Graphic design serves a powerful role in establishing the visual identity of theatrical performance. Cooper Hewitt’s collection offers highlights of graphic design for the work of Black playwrights and composers. Narratives addressing riots and rage; exploring triumph, history, and oppression; or featuring funk, soul, and divas interact with typography, image, and space to tell a...
Elizabeth Broman discusses Joseph Urban's theatre design. His murals for the Ziegfeld Theatre are now on view in The Jazz Age: American Style in the 1920s.
Between 1861 and 1875, French architect Charles Garnier designed the new Paris Opera House. With its heavily ornamented Second Empire Baroque style exterior and its sumptuous and ornate interiors, Garnier successfully designed a new cultural hub for the French social elite. However, Garnier’s design goes well beyond style. Garnier carried out careful and extensive studies...
In 1664, Versailles was briefly transformed into a mythical and enchanted fairytale land. From May 7th to 13th, the court of Louis XIV arranged a festival of Les Plaisirs de l’Ile Enchantée (Pleasures of an Enchanted Island) in honor of Anne of Austria, the mother of Louis XIV and the queen Maria Theresa, although the...
Inspired by Paula Scher’s work for The Public Theater, the choreographer and dancer Eliot Feld first approached her about designing an identity for his dance company in 1997, when he decided to rename the company Ballet Tech. Scher designed an identity using a typographic family of slab serifs, overlaying the typography on top of photographs...
For those concerned with the impact and lifecycle of construction materials, BEES is a new design tool that helps designers and consumers make informed decisions. Construction and manufacturing have a significant effect on the environment. Cooper-Hewitt’s Exhibitions department specifies, purchases, and uses many materials in our exhibits. We strive to be as environmentally sensitive as...
GlassLab was a really unique adventure. I had been to The Corning Museum of Glass a few times and even seen glass blown there, but never had the “on-hand” experience of directing the blowers to create the piece as exact as I wanted it. Coming from a world of plastics and vinyl, it was very...
GlassLab, now on view at Cooper-Hewitt through June 3, is an innovative program of The Corning Museum of Glass that pairs its master glassmakers with some of the most creative minds working in design today. Participating designers, many of whom have been featured in past Cooper-Hewitt exhibitions and programs, will include Harry Allen, Constantin and...
In a very special presentation, Cooper-Hewitt will host GlassLab, an innovative program of The Corning Museum of Glass that pairs its master glassmakers with some of the most creative minds working in design today. GlassLab at Design Miami 2007 Participating designers at Cooper-Hewitt include: Harry Allen Constantin and Laurene Boym Francisco Costa/Calvin Klein Michele...
