December @ The Wolfsonian-FIU‏

CELEBRATE DEMOCRACY AT THE WOLFSONIAN-FIU

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 6, NOON-6PM

NOON
MARTIN PARR BOOK SIGNING
Special limited-edition Wolfsonian Credit Crunch Portfolios by photographer Martin Parr will also be for sale.

1PM
DESIGN MARATHON: FIVE MINUTES OF DESIGNED FREEDOM
Give thirty-five artists and designers a stage and five minutes each to express whatever they like and it's bound to be interesting. The event honors Dutch designer Wim Crouwel and celebrates our right to freedom of expression. Debbie Millman of Design Matters moderates the marathon, which includes such artists as Wim Crouwel, Elliott Earls, Chip Kidd, Richard Tuttle, Lawrence Weiner, and many more. Free.

5:30PM
SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY ELLIOTT EARLS
of Cranbrook Academy of Art

CALENDAR

WOLFSONIAN HOURS OF OPERATION DURING THE WEEK OF ART BASEL:

Monday, December 1: 10am-6pm
Tuesday, December 2: 10am-6pm
Wednesday, December 3: 10am-6pm
Thursday, December 4: 10am-6pm
Friday, December 5: 10am-5pm
Saturday, December 6: 10am-6pm
Sunday, December 7: 10am-6pm

MEMBER EVENT
Friday, December 5, 8-11pm
ART BASEL│MIAMI BEACH V.I.P. OPEN HOUSE—Join us for "Celebrating Democracy", with Francesco Vezzoli and his installation, Democrazy, artists and designers featured in Thoughts on Democracy, and others. The evening includes a multimedia performance by Cranbrook artist-in-residence Elliott Earls inspired by Thoughts on Democracy and commissioned by Gary L. Wasserman and the opening of Gridnik: Wim Crouwel and Modern Typography. Event photos by Martin Parr are available in The Dynamo Museum Shop starting Dec. 6. Free for Art Basel|Miami Beach V.I.P. and Design Miami V.I.P. cardholders; Wolfsonian Diplomat-level members and higher. RSVP required: 305.535.2631 or rsvp@thewolf.fiu.edu.

THE WOLF PACK
The Wolf Pack is a group of young professionals with a ravenous appetite for architecture and design. Members gather regularly to interact with Wolfsonian curators and other leaders in Miami's design and architecture communities. Join us for our monthly DEN NIGHTS, the second Thursday of the month at The Wolfsonian, and for excursions into Miami's outstanding design community. For more information, contact 305.535.2631 or thea@thewolf.fiu.edu.

Thursday, December 11, 7pm
WOLF PACK DEN NIGHT HOLIDAY PARTY—Join the Wolf Pack for a vintage holiday cocktail party. We'll begin the evening in the library, perusing cocktail-related ephemera, then head to The Dynamo Café to mix and sample the real thing. RSVP requested: 305.535.2631 or rsvp@thewolf.fiu.edu. Free for members; $10 for guests.

TOURS
Each Thursday and Friday, 6pm
Consider how an array of historical, cultural, and political trends inspired design of the machine age with a guided exhibition tour each Thursday and Friday night at 6pm. Friday tours are free.



ON VIEW

AMERICAN STREAMLINED DESIGN: THE WORLD OF TOMORROW
Organized and circulated by the Liliane and David M. Stewart Program for Modern Design, Montreal
ON VIEW THROUGH MAY 17, 2009


Surveying a particularly American version of Modernism, American Streamlined Design presents over 185 works in diverse materials, from Bakelite to stainless steel, organized thematically around the spheres of American life in the 1930s‒50s: the kitchen and bath, the living room, the office and workroom, manual labor, and recreation. The exhibition is drawn from the Eric Brill Collection, the largest known on this subject, and supplemented by works from the Stewart Collection of 20th-Century Design and The Wolfsonian.

GRIDNIK: WIM CROUWEL AND MODERN TYPOGRAPHY
ON VIEW DECEMBER 1, 2008 THROUGH MARCH 10, 2009

In honor of contemporary Dutch graphic designer Wim Crouwel's 80th birthday, The Wolfsonian is collaborating with Mr. Crouwel on an exhibition, drawn from collections of The Wolfsonian, Stedelijk Museum, and private lenders. The graphic works of "Gridnik", as Crouwel is known in the design community, will be examined within the context of design, and specifically typography, innovations of the early twentieth-century, especially within The Netherlands. Crouwel's self-professed knowledge and appreciation for the history of art, design, and architecture (as illustrated by his career as an artist, designer, professor, and museum director), serves as a perfect complement to The Wolfsonian's mission—to explore the impact of design on everyday life. By juxtaposing a selection of his work, with The Wolfsonian's early twentieth century Dutch and European graphic design collection, the museum and Crouwel hope to create a dynamic interplay between the present and the past.

