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On view in the exhibition Women in Motion:
Magazine, Physical Culture, April 1935
Cover design by Victor Tchetchet (American, 1891–1974)
New York
The Wolfsonian–FIU, Gift of Robert J. Young
XC2000.81.1.81 |
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JANUARY 2011
AND SO MUCH MORE TO THINK ABOUT! |
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THE WOLFSONIAN–––
FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
1001 WASHINGTON AVE
MIAMI BEACH, FL 33139
HOURS FOR MUSEUM, MUSEUM SHOP & DYNAMO FOOD FACTORY & CAFÉ
Noon-6pm: Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Thursday;
Noon-9pm: Friday;
Closed Wednesday.
Free admission after 6pm on Friday.
PHONE
General information: 305.531.1001
Program information: 305.535.2644
Membership information: 305.535.2631
$7 adults; $5 seniors, students, and children 6-12; free for Wolfsonian members, State University System of Florida staff and students with ID, and children under 6.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
| The Wolfsonian–Florida International University uses objects to illustrate the persuasive power of art and design, to explore what it means to be modern, and to tell the story of social, historical, and technological changes that have transformed our world. It encourages people to see the world in new ways, and to learn from the past as they shape the present and influence the future. | |
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Fit Versus Feminine: Exhibition Explores Paradox
How do we view the bodies of women who are tall and strong and fast—do we interpret them in a positive way, or as not appropriately feminine? If women athletes do not conform to traditional norms of femininity, what are the consequences? Do successful female athletes enjoy the rewards often bestowed on male athletes, and does the success of women in sports translate into success for women in other social spheres? These are some of the questions posed by the exhibit Women in Motion: Fitness, Sport, and the Female Figure, according to co-curator Laurie Shrage, professor of Philosophy and director of the Women's Studies Program at FIU. The exhibit, drawn from The Wolfsonian's collection, is on view in The Wolfsonian Teaching Gallery at the Frost Art Museum on the Modesto A. Maidique Campus at Florida International University from January 26 through April 24, 2011. Dionne Stephens, assistant professor of Psychology and African and African Diaspora Studies, also co-curated the exhibit, as did Jon Mogul, The Wolfsonian's coordinator of academic programs. Additional assistance was provided by Christi Navarro, the graduate assistant at the Women's Studies Program, who coordinated aspects of the exhibit and continues to work on public programming.
The materials on view include posters, magazines, prints, books, and ceramics produced by governments, fitness advocates, advertisers, and artists in Europe and the United States during the first half of the twentieth century. "Many of the images invite the viewer to focus on the sexual and feminine appeal of the athletes, rather than on their athletic skills or activities," explains Shrage. Both curators emphasize that issues raised by the historic material in the exhibit are relevant to today's society. "Professional and college sports are tremendously influential in terms of how particular groups in our society are perceived—this is true for women; for African, Jewish, and Asian Americans; for Latino/as; and for lesbians and gay men," Shrage says. Stephens offers a contemporary parallel: "Anna Kornikova is one of the highest paid female athletes in terms of endorsements, but she's not the most successful. Women's bodies are so central to their success. This is not something new. It's been going on for generations."
In addition to exploring ambivalence related to women's physical activity, the exhibit also conveys the idea of physical fitness as a social obligation, as well as an individual good. Women in Motion includes political propaganda celebrating "female fitness in relation to national objectives, such as reproducing and expanding the population," Shrage says.
Shrage and Stephens spent several months working on the exhibit with the guidance of Mogul. It was the first curatorial experience for both professors. "This was very exciting for me. There aren't a lot of opportunities like this for university faculty to engage with a museum collection. It is quite rare," notes Stephens. Both professors will integrate the exhibition into their teaching this semester. "I hope the exhibit will help students make connections between the objects on view and broader social issues, and also make connections between what they learn in the classroom and how it relates to our world," says Stephens. She will teach two class sessions of her course Psychology of Women at the Frost and the exhibit will be tied to a course assignment; Shrage will incorporate the exhibit into an assignment for her online course Gays and Lesbians Across Society. In addition, during the exhibition the curators will organize talks, panels, and films—for information on public programming related to Women in Motion, check the Women's Studies Center website, which will list the programs as they are scheduled.
