Upcoming BGC Events

Upcoming BGC Events http://www.bgc.bard.edu This feed contains the next month of upcoming events at the Bard Graduate Cenetr. Discoveries: Perspectives on the History of Ibero-American Art in the United States http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/kagan-ibero-american.html This lecture launches the inaugural meeting of the Cisneros Seminar in the Material Cultures of the Iberoamerican World. This initiative aims to promote study of the cultures of the Ibero-American World through its material artifacts, across space, time, media and methodology and irrespective of institutional and national divisions. The core of the project is the creation of a network of scholars, practitioners and intellectuals, whether independent or based in universities, museums, cultural institutions or business, who are united in their commitment to studying the cultural history of the material Hispanic world. Our ambition is that out of this network will grow a new field of scholarly inquiry. Please join us in the Lecture Hall at 38 West 86th Street, between Columbus Ave and Central Park West, at 6pm, reception to follow. For additional information contact  Alex Phelan, <a href="mailto:phelan@bgc.bard.edu">phelan@bgc.bard.edu</a>. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/kagan-ibero-american.html Cisneros Seminar in the Material Cultures of the Ibero-American World at the Bard Graduate Center, Folk Art and Craft in Latin America, 1950-2000 http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/cisneros-seminar.html RSVP is required, please <a href="https://spreadsheets0.google.com/a/bgc.bard.edu/viewform?pli=1&hl=en&hl=en&formkey=dEZPLW42RnNPTzRrZHN1SFZiMklCZ3c6MQ#gid=0" target="_blank">CLICK HERE</a> Folk Art has been a subject traditionally linked to Latin American art in the US, from the 1929-30 exhibit of Mexican fine and applied arts at the Metropolitan Museum, and the famous show at MoMA “Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art” (1940).  What was the continuation of this story in the second half of the 20th century? How did folk and craft from Latin America fit into the narratives of folk and craft in North America, and where are things now? These are questions posed by this second Cisneros Seminar in the Material Cultures of the Ibero-American World. Speakers: Paul J. Smith Director Emeritus of the American Craft Museum (now the Museum of Arts and Design, New York City) LATIN AMERICA: A Personal Perspective —Craft Heritage, Folk Art, Beyond Calogero Salvo Independent Film and Video Maker, New York City Juan Félix Sánchez, a Film Portrait of an Artist Cándida Fernández Baños de Calderón Director of Fomento Cultural Banamex, Mexico City Great Masters of Latin American Folk Art Moderator: Francesco Pellizzi Editor and Co-Founder of RES Journal of Anthropology and Aesthetics, Research Associate in Middle American Ethnology, Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University; Chair of the University Seminar on the Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas, Columbia University. <img src="http://www.bgc.bard.edu/images/content/1/2/12555.jpg?forcenew=JJWTHWXAWBOZKLYAI" alt="" width="106" height="141" /> http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/cisneros-seminar.html Working Fabric: Innovation in Design at KnollTextiles http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-155.html In this conversation, Dorothy Cosonas and Jhane Barnes will discuss the evolution of KnollTextiles since its founding in 1947 and consider its unique contributions to corporate, hospitality, educational, healthcare, and residential interiors across North America. They will share their experiences as collaborators and designers working within the Modernist tradition and toward the expansion of the Knoll brand with the most technically advanced materials and production methods in the industry. Dorothy Cosonas is creative director of both KnollTextiles and Knoll Luxe. She has received awards including the Best of NeoCon Gold for many of her KnollTextiles upholstery collections, as well as her inaugural collection and hercollection with Rodarte for Knoll Luxe. Jhane Barnes is director of Jhane Barnes Menswear, a men’s ready to-wear company. Her designs for interiors, carpeting, eyewear, and office furniture for such companies as Google, PepsiCo, LensCrafters, Rolls-Royce, and SONY. Brooke Hodge is director of exhibitions and publications at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. While she was a curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, she organized the exhibition “Skin + Bones:Parallel Practices in Fashion and Architecture.” This program has been partially supported by the Lily Auchincloss Foundation. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-155.html Suzanne Tick and Hazel Siegel: Material Thinking http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-332.html Textile designers Suzanne Tick and Hazel Siegel both served as creative directors at KnollTextiles where each made important contributions to the stylistic and technical range of textiles. In this conversation, the designers will talk about the innovative work that they did for Knoll—how it informed, or remained independent of their current work in the studio—and their role in educating a new generation of designers. Suzanne Tick is the head of Suzanne Tick, Inc. From 1997 to 2005, she was creative director of KnollTextiles, and she continues to design for the company. Matilda McQuaid is deputy curatorial director and head of the textiles department at Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum. Hazel Siegel was creative director of KnollTextiles from 1989 to 1993. She is currently a visiting assistant professor at Pratt Institute. