The Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum will present the “Graphic Design—Now in Production” exhibition at Governors Island, from May 26 through Sept. 3. Co-organized by Cooper-Hewitt and the Walker Art Center, the exhibition explores some of the most vibrant graphic design work produced since 2000, including posters, books, magazines, identity and branding, information graphics, typography and typefaces, and film and television title graphics. Admission will be free.
On view in Building 110 on Governors Island, the exhibition will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and holiday Mondays. This is the second stop in a national tour of the exhibition, which debuted at the Walker Art Center in fall 2011. Cooper-Hewitt’s main facility, housed in the Carnegie Mansion, is undergoing renovation as part of a $64 million capital campaign that includes enlarged and enhanced facilities for exhibitions, collections display, education programming and the National Design Library, and an increased endowment.
“Graphic Design” explores the worlds of design-driven magazines, newspapers, books and posters; the expansion of branding programs for corporations, institutions and subcultures; the entrepreneurial spirit of designer-produced goods; the renaissance in digital typeface design; the storytelling potential of film and television titling sequences; and the transformation of raw data into compelling information narratives.
“This ambitious exhibition looks at cutting edge ideas and breaking cultural revolutions in the world of graphic design,” said Director Bill Moggridge. “Focusing on design in the 21st century, this exhibition provides insight into the phenomena shaping culture today and transforming traditional conceptions of graphic design practice.”
“Governors Island is becoming New York City’s ‘backyard’ for arts and culture,” said Trust for Governors Island President Leslie Koch. “We are thrilled to welcome Cooper-Hewitt, one of the City’s leading cultural institutions, which joins a long list of arts organizations presenting exhibitions and programs on the Island. ‘Graphic Design—Now in Production,’ free and open to the public in Building 110, will be the centerpiece of the Island’s 2012 season.”
Lead curators of “Graphic Design—Now in Production” are Andrew Blauvelt, curator of architecture and design at the Walker Art Center, and Ellen Lupton, senior curator of contemporary design at Cooper-Hewitt. The exhibition at Governors Island was designed by Project Projects with Leong Leong.
Graphic design is the art and practice of visual communication. Designers use color, typography, images, symbols and systems to make the surfaces around us come alive with meaning. Today, the field is shifting and expanding in unprecedented ways, as new technologies and social movements are changing the way people make and consume media. Public awareness of graphic design has grown enormously during the past two decades through the revolutions in desktop computing and networked communication, which have also fueled tremendous growth in the profession.
The exhibition is organized around eight themes: Posters, Magazines, Books, Information Design, Branding, Typography, Storefront and Film and Television Titles.
www.cooperhewitt.org