The exhibit opening takes place on January 26 at 6pm at the Frost Art Museum and is part of the Target Wednesday After Hours Program. Women in Motion is made possible with financial support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and it is the third such exhibit to be on view in The Wolfsonian Teaching Gallery. |
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William Bernard Design Group, Office inspired Boys Night Out
2011 DesignHouse
Photo: Troy Campbell Photography |
| | DCOTA DesignHouse Benefits Wolfsonian
The Wolfsonian is one of three cultural institutions benefiting from the Design Center of the Americas (DCOTA) 2011 DesignHouse, on view January 19 through July 15, 2011. DesignHouse showcases almost twenty installations created by design firms who competed to participate. The installations are all related to the theme Film + Design: The Golden Age of Hollywood; each installation is based on an iconic film from the era spanning the 1920s-1960s and each is fabricated using resources from DCOTA showrooms. "We're thrilled and honored to be one of this year's beneficiaries of DesignHouse," says Cathy Leff, The Wolfsonian's director. "This kind of synergy between institutions involved in the design and art worlds supporting and working with each other is a wonderful testament to the vibrancy of South Florida's arts-related cultural and commercial communities."
DesignHouse is a Wolfsonian Visionaries Event and is coordinated by Ashlee Harrison, a member of the Visionaries and director of marketing for DCOTA. DesignHouse kicks off with a Preview Gala on January 18, 7-10pm at DCOTA. Guests will have the opportunity to view the show, meet the design committee, and enjoy Hollywood-inspired entertainment and hors d'oeuvres. Tickets for the event are $100 per person. The following day, DesignHouse opens to the public; admission is $15 per person. Several programs and events will be offered in conjunction with DesignHouse including films, lectures, presentations, and tours. Other institutions benefiting from DesignHouse are The Museum of Art Fort Lauderdale and The Palm Beach County Cultural Council. The Wolfsonian encourages its members and friends to visit DesignHouse not only to view the creative work of virtuoso designers but to support DCOTA and its generosity to the area's cultural institutions. |
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Jon Mogul, The Wolfsonian's coordinator of academic programs and newly appointed chair of ARIAH |
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Jon Mogul Elected Chair of ARIAH
The Wolfsonian's Jon Mogul was elected chair of the Association of Research Institutes in Art History (ARIAH) in December and will serve a three-year term. "I'm very honored by the appointment and looking forward to working with my colleagues within ARIAH," says Mogul, who is The Wolfsonian's coordinator of academic programs, a position created in 2009. Previously, he worked at the museum as fellowship coordinator, curatorial research associate, and senior editor of the Journal of Decorative and Propaganda Arts. He holds a Ph.D. in History, with a specialization in modern Russia, from the University of Michigan. ARIAH's purpose is to promote research in art history and related disciplines and encourage collaboration and the exchange of information among research centers internationally. Each of the twenty-two member institutions offers fellowship opportunities for advanced research in the history of art and related disciplines. Members include the American Academy in Rome, The Getty Research Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The Wolfsonian's Fellowship Program, established in 1995, promotes scholarly research on the collection and awards annual fellowships for full-time research at the museum, including a stipend, accommodations, and travel. The Wolfsonian has been an active member of ARIAH since the mid-1990s and is currently the only member south of Washington, D.C. and east of Mexico City. Mogul has been the museum's representative since 2004. The responsibilities of the chair include organizing and chairing the group's meetings, liaising with other groups, and facilitating the exchange of information. Mogul notes that during his time as chair he hopes ARIAH can be instrumental in addressing one of the particular challenges that art historians face, namely the difficulty and expense involved in obtaining licenses to reproduce images, an issue of ever-growing concern during this time of reduced funding. "I hope ARIAH can advocate for those researchers both within the museum world and beyond. This issue is particularly challenging for art history and related fields because it's often quite expensive to show even a small number of images," he explains. Mogul will begin his term as chair of ARIAH after the group's February meeting at The Frick Collection. |
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Super heroine character by Ariel Reich, participant
in the Comic Kraze workshop, July 2010 | |
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Create Your Own Comics: Free Workshops for Teens
Know a teen who wants to learn the art of cartooning and graphic novel design? Send them to The Wolfsonian for Comic Kraze, a series of free workshops offered at multiple times during 2011 through The Digital Wolf Lab at The Wolfsonian. Each workshop consists of three intensive Saturday afternoon sessions held from 1-4pm with an optional studio hour from 4-5pm. The workshops can accommodate fifteen students per session, and participants must commit to full attendance. Comic Kraze introduces students ages fourteen to seventeen to the basics of creating their own cartoons and graphic novels, teaches them the computer skills of digitizing and refining their work, provides students with all materials needed for the workshop, and results in a finished portfolio project. "These workshops are foundational, focusing on developing character, developing story, learning how to lay out a grid, and learning to use tools and materials such as India ink, a proportional scale and lettering guide, and digital tools," explains Wolfsonian manager of youth and school programs Claudia Caro Sullivan. "It's a great introduction to the entire process." The series of Comic Kraze workshops was developed in response to overwhelming interest in last summer's pilot workshop for teens, also called Comic Kraze, an intensive, two-week immersion experience in the art of cartooning and graphic novel design. To see examples of student work produced during the summer session, along with general information about the Comic Kraze initiative as a whole, visit the blog. This year's workshops will be taught by Gonzalo Battaglia, a Miami-Dade art teacher at Gertrude K. Edelman Sabal Palm Elementary, a museum educator with The Wolfsonian and the Miami Art Museum, and a comic artist who recently published his first book, PSI: Paranormal Investigations, Origins. Battaglia was one of three instructors for the summer session and at that time received intensive training to lead the shorter-form workshops from the workshop leader, Brooklyn-based cartoonist Jessica Abel. "Comics are a fantastic and unique art form that bring together art, design, storytelling, and writing," Battaglia says. "What we saw this summer was that teens loved the opportunity to express themselves in this form. They experienced both freedom and accomplishment in creating their unique vision."
The workshops offered during this academic year are: Workshop 1, Jan. 22, Jan. 29, Feb. 5; Workshop 2, Feb. 19, Feb. 26, March 5; Workshop 3, March 19, March 26, April 2; Workshop 4, May 14, May 21, May 28; Workshop 5, June 11, June 18, June 25. Interested and motivated students can attend more than one workshop; part of the goal of the workshops is to build a community of learners. To that end, several students from the summer's workshop will be returning to continue to refine their skills. Anyone may apply to attend the workshops; no previous experience in comics in necessary, and there is an emphasis on underserved teens. To access an application form and instructions, visit the blog or contact
claudia@thewolf.fiu.edu or 305.535.2684. The workshops are made possible with support from The Batchelor Foundation. |
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Jaime Odabachian's favorite object from the collection:
Radio, Nocturne, model no. 1186, c. 1935
Designed by Walter Dorwin Teague (American, 1883–1960)
Manufactured by Sparton Corporation, Jackson, Michigan, c. 1936
Glass, chromeplated metal, wood
The Wolfsonian–FIU, The Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. Collection
XX1990.168 |
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Talking with Visionaries Member Jaime Odabachian
Jaime Odabachian is president of Odabashian Trading, one of the first Oriental rug importers in the Americas. Established in 1921 in Mexico City, the company is now a fourth-generation family business with retail stores in Mexico City and South Florida. Jaime oversees the wholesale and custom-made division, focusing on original designs by renowned Mexican and Latin American architects and designers produced largely for luxury hotels nationally and internationally, including the Delano, The Setai, and The Palms Hotel & Spa. He has been at Odabashian for four years; prior to that he worked as an engineer with a focus on designing distribution networks. As an active member of the Visionaries, he recently co-chaired The Wolfsonian's Quince, celebrating the museum's fifteenth anniversary.
What role does design play in your everyday life?
It plays an incredibly important role. Design is in everything we do. One of our graphic designers in Mexico City often says, "Man's nature is to design. The first design was cupping your hands to drink water out of a river. Design is intrinsic to humans; we shape our environment to suit ourselves."
Why are you interested in The Wolfsonian?
I'm interested because the museum is focused on the design world. What you get at The Wolfsonian is the physical representation of an era's thoughts. It's not an easy museum to digest—the collection is difficult, with many challenging pieces. It makes you think about the messages and concepts behind the objects. Museums and cultural institutions are hubs. The Wolfsonian is a central point in the design world that brings together all kinds of design—architecture, graphic design, industrial design, interior design, fashion, the decorative arts, and more—and through involvement with The Wolfsonian, you can learn a tremendous amount about what is going on in the world of design.
What attracted you to join the Visionaries?
I'm involved because I want to play a role in promoting the talent and uniqueness of Miami and give back to the city. In part I'm motivated because my company has deep roots in Mexico City and close ties with many museums and cultural institutions there. Now that we're growing in the Miami area, we want to support institutions like The Wolfsonian that help create Miami's unique identity. Everyone in the Visionaries is involved because they really like the museum. We are all people who work, mostly in fields related to design. I see the Visionaries as having one leg in the economic life of the community and one leg in the museum. In a way, we are a link between the museum and the city. Ultimately, the vision and function of a museum is to dispense knowledge, and we are a conduit to help make people aware of the museum.
