Cranbrook Art Museum - Exhibitions


ALUMINUM BY DESIGN: JEWELRY TO JETS CRANBROOK ART MUSEUM June 1-Aug. 25, 2002 Cranbrook Art Museum welcomes Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets, the first major exhibition to explore how aluminum inspired groundbreaking design, innovation and technology. Opening June 1, the exhibition traces aluminum from its first use as a precious metal in the 19th century through its evolving role in daily life. The exhibition uses exquisite examples and rare works to demonstrate how aluminum’s unique properties inspired designers of furniture, jewelry, automobiles, architecture, fashion and consumer products. Aluminum by Design is sponsored by and presented at Cranbrook by www.audiusa.com. The exhibition was organized by Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh.
			^PACO RABANNE
			Spanish, b. 1934 Atomium Bruxelles dress, 1999 Aluminum and stainless steel l. 43 1/4 in. (110 cm) Lent by the designer photo: © Guy Marineau/Limelight, courtesy Paco Rabanne Click here to read a short history of Aluminum>>
::click thumbnail image to see more::


Cranbrook Art Museum is one of a handful of select venues to host this new exhibition. Following its Carnegie debut, the show traveled to the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum in Manhattan, the Musee des Beaux-Arts de Montreal and The Wolfsonian-Florida International University in Miami Beach. The exhibition will head overseas to London’s Design Museum after its Cranbrook stay. Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets is the largest traveling exhibition ever hosted by Cranbrook Art Museum. "We are thrilled to join museums such as the Carnegie and Cooper-Hewitt in hosting this groundbreaking exhibition," says Gregory Wittkopp, director of Cranbrook Art Museum. "The exhibition is an unusual one, looking at some of the best works of contemporary design and architecture through the lens of one simple yet revolutionary medium: aluminum. We also feel Cranbrook is the ideal venue for this show, with the work of so many of our graduates and former faculty represented. And we feel it is an important exhibition for the Detroit area, showcasing the way aluminum helped change and shape so many aspects of the auto industry." For many of the works in Aluminum By Design: Jewelry to Jets, their arrival at Cranbrook Art Museum is a homecoming of sorts. The exhibition features the work of several artists who lived, studied and taught at Cranbrook’s Academy of Art, including designers Charles and Ray Eames; fiber artist Marianne Strengell, and designer/architect Eero Saarinen, son of Cranbrook architect Eliel Saarinen. The exhibition also features the work of such artists as Rene Lalique, Jean Prouve, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Russel Wright, Gio Ponti, Donald Judd, Shiro Kuramata and Philippe Starck. Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets will be on display at Cranbrook Art Museum from June 1 through Aug. 25, 2002. Cranbrook Art Museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. with extended hours until 9 p.m. each Friday. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors, students and children ages 6-17 and free for museum members and children under 5. For more information, please call 1.877.GO.CRANBrook. (1.877.462.7262)
EXHIBITION CATALOG NOW AVAILABLE: >>
"Aluminum by Design" $ 45.00 - "Aluminum by Design" examines the creative use of aluminum from a variety of perspectives. Essays chronicle the technological development of aluminum and explore its use in architecture and industrial design, products for mass consumption, and experimental avant — garde works. For more information on The Store, or to order this or any other featured book, please call 248.645.3325. Go to the Art Museum Store to see more about this publication and many others.
SEE METROTIMES ARTICLE ABOUT ALUMINUM BY DESIGN >>
			Aluminum Cooling our jets with the ‘modern miracle.’ by Glen Mannisto 7/3/2002 8:00:00 AM "A transcendent, otherworldly quality.

OPENING NIGHT GALLERY >> :: click for larger ::



Aluminum by Design is made possible by the generous sponsorship of . The exhibition was organized by Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh. The presentation of the exhibition at Cranbrook Art Museum is made possible by which also provided significant support for the international exhibition. Additional funding for the presentation at Cranbrook Art Museum is provided by the Detroit Area Art Deco Society (DAADS) and the generous support of Patricia and Jan Hartmann, Christine and George Strumbos, and the Clannad Foundation. Additional major support for the international exhibition has been provided by The Roy A. Hunt Foundation, The Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Cranbrook Art Museum is supported, in part, by its members, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the fund-raising activities of the Serious Moonlight Steering Committee and the Women’s Committee of Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum.