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Curator's Corner

National Tweed Day: Otto Baumberger

Thursday, April 3, 2025 | Karl Cole

This PKZ (department store) poster typifies the "object poster" genre. The object to be marketed is presented in extreme close-up, either in photo-realistic or almost abstract fashion. Text ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Nicolas Roope

Wednesday, February 26, 2025 | Karl Cole

As an artist, Nicolas Roope looks beyond industry rhetoric in favor of the truths of digital media and design. He has founded numerous influential tech and design companies. Roope only approached desi ...

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Curator's Corner

Artist Birthday: Alvar Aalto

Monday, February 3, 2025 | Karl Cole

Alvar Aalto designed all of the furnishings for his buildings. Using native birch, Aalto designed a number of chairs and stools made entirely of bent plywood and laminated wood. He also invented some ...

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Curator's Corner

Japanese Fashion: Yamamoto Kansai

Monday, December 11, 2023 | Karl Cole

Having studied fashion history in college, I’m always keen on researching unconventional designers. Kansai Yamamoto certainly fills that bill. His outstandingly avant-garde designs helped advanc ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Lori Weitzner

Monday, October 16, 2023 | Karl Cole

Some of the major developments in the design world during the 2000s have involved the use of sustainable materials, ecologically friendly production processes, and upcycling otherwise wasted materials ...

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Curator's Corner

Gem of the Month: Mary White

Monday, April 12, 2021 | Karl Cole

As long as I’m pining for the greenery of spring to emerge, I’ll indulge in one of the wonderful art works in our collection that brings that pining to mind. As you know, I’m a big f ...

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Curator's Corner

California Bound: Isamu Noguchi

Monday, August 12, 2019 | Karl Cole

I’m going to California, namely Los Angeles, on vacation to visit dear friends in a couple of weeks. And what artists come to mind when I say “Los Angeles,” you might ask? Well, ...

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Curator's Corner

Mobility Awareness Month: Kawasaki Kazuo and Rainer Küschall

Monday, May 21, 2018 | Karl Cole

By the early 21st century, it is certainly no longer questioned that industrial design and art have learned how to go hand-in-hand. I think we also agree that most creative efforts—from chefs to ...

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Curator's Corner

What's New Is Old: Stainless Steel Art

Thursday, June 29, 2017 | Karl Cole

I am a really big fan of art made from stainless steel, particularly in the field of the miscellaneous arts. Stainless steel tableware started being made early in the 1900s. At this time, Bauhaus ...

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Curator's Corner

What's in a Snake 3: Poul Henningsen

Wednesday, February 8, 2017 | Karl Cole

Today’s post in my Snakes in Art series shifts to modern design. I guess a chair is an example of a good serpent! There’s something both ironic and logical in the combination of a serpent ...

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