What's your favorite object in The Wolfsonian?
Anything designed by the architect Walter Teague, especially the Nocturne radio.
Do you have a favorite or very meaningful object in your home?
Yes. A tribal Turkoman rug c. 1890 (from the region known today as Turkmenistan). It is an original piece woven by Turkmen nomadic tribes in the desolate areas of the Karakum Desert. It is woven from camel hair since wool from sheep is very scarce. It was originally designed and made to be the floor of a nomadic tent. It is vegetable dyed and is still extremely sturdy.
Why does design matter?
Design is born of a functional necessity—to make life easier—but it is clearly and unmistakably tied to the creative part of humanity. |
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Design drawing, c. 1946
Theodore Wells Pietsch II (American, 1912–1993)
USA
Colored pencil, ink, and graphite on paper
The Wolfsonian–FIU, Gift of Theodore W. Pietsch III
XC2010.02.20.21.011 |
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Automobile Design Drawings Donated
"To design automobile bodies has always been my life's ambition," Theodore W. Pietsch II (1912-1993) wrote in a 1933 job application letter to the vice president of General Motors. Although he didn't get the job, he was soon employed at Chrysler and spent the next thirty-eight years, from 1934-1972, working as a designer in the American auto industry for several manufacturers in addition to Chrysler including Hudson Motors, Briggs Manufacturing Company, Ford, Studebaker, and American Motors.
"He was crazy about cars. Even after he retired, he could name every car and model. He could also identify cars by the sound of their engine—every car had a different sound," recalls his son, Theodore W. Pietsch III, who recently donated a significant portion of his father's archive to The Wolfsonian, including hundreds of design drawings and dozens of sketchbooks as well as more than seventy advertising brochures. These drawings complement automotive design drawings donated by former board member and active Wolfsonian supporter Fred Sharf, and together the donations "establish The Wolfsonian as an important repository of automotive design history," says Francis X. Luca, The Wolfsonian's chief librarian. That there were drawings to donate at all is largely thanks to the efforts of the younger Pietsch, who remembers rescuing many of his father's drawings from the trash as a kid, when his father was cleaning up. "He was throwing them away, and I was pulling them out of the garbage. I was really young, about nine or ten, and I thought that they were such nice things. I never did anything with them, I just piled them up." And he saved them for many, many years. In the last year of his father's life, he gathered all of the drawings and sat down with his father to identify them and organize them, something he is extremely grateful for now.
For years after his father passed away in 1993, he didn't do anything with the drawings. Then, in 2006, he read a New York Times article about Fred Sharf's collection of American automobile design drawings, and contacted him. Sharf encouraged Pietsch to write a book about his father's career and to think about donating the materials to museums where they could be displayed and studied. Pietsch, a biological oceanographer at the University of Washington, specializes in the reproductive biology of deep sea fish and was unfamiliar with museums that might be interested in his father's work. Sharf introduced Pietsch to The Wolfsonian. Pietsch was pleased to learn of The Wolfsonian, he says, and to find in it an appropriate home for much of his father's material (he also donated material to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston). In addition, some of the drawings were on view in The Wolfsonian's 2009 exhibition Styled for the Road: The Art of Automobile Design, 1908-1948. As for the book, Pietsch was game if a bit daunted by the prospect of writing about his father. "I didn't know anything about cars. It was very difficult," he says. Still, he very much wanted to leave a legacy for his family about his father's life and work. The book Theodore W. Pietsch II (1912-1993) and the Development of Automobile Design in the Golden Age was published in 2010. Imagining his father's likely response, Pietsch says, "If he saw the book he would probably have a heart attack. He would be astonished that anyone would be interested. My father was a very humble man."
