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Piranesi as Designer Monday, September 10, 2007 In fall 2007, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “Piranesi as Designer,” the first museum exhibition to show Giovanni Battista Piranesi’s full range and influence as a designer of architecture, interiors and furnishings. Through more than 100 etchings, original drawings and decorative arts objects, the exhibition will examine Piranesi’s concept of modern design and demonstrate his ongoing influence on architects and designers today, with featured work by Peter Eisenman, Michael Graves, Daniel Libeskind, Robert A.M. Stern, and Robert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown. Organized by professor Sarah E. Lawrence, director of Cooper-Hewitt’s Master’s Program in the History of Decorative Arts and Design, and John Wilton-Ely, professor emeritus at the University of Hull in England, the exhibition will be on view in the first-floor galleries of the museum from Sept. 14 through Jan. 20, 2008. “Piranesi as Designer” is mounted in association with the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam and the Teylers Museum, Haarlem, the Netherlands.
Provoking Magic: Lighting of Ingo Maurer Wednesday, August 1, 2007 “Provoking Magic: Lighting of Ingo Maurer,” a retrospective of German lighting designer Ingo Maurer’s four decades of work, opens Sept. 14 at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and runs through Jan. 27, 2008. The exhibition features numerous site-specific lighting installations conceived and designed by Maurer and his team for the unique spaces in the landmark Andrew Carnegie Mansion that is home to Cooper-Hewitt, as well as prototypes, commissioned one-off pieces, and photographs and films documenting Maurer’s illumination projects around the world.
Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product Monday, May 21, 2007 In fall 2007, Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “Multiple Choice: From Sample to Product,” a collection-based exhibition of sample books and other formats that contain examples of a technique or product. The exhibition will examine the historical and contemporary use of sampling formats as salesmen’s tools, marketing devices and archival records of designs and techniques, as well as objects and documents that demonstrate the connection between the sample and its final use. On view in the ground floor gallery from Nov. 9, 2007 through April 6, 2008, the exhibition is organized by Lucy Commoner, head of conservation, with Matilda McQuaid, deputy curatorial director and head of the textiles department, and Kimberly Randall. Research assistance provided by Phyllis Dillon.
Looking Forward/Looking Back: Recent Acquisitions in 20th- and 21st-Century Design Friday, May 18, 2007 The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “Looking Forward/Looking Back: Recent Acquisitions in 20th- and 21st-Century Design,” an exhibition showcasing additions to the permanent collection from Aug. 17 through Oct. 14. The exhibition will be on view in Cooper-Hewitt’s ground-floor gallery and will feature significant works by renowned 20th-century designers, including Paul Frankl, René Herbst, Herbert Matter and Philippe Starck. The works will be arranged in rough chronological order, enabling visitors to observe shifts in design ethos across a range of mediums, from furniture to textiles to graphic design. “Looking Forward/Looking Back” is organized by the museum’s curatorial team of Susan Brown and Nurit Einik.
Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum Announces Winners of the Eighth Annual National Design Awards Tuesday, May 15, 2007 Now in its eighth year, Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will celebrate outstanding achievement in design this fall with its annual National Design Awards. Today, Cooper-Hewitt director Paul Warwick Thompson announced the winners and finalists of the 2007 National Design Awards, recognizing excellence across various disciplines, including architecture, communications, fashion, interior, landscape and product design. The Award recipients will be honored at an Oct. 18 gala dinner at Cooper- Hewitt. Mrs. Laura Bush serves as the Honorary Patron for this year’s National Design Awards.
Cooper-Hewitt Announces 2007 National Design Awards Programs Thursday, April 19, 2007 The annual National Design Awards honor the year’s most outstanding contributions from the design world. The 2007 National Design Award finalists and Award recipients will be announced on May 15, 2007, followed by a panel discussion with this year's Awards jurors on May 16, 2007. The Awards recognize achievement across various disciplines including architecture, communications, fashion, interior, landscape, and product design.
Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt Announces Design Architect, Major Fundraising Milestone, and New Curatorial Appointment Monday, April 16, 2007 Building on a year in which Cooper-Hewitt crossed new milestones with respect to visitation, public outreach, collections development and fiscal strength, Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum made three announcements about its expansion, capital campaign and curatorial leadership. The museum announced that Gluckman Mayner Architects will serve as design architect in the renovation of the museum’s campus. The renovation is part of a $43 million capital campaign to nearly double the museum’s exhibition space, enhance educational services, accommodate growth of the permanent collection and boost its endowment to support operating costs. To date, $21.5 million has been raised under the leadership of capital campaign co-chairs Michael Francis and Harvey Krueger. Cooper-Hewitt also announced the appointment of Cara McCarty as the museum’s new curatorial director.
Cara McCarty Joins Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum as Curatorial Director Wednesday, April 11, 2007 Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Cara McCarty as curatorial director, effective July 10, 2007. In this role, McCarty will direct the museum’s curatorial vision, oversee its four curatorial departments, plan for collections management and acquisitions, and lead exhibition planning.
Design for the Other 90% Friday, March 30, 2007 In May 2007, the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “Design for the Other 90%,” an exhibition in the Arthur Ross Terrace and Garden that highlights the growing trend among designers to develop solutions that address basic needs for the vast majority of the world’s population not traditionally serviced by professional designers. On view May 4 through Sept. 23, 2007, the exhibition features more than 30 works that demonstrate how design can be a dynamic force in transforming and, in many cases, actually saving lives.
IDEO Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection Tuesday, December 5, 2006 In spring 2007, Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present “IDEO Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection,” an exhibition organized by a team from the internationally acclaimed innovation and design firm IDEO. As the fourth guest curator in the exhibition series, IDEO mined the permanent collection and will organize works around the theme of “design thinking”—a timeless, inherently human approach to problem solving focused on improving what already exists and creating what does not exist. “IDEO Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection,” will be on view June 22, 2007, through Jan. 20, 2008, in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery.