art

Art

Weekly Newspaper Column
and Arts Feature Highlights
By Andrea K. Hammer

Neighborhood Spotlight
Archive

Center for Architecture:
Arts Triumvirate

       Photo by Andrea K. Hammer

Murals Create a Ripple Effect

    Courtesy of Mural Arts Program

Philadelphia Art Museum to
Organize Bruce Nauman
Exhibit for Venice Biennale

The True Artist Helps the World by
Revealing Mystic Truths, Bruce
Nauman (American, born 1941),
1967, Neon. Collection

Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMA)
Image Copyright Bruce Nauman,
the Artists Rights Society (ARS,
NY)/Courtesy of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art

Twenty Two Gallery Cafe:
Emerging Artists and Historic
Surprises

City With Most Public Art:
Vast Sculpture Collection

                 T. O'Keefe for GPTMC

DesignPhiladelphia Celebration
during National Design Week

DesignPhiladelphia, from Oct. 16 to 22, will showcase all
forms of design from architecture to interior decoration,
fashion to product design, and textiles to graphics in
conjunction with National Design Week.

"Philly [heart] Design," curated by MIO Culture; F.U.E.L. Gallery;
Little Wonder (foreground installation; various designers
throughout; photo: Shan Ju Lin)

Throughout Philadelphia, boutiques, galleries, design
studios, cultural institutions, universities, warehouses, and
city streets will become platforms for the creative talent
flourishing in the city. DesignPhiladelphia champions
emerging talent reflective of Philadelphia’s diverse design
influences while giving the established design leaders of
Philadelphia a great opportunity to display their work.

More than 70 events this year include A Clean Break, Minima’
s pop-up village of architecturally designed pre-fabricated
homes; [spot], design interventions in parking spaces on
Broad Street; Philly♥Design, an exhibition of more than 50
designers’ works at the Rotunda in West
Philadelphia; Stare, a fashion event highlighting tattoos;
Innovation Philadelphia’s Entrepreneurial Expo at The
Center for Architecture; SoReFa (Socially Responsible
Fashion), an eco-couture runway show; Dirt: Clean Design
on 4th Street, a series of workshops, exhibitions, open
studios and the like; Designing for the Dead, a walking tour
of artist-and architect-designed cemetery monuments at
Laurel Hill; Vox Populi’s Philadelphians on Design,
a video screening and panel discussion.

This year, the selected theme for DesignPhiladelphia is
Down to Earth: Evolving Design in the 21st Century, a
subject matter that recognizes and gives voice to the
enormity of eco-culture initiatives taking place locally, across
the country, and around the world. Many participants are
addressing this topic through their installations, symposia,
fashion shows, tours, workshops,and product launches.

In 2007, approximately 160,000 people attended
DesignPhiladelphia, including Philadelphia residents, as
well as students, professionals, and consumers working,
studying, and living within the Mid-Atlantic region. Since
2004, DesignPhiladelphia has made a significant
contribution in telling the story of the expanding creative
vibrancy in Philadelphia. While unifying businesses,
academic institutions, and professional associations,
DesignPhiladelphia continues to feature the diverse and
ever-growing population of Philadelphia designers.

DesignPhiladelphia is administered by The Design Center
at Philadelphia University. Nearly every event is free, and all
are open to the public.

The Design Center at Philadelphia University is one of the
rare institutions in America solely devoted to exploring the
design arts. Its purpose is to help people understand how
and why design shapes everyday life. The Design Center
recognizes that design is as simple as a paper clip, as
political as a voting ballot, and as complex as a city plan.
Through exhibitions, K-12 enrichment programs, college-
level curriculum, lectures, and special events, The Design
Center reflects and supplements Philadelphia University’s
broadening design curriculum that includes architecture,
landscape architecture, interior design, industrial design,
graphic design, digital design, textile design, fashion,
interactive media and product design.

In addition to mounting exhibitions and creating unique
public initiatives, The Design Center houses the University’s
extensive historical and contemporary textile collection. The
collection – some 200,000 items strong – is a nationally
recognized resource for the study of American, European,
and non-Western textiles from the first century AD to the
present. It is also the only comprehensive repository of 19th-
and 20th-century industrial fabric samples in the United
States, documenting a broad range of styles and
techniques, and serving as a critical resource for research
on American commercial and industrial design.

For more information, see www.designphiladelphia.org.

"Antiques of the Future," curated and created by Lisa Roberts; The Design Center at Philadelphia University; various
designers (photo by Robin Miller)

"Timeless Design: A Marriage of New Technology and Classic Modernism," Wexler Gallery; OneShot Stool by Materialise
(photo by Shan Ju Lin)

"Philly [heart] Design," curated by MIO Culture; F.U.E.L. Gallery; main installation by Little Wonder; furniture in foreground
by Andrew Dahlgren (photo by Shan Ju Lin)

"Philly [heart] Design," curated by MIO Culture; F.U.E.L. Gallery (photo by Shan Ju Lin)