Cooper Hewitt Paper – Esperanza Spalding Selects | HEAR, SEE, PLAY: DESIGNING WITH SOUND

PDF Version

Cooper_Hewitt_Exhibition_Assignment (4)

 Isis Samuels Swaby

CDMG 1111 Digital Media Foundations

Professor Tanya Goetz

November 13 2017

Cooper Hewitt Exhibition

One of the exhibits which was a great interest for me was the exhibition called ‘Esperanza Spalding Selects’  whom is a famous Grammy winning Jazz composer and instrumentalist Esperanza Spalding curated an exhibition at Cooper Hewitt. I have seen Spalding perform at the Apple Store on 14th street and 9th avenue a few years. I can see the connection between her career in jazz and the exhibition connects to her life’s work in Jazz. ‘Through her curation of nearly 40 drawings, prints, textiles, jewelry, and furniture, as well as works from the Smithsonian Design Library, Spalding explores how design—like music—both evolves and devolves in the process of transforming.’ (Cooper Hewitt 1) This exhibition stood out to me because of the design and historical references of the fliers and posters from Harlem Jazz Era and Harlem Renaissance because it offers the viewer to see how Jazz influence design in all forms, not solely in sound. I am originally from Harlem, NYC, so it gave me more incite about that time period when Jazz was the focal point for New York City neighborhood.

The piece, Textile, Fan, 1985, which was my favorite piece from the exhibit because of the movement and rhythm in the fabric print which also has African Kente cloth references. It was designed by Theo Maas and manufactured by Vlisco. It is dated 1985 and we acquired it in 2015. Its medium is 100% cotton and its technique is wax-resist printed on plain weave. I enjoyed the music and sound based exhibition called ‘HEAR, SEE, PLAY: DESIGNING WITH SOUND’ because it was hands-on interactive and added to my understanding of sound that guides our lives daily. Therefore, if we didn’t have certain sounds we will not be able to function without sound to educate and alert us on danger or just surviving in general in different environments.

“This hands-on exhibition invites you to become a sound designer for Trash Bot, a street-cleaning machine. A sound designer uses melody, ambient sound, and special effects to communicate. Each sound you create will communicate Trash Bot’s actions and express the machine’s personality and emotions. As you design sounds for Trash Bot, think about how each sound will guide users through their interactions with Trash Bot and—just as importantly—transform an anonymous machine into an appealing, human-like presence.” (Cooper Hewitt 1)

The colorways and printing of the posters the Jazz Festival Willisau designed by Niklaus Troxler is an internationally renowned Swiss graphic designer who specializes in poster design, corporate design, illustration and architectural murals. Since 1975, Troxler has organized the Willisauand Jazz Festival, an international event that features the best in contemporary jazz. ( Art Factory 1)

It was designed by Annik Troxler and Paula Troxler and published by Jazz Festival Willisauand printed by Sérigraphie Uldry AG. This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt’s permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Annik Troxler as part of Hear, See, Play: Designing with Sound. It is dated 2011. Its medium is screenprint on paper. It is a part of the Drawings, Prints, and Graphic Design department. Swiss graphic designer Annik Troxler creates posters each year for the Jazz Festival Willisau, held in a small town in Switzerland. She uses fluid concoctions of line, texture, and color to express the improvised character of jazz. Rather than visualizing specific pieces of music, the posters anticipate the range of music presented in the festivals. The Willisau Jazz Festival was founded in 1975 by Niklaus Troxler, Annik’s father, who designed the posters for thirty-five years. Cooper Hewitt acquired a set of Niklaus Troxler’s Willisau posters in 2009, courtesy of the artist. (Collection.Cooper Hewitt 1)

The piano in the room where it shows sound and colors working together to create a piece. The colors working with the rhythm and sound of the piano guides the eye with colors. This exhibition, ‘DOT PIANO’,  an installation, it was designed by Alexander Chen and Yotam Mann. Its medium is software, keyboard, monitors. (Collection.Cooper Hewitt 1) In addition, I enjoyed visiting Cooper Hewitt and now that I know it’s so close to my neighborhood and I will visit more often to learn about art and design history since they have a beautiful collection of works which can assist me with my design education.

Sources

https://www.artyfactory.com/graphic_design/graphic_designers/niklaus_troxler.htm

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1141959641/

https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/1126132823/

https://www.cooperhewitt.org/tag/jazz/