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Thinking Ahead: Progressive Design + Black Mountain College PDF Print E-mail

Exhibit:
Thinking Ahead: Progressive Design + Black Mountain College
August 25 - December 30, 2006
Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center
Download PDF Flyer

Opening Reception:
Friday, August 25, 6:00-8:00 p.m.
$3, Free for BMCM+AC members

Full Related Event Listing

Hazel Larsen Archer, Josef Albers teaching at Black Mountain College
Hazel Larsen Archer, Josef Albers teaching at Black Mountain College
The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center (BMCM+AC) proudly presents the exhibition THINKING AHEAD: Progressive Design + Black Mountain College, which will run from August 25 through December 30, 2006. The exhibition, curated by Bobby and Kelly Gold and BMCM+AC, will be accompanied by three related public lecture presentations and a participatory design workshop for children and adults.

Fifty years ago, Black Mountain College was closing its doors after some of the most innovative and influential artists, designers, architects, poets, dancers and craftspeople of the 20th century had passed through them. Most could not help but be influenced by the contagious enthusiasm and electric atmosphere at Black Mountain College. Some entered the college as seasoned professionals ready to pass on their theories and ideals, while others attended to learn and hone their respective crafts. This show offers a glimpse of progressive design through the window of Black Mountain College. Though many of these designs were executed decades ago, they are as fresh and compelling today as they were when conceived.

Design Magazine, April 1946,Black Mountain College Issue, Cover by Alvin Lustig
Design Magazine, April 1946,Black Mountain College Issue, Cover by Alvin Lustig
It began at the Bauhaus, a legendary school of Design in Germany, with its merging of the fine and applied arts and its emphasis on Design as a field unto itself. The idea was carried to the United States by numerous German refugees from Hitler’s Europe, a number of whom then became connected with Black Mountain College. Of these, it was the towering presence of Josef and Anni Albers that most dominated the design philosophy of the college. Staying true to their Bauhaus beginnings, from 1933 to 1949 they taught the basic design courses in form, materials, and color studies that influenced so many others. The Albers’ devotion to the precept of stripping away ornamentation and focusing on the fundamentals of form and color and functionality was a critical part of the 20th century design vocabulary, wherever it was applied. Josef Albers designed a student desk early in his tenure at the college. One of these rare desks, made from local chestnut, will be included in this exhibition.

The primary goal of this project is to explore, we believe for the first time in such an interdisciplinary way, how Black Mountain College (BMC) served, through its faculty and students, as a major nexus for modernist design that includes not just the traditional fine arts but also an amazing variety of fields of design arts and handcrafts. The design revolution, of which BMC was a key part, literally changed the look of the twentieth century. Such disparate areas as furniture, graphic design, ceramics, and architecture will be explored and presented. This will make for an exciting new approach to understanding the importance of the college in the context of 20th century culture and its continuing impact today.

Walter Gropius, Sugar Bowl, 1969,Ceramic, Produced by Rosenthal
Walter Gropius, Sugar Bowl, 1969,Ceramic, Produced by Rosenthal
In the post-World War II years, the college became known for its Summer Institutes which attracted a highly diverse assembly of artists – both faculty and students -- from many disciplines, including all the visual arts, music, dance, theater, and literature. These relatively brief but memorable gatherings were often a catalyst for innovation. Creative people of all kinds drew ideas and inspiration from one another and from the atmosphere of freedom that allowed and encouraged breaking down traditional boundaries and forms to find new means of expression. The Summer Institutes were the occasions when many of the major figures of the arts and humanities met and shared ideas at the college. The summers of 1948 and 1949 were particularly important, as the designer Buckminster Fuller came to teach and to erect his first large-scale geodesic dome. Fuller’s wide-ranging lectures held the campus spellbound as he sought to explain and apply his principles of design to everything from the atom to the cosmos.

After years of financial struggle, the college finally closed its doors in 1956. By this time, however, its influence had been felt throughout America and the world; this influence would only grow as its former faculty and students went on to significant careers, with achievements in many fields, including diverse areas of the design arts.

The Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center presents THINKING AHEAD: Progressive Design + Black Mountain College as part of Black Mountain College: A Community Celebration 2006/07, a year-long community project marking the 50th anniversary of the closing of Black Mountain College.

This project has been made possible through the generous support of the North Carolina Arts Council, AIA Asheville, Mobilia and BlackBird Frame & Art and the UNCA Office of Cultural & Special Events.

Opening Reception:
Friday, Aug. 25, 6:00 - 8:00 p.m.
$3, Free for BMCM+AC Members

Workshop for All Ages:
Saturday, Sept. 16, 10:00 a.m. - Noon
DO-IT-YOURSELF JEWELRY

Using fun and eclectic materials, artists Connie Bostic + Rick Melby will teach how to make wearable art on a budget. For kids and adults with a sense of adventure. Some materials provided; feel free to bring a treasure of your own.
$20 / $17 for BMCM+AC Members + Kids 12 and under

Lecture/Presentation:
Thursday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m.
THE DESIGN LEGACY OF JOSEF + ANNI ALBERS

Brenda Danilowitz, Chief Curator of The Josef and Anni Albers Foundation, will speak about the Albers’ time at the Bauhaus, Black Mountain College and Yale.
$7 / $5 for BMCM+AC Members + Students w/ID

Lecture/Presentation:
Thursday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m.
THE BAUHAUS + THE FARMHOUSE: REFLECTIONS ON THE
MODERN MOVEMENT IN THE SOUTH

Speaker Frank Harmon, FAIA, 2005-2006 Residential Architect Firm of the Year, is part of the design team chosen for UNC Asheville's new Crafts Campus and has a deep commitment to sustainable architecture. Reception and Silent Auction to benefit BMCM+AC. Co-sponsored by AIA Asheville and UNCA Office of Cultural & Special Events.
Broadway Arts Building, 49 Broadway $12 / $6 Students w/ID — Free parking at Home Trust Bank

Lecture/Presentation:
Thursday, Nov. 9, 7:30 p.m.
THE MODERN CHAIR

Architect and Mobilia owner Cynthia Turner, AIA will trace the evolution of the modern chair. Reception and raffle of a Wassily chair. Co-sponsored by Mobilia.
Mobilia, 43 Haywood St., downtown Asheville
$7 / $5 BMCM+AC, AIA Asheville Members + Students w/ID

Lecture/Presentation:
Thursday, Nov. 30, 7:30 p.m.
GOING UPSTREAM: THE BAUHAUS IN WEIMAR, DESSAU AND BERLIN

Margret Kentgens-Craig, art historian and author of numerous Bauhaus publications, will speak about the influential idea and history of the Bauhaus.
Co-sponsored by BlackBird Frame & Art.
$7 / $5 BMCM+AC + Students w/ID

Unless otherwise noted, events will take place at the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center, 56 Broadway in downtown Asheville.

This project received support from the North Carolina Arts Council, AIA Asheville, Mobilia, BlackBird Frame & Art and UNCA Office of Cultural & Special Events.
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