DEMOCRAZY
ON VIEW THROUGH DECEMBER 7, 2008 IN THE MUSEUM'S LOBBY

First presented at the Italian Pavilion at the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007, Democrazy examines the manipulative strategies of political communication, incorporating issues of fame, the power of media, and the role of democracy. Generously sponsored by Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris. Presented in conjunction with Thoughts on Democracy.

THOUGHTS ON DEMOCRACY
ON VIEW THROUGH JANUARY 4, 2008 IN THE MUSEUM'S LOBBY

Thoughts on Democracy is an initiative intended to foster an ongoing dialogue between The Wolfsonian's graphic and propaganda arts collections and contemporary artists and designers. The museum invited sixty leading artists and designers to create a new graphic design inspired by Norman Rockwell's
1943 "Four Freedoms" posters, a recent addition to the collection. Rockwell's images, reproduced by the U.S. Office of War Information for mass dissemination, communicated FDR's vision of "a world founded upon four essential human freedoms"—Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom from
Want, and Freedom from Fear.

To contribute to the conversation on democracy, and to learn more about the project, visit www.thoughtsondemocracy.blogspot.com

A BITTERSWEET DECADE: THE NEW DEAL IN AMERICA, 1933-43
ON VIEW THROUGH JANUARY 19, 2009

This exhibition, which commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of the New Deal, considers the impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt's programs on American culture and explores how the government's patronage of art, design, and architecture were integral parts of the larger project of the New Deal, which aimed to spur recovery from the Great Depression and change American society.


ART AND DESIGN IN THE MODERN AGE: SELECTIONS FROM THE WOLFSONIAN COLLECTION
ONGOING

The Wolfsonian-FIU holds an astounding collection of modern objects—both the rare and the overlooked — from the 1885 to 1945 era, demonstrating the active role design plays in motivating actions, expressing ideas, creating desires, and shaping identities. Exhibition themes underscore designers' responses to new materials and technologies, the role of graphic design as an instrument of political and commercial persuasion, and the nature of state-sponsored public art and architecture programs.


DYNAMO HIGHLIGHT

The Dynamo Café's eclectic menu features a delicious array of soups, sandwiches, and salads, as well as a coffee bar and special dessert and tea menus. The museum shop is the destination for unique toys, jewelry, books, fashion, accessories and housewares.


DAZZLING DAILY LUNCH SPECIAL
Shop till you drop, then lunch at The Dynamo for $10 pp, plus tax and tip. Lunch special menu includes a Chef's entrée of the day and iced tea.

THINKISM THURSDAYS
Energy Hours at The Dynamo take place from 6-9pm and include two-for-one drink specials, a tapas menu, and all your favorite board games.

FREE FRIDAYS, 6-9 PM
Free admission to galleries from 6-9pm. Energy Hours at The Dynamo take place from 6-9pm and include two-for-one drink specials, a tapas menu, and all your favorite board games. Exhibition tour at 6pm. Recharge your batteries for the weekend.

For more information on menus or to reserve your table at The Dynamo, please call 305.535.1457 or email dynamo@lyonandlyon.com.


UPCOMING EVENT

INNOVATION BY DESIGN SERIES
Charles Eames said "innovate as a last resort." So why is innovation a much used and hotly debated term in design today? What role does it play in design processes? How does it shape our world and whom does it serve? Join us for a series of presentations in which leading voices in design, science, and technology explore the meaning of innovation. Jan. 8 and Feb. 26 events co-presented by Architecture Club AIA-Miami, free to AIA members, and AIA CEUs are offered. Members free; $10 all others per event.

Thursday, January 8, 7pm
BRILLIANT SIMPLICITY—During this evening of film and conversation, Susan S. Szenasy, editor in chief of Metropolis magazine, explores a new generation of design breakthroughs. The short film, Brilliant Simplicity (Metropolis magazine and Bellerophon Productions), follows designers whose work is sustainable, accessible, technologically savvy, and historically relevant.


The Wolfsonian receives ongoing support from the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Arts Council; the National Endowment for the Arts; the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the City of Miami Beach, Cultural Affairs Program, Cultural Arts Council; the Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; William J. and Tina Rosenberg Foundation; Continental Airlines, the Official Airline of The Wolfsonian; Crispin Porter + Bogusky; The Miami Herald; Bacardi U.S.A., Inc.; Robert Mondavi Winery; Pistils & Petals.

Thoughts on Democracy is generously supported by the Knight New Work Award from the Funding Arts Network (FAN), in partnership with the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; American Express; the Miami Herald; and Continental Airlines, the Official Airline of The Wolfsonian.