Pietsch recalls his father often pointing out design elements he was responsible for on various car models—"he'd point out a fender or door handle or hood ornament or the shape of a window, things like that," he says. In an article written several years after his father retired that appeared in 1980 in the Independent, Press Telegram (Long Beach, California), the car designer summed up his career: "Those were fun times, a real creative process, coming up with all those designs. The car companies were in heavy competition to come up with some new and exciting looking model, and we all did our very best to accommodate them, sometimes under very trying circumstances. It was often traumatic, but turned out nevertheless to be a wonderful life." |
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Image for pendant and cover of "Fans of the Wolfsonian" journal and sketchbook produced by Mr Nobody and Mr Somebody |
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Shop without Dropping at the Dynamo
It's a new year—and that means it's time for a new journal or sketchbook. Or why not treat yourself to both? We've got you covered. The Dynamo Museum Shop has a brand-new Wolfsonian-themed spiral-bound journal (with lined pages) and sketchbook (unlined pages). These natural chipboard "Fans of The Wolfsonian" products are conveniently sized at 7x10 inches ($11.99) and feature an image based on of the museum's much-loved 1929 aluminum Wrestler sculpture by Dudley Vaill Talcott. The figure is holding a zeppelin and framed by—what else?—two fans. Love the image? Why not wear it? The motif is also available as a pendant, fashioned from Plexiglass ($50) and available in black or beige. Both the notebooks and pendant are produced by the company Mr Nobody and Mr Somebody and co-designed by company co-owner Sharon Lombard, a Wolfsonian board member. If you've got young children in your life and are looking for toys that encourage active, imaginative play, you can't go wrong with the award-winning Bilibo ($30) for children ages two to seven. This simple, brightly colored and rounded polyethylene shell was designed in conjunction with experts in child development, based on research about young children's playing behavior. Bilibo can be incorporated into children's activities in many ways—for instance, they can sit in it or on it, spin in it, carry it, pile objects into it, and use it indoors or outdoors. Overcome with jealousy and wish you could take one for a spin? They may not be quite as entertaining kinetically, but the Paper Pot ($38) is sure to add a splash of color to your home. These fun, rounded plastic containers from Japan can be used to dispense either toilet paper or tissues in true style. |
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| | Going Soon/Coming Soon
• The Wolfsonian is host to three lectures during Art Deco Weekend, presented by the Miami Design Preservation League January 15-17. This year's theme? Selling Glamour & Style. The lectures are: Miami As A Cultural Intersection: Architecture, Art, and Commerce by artist and professor Mark T. Smith on January 15 at 1pm; Tropical Art Deco's Influence on the 1939 World's Fair by Alan Raynor on January 15 at 3pm; and Selling Art Deco Preservation by preservation activist Betty Gutierrez on January 16 at 1pm.
• Antiques Roadshow kicked off its fifteenth season with a trip to Miami Beach. The program's visit to The Wolfsonian is included in the season's third episode, airing January 17 at 8pm on WGBH.
• Don't miss the chance to hear Greg LeMond, three-time Tour de France champion, as he addresses the topic Breaking Speed Limits on January 21 at 7pm.
• Calling all Floridians: Want to weigh in on the future of Florida? The Wolfsonian is teaming up with the Florida Humanities Council for a free screening of the film Florida Choosing the Future followed by a discussion led by Helen Aguirre Ferré, host of WPBT's program Issues on January 23 at 2pm. |
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On view in the museum's lobby and auditorium through January 25, 2011 | |
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On view through February 20, 2011 | | | | |  | |
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The Wolfsonian–FIU gratefully acknowledges our current publication, program, and exhibition supporters:
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; the Jerome A. Yavitz Charitable Foundation; the Rockefeller Foundation; FIU Division of Information Technology: University Technology Services; James Woolems and Woolems, Inc.; National Endowment for the Arts; Institute for Museum and Library Services; Arthur F. and Alice E. Adams Foundation; Isabel and Marvin Leibowitz; Bulgari; The Batchelor Foundation; Robert Mondavi Winery; Frances L. Wolfson Fund at Dade Community Foundation; The Cowles Charitable Trust; Youth Arts Enrichment Program of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners, and The Children's Trust, The Trust is a dedicated source of revenue established by voter referendum to improve the lives of children and families in Miami-Dade County; Bentley Motors; Braman Motors; FPL FiberNet, a leading provider of fiber-optic solutions; Northern Trust; Tui Lifestyle; Carnival Foundation; Rene Gonzalez Architect; the South Florida Group of Northwestern Mutual; Funding Arts Network; French Consulate, Miami; TotalBank; Other Wine and Spirits; Shiraz Events; Sotheby's; Art Nexus; and The Wolfsonian–FIU Alliance.
The Wolfsonian–FIU thanks the following supporters of the Speed Limits exhibition:
The Wolfsonian–FIU is proud to receive ongoing support from:
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 William J. and Tina Rosenberg Foundation; Continental Airlines, the Official Airline of The Wolfsonian–FIU; and Bacardi USA, Inc.
ePropaganda is published monthly by The Wolfsonian–FIU.© 2011 The Wolfsonian–FIU.
Art Direction: Tim Hossler; Communications Manager: Julieth Dabdoub; Editor: Andrea Gollin; Photographer: Silvia Ros, unless otherwise noted. |
  
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