The Design Show

Dates

May 1 - July 24, 1993

Curator

Jean-No‘l Herlin

Exhibition

   The Design Show is a comprehensive presentation of exhibition invitations produced by museums, galleries and alternative spaces in the United States from 1940 - 1992. This is the first of a series of exhibitions that Exit Art / The First World will present exploring issues of graphic design.

   The Design Show represents the first comprehensive exhibition in this country to historically and critically examine the design of exhibition invitations and their significance as cultural and art historical artifacts. Over 230 exhibition invitations covering five decades have been selected from several private collections and the archives of The Museum of Modern Art library in New York.

   The Design Show explored how the history of exhibition invitations has expanded our graphic vocabulary. The works in the exhibition displayed a remarkable diversity of materials, from paper to cloth, metal, rubber and plastic and the innovative use of shapes from napkins to matchbooks, bandanas, buttons and slides. Conceived by Papo Colo who also designed the installation and invitation.

Publication

   The catalog of The Design Show, to be published in the Fall of 1996, will include essays by Steven Heller, a senior art director of the New York Times and an author of many books on design, curator Jean Noel Herlin, and interviews with Exit Art / The First World directors Jeanette Ingberman and Papo Colo, gallerist Holly Solomon, designers Marcus Ratliff and Anthony McCall.

Lectures

   In response to an overwhelming public interest and curiosity in The Design Show: Exhibition Invitations in the U.S.A. 1940 - 1992, Exit Art / The First World presented a series of informal talks that gave the public an opportunity to meet and talk with professionals who have had an impact on the field. They discussed topics such as the significance of invitations as cultural and art historical artifacts, the extent of the collaboration between designer, gallery, artist and printer in the production of exhibition invitations, the symbiotic relationship between art, design and technology, the ways in which announcements serve the marketing strategies of exhibitors, and how these announcements reflect the changing ideas and styles in American contemporary art since 1940.

   July 7 Jean-No‘l Herlin, Curator, The Design Show & Marcus Ratliff, Designer of artist invitations. Discussed how the The Design Show was curated and how choices were made. July 14 Clive Philpot, Director of the Library, MoMA. Addressed the value of artist ephemera and the role of museums in collecting it. July 21 Holly Solomon, Holly Solomon Gallery & Izhar Patkin, Artist, Designer Discussed the relationship between the artist and the gallery during invitation design.

Exhibit Archive | 92-93 Calender