Gloria Cortina creates stylized feathers from black obsidian in contemporary homage to Mexico's past and present cultures.
Innovative designer, Emilio Godoy, first came to the museum’s attention for his concerns about environmental sustainability, materials, and efficiency in production. His Pablo and Pedro glass project emerged from “the analysis of the energy used in glass manufacturing, in particular, the energy and resources needed for the fabrication of metal molds” used to form glass...
The Day of the Dead is celebrated in the publication, Gran Baile de Calaveras, un Libro Túnel [The Dancing Skeletons Tunnel Book], by Joan Sommers, a work in the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Library. The book is a concertina-like folding form, composed of five separate scenes, each on a different panel. When viewed through the...
In recognition of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15-October 15, 2019), this week’s Object Of The Day posts celebrate Latinx design and designers’ works in the collection. This rather ordinary looking band is actually extraordinary. Made in Mexico during the Spanish colonial period (likely mid-15th- early 16th c.) it is composed with a Spanish aesthetic,...
This bold graphic work combines text and image in a call for solidarity with indigenous populations and resistance to their continued subjugation. Dominating the print is a depiction of a fearsome Aztec warrior, clad in a traditional jaguar costume and stabbing a prone Spanish soldier. Designer Lincoln Cushing (American, b. 1953) appropriated the image from...
In 1941, famed French Art Deco silversmith Jean Puiforcat (1897-1945) wrote news from Mexico to his daughter, Claude, in Paris: “The country is truly marvelous; this captivating natural landscape accentuated by a civilization that goes back to the mist of time.”[1] Escaping German-held France, Puiforcat, soon joined by his family, fled to Mexico, establishing a...
Celebrated jewelry designer Daniela Villegas discusses her inspiration and work.
This vibrant mural design by Charles Baskerville for A Jaguar Hunt in a Mexican Jungle presents an imagined vision of a lush, foreign environment. Part of a group of studies for the pool house (called the Mexican Pavilion) at the Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney Estate, the eight-hundred-square-foot mural transported Long Island residents and guests to a...
Excerpt from Teddy Cruz and Fonna Forman’s essay “Where is the Public Today? Design for a New Civic Imagination” from By the People: Designing a Better America exhibition publication. Border Crossing Design by the people begins with re-energizing a public culture and building the capacity of divided communities for mutual recognition and coexistence. The San...
While the world’s best athletes are the obvious stars of the modern Olympic Games, countries hosting the games also have a unique opportunity to demonstrate their strengths on an international stage. The bold graphic identity of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in this poster designed by Lance Wyman and Eduardo Terrazas intended to broadcast a...
In the mid-twentieth century, German wallpaper company Rasch marketed wallpapers designed by noted contemporary artists to the American public. The product line was called the “International Artists Collection,” and appealed to consumers who wanted their homes and offices to reflect cutting edge of contemporary art. Explaining the creative motivation behind this partnership of artist and...
Beginning in the late 19th century, the medium of printmaking played an integral role in the creation of modern Mexican art, a tradition that can be traced back to the work of, among others, José Guadalupe Posada. But it was in the post-revolutionary period of the early 20th century that large groups of Mexican artists,...
An energy-efficient straw bale house is being built on the Mall, across the street from the US Capitol. Natural builders from around the country converged on Washington DC to construct the straw shelter and a bamboo shade structure. Rose Morin, a green builder from New Mexico and one of the over dozen volunteers with Builders...
A low cost UV water filter is making an impact in the field. Mexican non-profit Niparaja teamed with AquaStar and the local Technological Institute on the design of the low cost UV Bucket water filter. AquaStar/Meridian designed the 12V ballast that powers the UV lamp inside the UV Bucket, for use with solar panels in...
