March
4 – September 4, 2005
Hella
Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection
Dutch designer
Hella Jongerius will guest curate an exhibition of samplers
and related objects in the third collection rotation in the
Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery at Cooper-Hewitt, National Design
Museum, on view March 4 through Sept. 4, 2005.
“Hella
Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection"
showcases a select group of samplers from the museum’s
collection of over 1,000 samplers from Great Britain, Europe
and the Americas, and related objects from all four curatorial
departments and the library, including embroidery tools, embroidery
design drawings, wallcoverings featuring embroidery motifs,
and penmanship and needlework books.
Jongerius
is intrigued by samplers, which embody the concepts of process,
trial and error, order, repetition, memory, hand craftsmanship
and language—ideas that the designer explores in her own
works. Inspired by the sampler collection, Jongerius has designed
original textiles for the exhibition, which incorporate motifs
from the museum’s sampler collection and pairs the craftsmanship
of embroidery with contemporary needle-punch techniques. Her
personal approach will also be evident in the innovative installation,
which will display many of the objects in their original museum
storage containers, a reference to the museum’s process
of preserving and organizing its collection.
Samplers
began in Europe as a medium to record and exchange embroidery
designs and techniques for later reference and inspiration.
Early samplers were often carefully kept from one generation
to the next as a repository of skills, knowledge and design.
Following the publication of the first pattern books in the
early 16th century, the purpose of the sampler shifted from
a means of keeping records to an exercise in domestic skills
for school-aged girls. A schoolgirl’s sampler often began
with embroidering the letters of the alphabet, as shown in the
ca. 1800 sampler by 11-year old Lucy Lathrop featured in the
exhibition.
Works featured
in the exhibition include objects related to the creation of
the samplers, such as a Chinese export lacquer sewing box, ca.
1830; a tape measure and case from late 18th-century France
and an enameled English etui, fitted with sewing and writing
implements, from 1770-1780. Drawings for embroidery designs,
guides and instruction manuals for completing various needlework
designs, a book on penmanship and other printed material related
to needlework will also be on view.
Many of
the aesthetic and sociological aspects of samplers resonate
for Hella Jongerius as a woman designer, and relate to her own
body of work. The codified, repeated vocabulary of stitches
and forms found in samplers connects to Jongerius’s creation
of her distinct design vocabulary, formed by her learning experiences
with materials and techniques and the working process of trial
and error.
Jongerius’
work dates from 1993 to 2004, and can be found in the collections
of museums worldwide. A member of Droog, the influential Dutch
design collective, she is widely published and is recognized
as one of the leading contemporary designers today.
“Hella
Jongerius Selects” is the third in a series of small one-gallery
exhibitions featuring selections from the museum’s permanent
collection of over 250,000 objects, which are international
in scope and span over 23 centuries. The ongoing exhibition
series in the Nancy and Edwin Marks Gallery will include installations
organized by the museum’s curators, as well as those curated
by guest interpreters in collaboration with the museum’s
staff. Guest interpreters, chosen from a variety of fields including
artists, journalists, authors and designers, are invited to
explore the collection and develop a personal thesis supported
by a selection of collection objects.
Cooper-Hewitt,
National Design Museum, Smithsonian Institution is the only
museum in the nation devoted exclusively to historic and contemporary
design. The museum presents compelling perspectives on the impact
of design on daily life through active educational programs,
exhibitions, and publications. Founded in 1897 by Amy, Eleanor,
and Sarah Hewitt–granddaughters of industrialist Peter
Cooper–as part of The Cooper Union for the Advancement
of Science and Art, the museum has been a branch of Smithsonian
since 1967.
Guest Curator:
Hella Jongerius
Sponsor:
“Hella Jongerius Selects: Works from the Permanent Collection”
is made possible in part by the Mondriaan Foundation and the
Consulate-General of The Netherlands in New York. Additional
support for interpretive
materials was provided by the Getty Grant Program.
Public Programs:
A number of public programs will be presented in conjunction
with this exhibition. For a full description of programs, please
visit the Education Department online at www.cooperhewitt.org/EDUCATION.
Location:
The Museum is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 91st
Street in New York City. Public transit routes include the Lexington
Avenue 4, 5, and 6 subways (86th or 96th Street Stations) and
Fifth and Madison Avenue buses.
Museum Hours:
Tuesdays through Thursdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Fridays, 10 a.m.
to 9 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sundays, noon to
6 p.m. The museum is closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas
Day and New Year’s Day.
Admission:
General admission, $10; senior citizens and students over age
12, $7. Cooper-Hewitt members and children under age 12 are
admitted free. For further information, please call 212.849.8400
or visit www.cooperhewitt.org. The Museum is fully accessible.
Contact:
Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum
Press Office
2 East 91st Street
New York, NY 10128
Tel.: 212-849-8420
cooperhewittpress@si.edu
http://ndm.si.edu
