former house—a Fifth Avenue mansion completed in 1902. Tiffany glass, Andrew Carnegie, Carnegie mansion, lamps, Skibo Castle |
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