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-332.html Massimo and Matter: Shaping the Knoll Identity http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-333.html Between 1946 and 1966, Herbert Matter created the Knoll logo, advertisements, posters, and catalog format. In 1966 Massimo Vignelli developed the current logo for Knoll with its distinct white-on-red type treatment. In this conversation, Jeffrey Head will discuss the early contributions of Herbert Matter, and Massimo Vignelli will share his recollections of reinventing the Knoll identity and of his working relationship with Matter. Jeffrey Head is an independent scholar who organized the exhibition Herbert Matter: Modernist Photography and Graphic Design at Stanford University’s Cecil H. Green Library. Alice Twemlow is a design critic, educator, and author of What is Graphic Design For? Massimo Vignelli is an internationally renowned designer. In 1971 he and his wife, Lella, established Vignelli Associates. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-333.html Women & Modern Architecture in Midtown http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-334.html Following World War II, the aesthetics of European Modernism virtually transformed midtown Manhattan. On this walking tour Matthew Postal will highlight contributions made by pioneering women architects, designers, and critics. Several significant works will be considered that emphasize the sometimes forgotten role played by women in their design, from Florence Knoll and Eleanor Le Maire to architectural critic Ada Louise Huxtable, who collaborated with her husband, L. Garth Huxtable, on designs for the celebrated Four Seasons Restaurant. Major works by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill will be viewed, including the Manufacturers Trust Building (Patricia W. Swan, senior designer) and the former Union Carbide Building (Natalie de Blois, senior designer). Matthew A. Postal is an architectural historian who frequently leads walking tours of Brooklyn and New York City. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-334.html New Room to Blue Room: Music of the Knoll Years http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-335.html Music accompanied the creative lives of many modern artists and designers in the circle of Florence Knoll. This richly textured concert will feature American songs in the popular and jazz idioms, and international cabaret music that would have emanated from the record players and clubs of the day. Robert Osborne, accompanied by pianist Richard Gordon, will perform familiar and lesser-known works by such composers as Cole Porter, Kurt Weill, Nina Rota, and Rodgers and Hart. Melissa Gerstein will join Mr. Osborne for a duet. Robert Osborne, bass-baritone, has sung over fifty roles in operas from Bernstein to Weill. His solo recordings include Schubert’s Winterreise and songs of Henry Cowell and John Alden Carpenter. He is on the faculties of Barnard and Vassar Colleges. Richard Gordon is a pianist who has performed with opera companies including Washington (DC), New Orleans, Pusan (Korea), St. Louis, and Chautauqua. Melissa Gerstein, mezzo-soprano, is gallery outreach educator at the BGC. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-335.html Florence Knoll: Textiles as Interior Architecture http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-336.html Among her many innovations, Florence Knoll introduced padded and tufted upholstered chair seats without armrests, so that space flowed effortlessly around them, and custom-colored curtains to compensate for the unnatural quality of the new fluorescent lights. In this lecture, Christine Gorby will explore how Florence Knoll reconceptualized the use of textiles as integral architectural elements within the modern interior and in the context of dynamic social and technological changes. Christine Gorby is an architect and associate professor of architecture, Pennsylvania State University, College of Arts and Architecture. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-336.html Modern Furniture Conservation: Form and Material Challenges http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-337.html In this lecture, Margo Delidow and Roger Griffith explore the history of materials and techniques associated with mid-century modern furniture, particularly those used in Knoll production from the 1940s to the 1970s. Focusing on five chairs that they treated specifically for the BGC exhibition, they will consider the evolution of modern upholstery techniques and discuss how particular innovations and actual use complicate the conservation and restoration of these works. Earl Martin is an associate curator at the Bard Graduate Center and curator of the Knoll Textiles exhibition. Margo Delidow is the Andrew W. Mellon Fellow in Conservation Education at the Conservation Center of the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Roger Griffith is an associate conservator at the Museum of Modern Art. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-337.html Designing Woman: How Florence Knoll Created the “Knoll Look” and Revolutionized the Modern Interior http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-338.html In 1965 Florence Knoll retired from Knoll Associates, Inc., where she had served as design director and head of both KnollTextiles and the Knoll Planning Unit. From its founding in the late 1930s, the firm exerted a profound influence on the modern interior through the design and production of furniture and textiles and through its interior design service for private and corporate clients. In this lecture Bobbye Tigerman will trace Florence Knoll’s education and training and explore how she combined the resources of the firm’s three divisions to create the distinctive “Knoll look” and to shape the nature of modern postwar interior design. Bobbye Tigerman is assistant curator of decorative arts and design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. http://www.bgc.bard.edu/news/upcoming-events/-338.html