In this lecture, Dr. Bénédicte Gady explores the intersecting histories of the drawing collections of Cooper Hewitt and the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Cooper Hewitt was founded as the Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration in 1897. It was deliberately modeled after the Parisian museum, which had been founded thirty-three years...
A CHANGE IS GONNA COME: BLACK SPECULATIVE FUTURES FOR THE COOPER HEWITT, SMITHSONIAN DESIGN MUSEUM COLLECTION Dr. Dori Tunstall’s lecture examines the Black presence in the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum collection, from 19th-century Congolese status cloths to Art Sim’s Spike Lee film posters. Considering the history and methods of 19th-century collecting practices, Tunstall addresses...
THE TRANSMUTATION OF CREATIVE REUSE Designers turn existing materials or products into new works through the process of reuse transformation. More than a strategy for sustainability, reuse transformation not only diverts waste from landfills, but also challenges our preconceived notions of value and utility. In this lecture, designer and educator Hans Tan uses examples from...
DESIGNING THE SUBLIME: MECHANISM, RISK, AND WONDER World-renowned antiquarian horologist Brittany Nicole Cox explores the diverse utilization of the machine in design through a selection of objects drawn from the collections of Cooper Hewitt and other Smithsonian museums. Examples range from a nineteenth-century singing bird box to the world’s first tuning fork watch. Cox makes...
Dr. Ulrich Leben discusses the ornamental grammar of the surtout and its relationship to the interior architecture of the Palais Beauharnais
Designer Claudy Jongstra presents the in-depth knowledge of experimenting and working with products from the land.
Béatrice Quette looks at the design objects and art that fueled the West’s enthusiasm for Japan.
The Morse Historic Design Lecture | Ilonka Karasz
In 1901, Andrew Carnegie commissioned an innovative garden to complement his new home just off of Central Park. This idyllic space is now open to the public after its renovation designed by Walter Hood, principal of Hood Studio and winner of the 2009 National Design Award. Margie Ruddick, 2013 National Design Award winner, discusses how...
