|
|
|||
|
Back Issues |
|||
|
Art Nouveau Tiles: Fantastic Flowers and Other Forms February 24 - June 24, 2001 Treasure Room The 300 tiles in this
exhibition represent the highly decorative, international style known as Art
Nouveau. The style, characterized by fluidity of line and movement, swirling
and rhythmic naturalistic shapes, and sinuous ornamentation, flourished from
roughly 1885-1915. The Victorian period had
been an era of the mass-produced, printed tile, but the new style demanded new
techniques, such as press-molding, tube-lined surfaces and glazing to produce
shiny, translucent surfaces. Tilemaking by impressing images onto the clay
became widespread practice in Europe and England. The tiles were used in
interior architectural settings, appearing as fireplace surrounds, wall
coverings, on ovens and other surfaces. Despite their restricted format, 6 x 6 inches, the tiles
maintain the integrity of the Art Nouveau with its strong focus on floral
motifs, imaginative range, and design vitality. By comparing and contrasting
the tiles on view in the Treasure Room, viewers will gain a greater
understanding and appreciation of the movement known as Art Nouveau. Alumi-Nuts: Collectors’ Confessions October 28, 2000 –
February 11, 2001 Since
the 1920s, household aluminum objects have been beloved by collectors. On view concurrently with Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets,
this small exhibition features highlights from eight notable Pennsylvania
collections of aluminum decorative and household objects, focusing more on
the collectors and their motivations than on the objects themselves. “Some
of these collectors have an academic approach, and know every piece, every
maker,” explains Elisabeth Agro, assistant curator of Decorative Arts and the
organizer of Alumi-nuts. “For other collectors, it’s just
passion and the pleasure of the hunt.” Sherry
A. Kudranski of Plum would fall into the latter category. Her Colorama tumblers, anodized
rainbows of ice cream scoops and iced tea spoons light up the vitrine devoted
to her collection. While the
objects are commonplace, the devotion with which they have been sought out
and assembled is anything but ordinary.
Michael Olijnyk, curator of the Mattress Factory, designed his own
installation of the objects he loves to seek out. When asked by Agro, which was his favorite, he confessed
that it was always his most recent find. And Mike Coleman can spot a Wear-Ever coffeepot or tea
kettle across three aisles at a flea market. The vitrine devoted to his pieces shows off the best
examples of his extensive collection. Dr.
Thomas Armour and Clayton T. Sheasley, Jr., both sons of important
manufacturers of aluminum, are
devoted to maintaining a collection of their fathers’ work. “Clayton Sheasley, Sr., is the only small
producer of hand-hammered objects in Western Pennsylvania still alive,”
comments Agro. “It was a small
community and they all knew each other and shared ideas.” Collections,
however, can be organized according to many different principles. Dennis Wildnauer
of Allentown focuses on the smaller manufacturers from Western Pennsylvania,
while Marilyn Bonatti’s acclaimed collection of every piece of Kensington
Wear ever made, both prototype and otherwise, has earned her the title “the
Kensington Lady.” John Franke has devoted part of his collection to objects
decorated with a chrysanthemum, manufactured by Continental. “You can,” Agro points out, “even
collect by pattern.” Visitors
to the exhibition may wish they had held on to their parents’ hammered aluminum
ice bucket or their great aunt’s commemorative ashtray collection. They will undoubtedly walk away with
a different view of what collecting can be, and a new respect for the
passions of the dedicated collector. Aluminum in Contemporary Architecture Forum Gallery November 18 – February 4,
2001 The
eight projects featured in this exhibition, which appears concurrently with Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets, illustrate the
wide variety of architectural applications of aluminum. “Aluminum
is versatile,” says Tracy Myers, associate curator of the Heinz Architectural Center at
Carnegie Museum of Art, who organized the exhibition. “The exhibition shows that today’s
architects are not just taking advantage of the metal’s versatility, but they
are also using aluminum as an integral element in surprising and beautiful
designs.” The
projects in the exhibition, all designed in the last decade, range widely in
terms of scale and function and highlight some of the qualities that make
aluminum desirable as an architectural material – light weight,
malleability, reflectivity, and economy. Upcoming
aluminum programs:
·
Architect Mark Wamble
will discuss the many lessons Houston
offers on how an unregulated approach to development and urban life can be
original, authentic, and enjoyable. In this context, Wamble will discuss the
Houston Products Laboratory, a building whose design can only be realized in
aluminum. January 22, CMA Theater, 6:00 p.m. ·
The Alcoa Forecast
Program Revisited. CMU design students display their work in aluminum in the
Hall of Sculpture January 30-February 4. Discussion: February 3, 12:00 p.m. ·
Marc Newson lecture.
One of the most influential industrial designers today, Newson is sometimes
considered the equivalent of a design world “rock star.” February 1, Carnegie
Lecture Hall, 6:00 p.m. For
more information on these programs call 622.3131 or visit www.aluminumbydesign.org. |
|
Back Issues |
|||
|
Copyright (c) 2000 CARNEGIE magazine |
|||