Edited with introduction by Andrea Lipps, Ellen Lupton. Foreword by Caroline Baumann. Interviews by Andrea Lipps, Ellen Lupton, Suvi Saloniemi.
"An exquisite survey, displaying an array of design as well as challenging our definitions of beauty.” –Alexander Cavaluzzo, Hyperallergic
Beauty--the book, born out of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's 2015 Triennial of the same name, curated by Andrea Lipps and Ellen Lupton--showcases some of the most exciting and provocative design created around the globe during the past three years. These pages aim not to emphasize the hidden beauty in the everyday--a beloved teapot or favorite shoe--but to locate transformational beauty in contemporary design that is exuberant, ethereal, atmospheric, experiential, exceptional or sublime. Sixty-two designers represent a vast range of disciplines from architecture, fashion, digital, graphic, and product design, to interiors, hair, nail and lighting design. The objects featured cause us to take pause, catch our breath and get lost in our pursuit to understand or explain them. Designed by the innovative Kimberly Varella, the book is itself a tactile, fluid and provocative interpretation of beauty. Varella's design provides unexpected points of entry, playing with the concepts of beauty by using reflective surfaces, hot pink thread weaving pages together and a "heart" of the book, from which all else flows. Ethereal, Intricate, Extravagant, Transformative, Transgressive, Elemental and Emergent Beauty are the seven themes. Each section includes the individual designers in conversation with the curators about her or his process and beauty's differing forms, punctuated by rich galleries of their work, generating the ultimate feast for the senses.
Featured image is reproduced from Beauty.
PRAISE AND REVIEWS
Departures
Dan Rubinstein
The show's wide range of works - well documented in a concurrent book, Beauty: Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial, released November 24 [2015] - expresses that all-are-welcome moment design finds itself in right now.
W Magazine
Diane Solway
...sensation and astonishment trump function and systems. Traversing genres, "Beauty - Cooper Hewit Design Triennial"... showcases more than 250 works by 62 innovators from around the globe.
Metropolis
Avinash Rajagopal
[A] sumptuous catalog.
Dwell
Aileen Kwun
Far from preaching a singular standard of beauty, the alluring pieces on display pose alternative, and refreshingly diverse depictions that break wide open that elusive, age-old notion. A catalogue companion to the show, itself a distinctive object, designed by Kimberly Varella of Content Object Design Studio, collects each of the featured designers’ takes on the topic, many of them poetic musings.
Hyperallergic
Alexander Cavaluzzo
Beautiful surprises and surprising depth…. an exquisite survey, displaying an array of design as well as challenging our definitions of beauty.
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Vlisco textiles are featured in Beauty, the catalogue to Cooper-Hewitt's blockbuster design triennial, opening to the public this Friday. Founded in Holland in 1846, Vlisco is known for its vibrant, patterned "Dutch wax" cotton prints, originally intended for the Indonesian market but popularized in West and Central Africa. There, local women traders are able to influence colors and themes, according to essayist Andrea Lipps, often naming the designs to resonate within local culture. "Traditionally sold in open-air markets by these local traders, the wax fabrics are fashioned into bespoke dresses and suits by local tailors." continue to blog
FORMAT: Pbk, 9 x 12.5 in. / 276 pgs / 160 color / 75 duotone. LIST PRICE: U.S. $50.00 LIST PRICE: CANADA $70 ISBN: 9781942303114 PUBLISHER: Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum AVAILABLE: 12/29/2015 DISTRIBUTION: D.A.P. RETAILER DISC: TRADE PUBLISHING STATUS: Active AVAILABILITY: In stock TERRITORY: NA ONLY
Published by Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Edited with introduction by Andrea Lipps, Ellen Lupton. Foreword by Caroline Baumann. Interviews by Andrea Lipps, Ellen Lupton, Suvi Saloniemi.
"An exquisite survey, displaying an array of design as well as challenging our definitions of beauty.” –Alexander Cavaluzzo, Hyperallergic
Beauty--the book, born out of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum's 2015 Triennial of the same name, curated by Andrea Lipps and Ellen Lupton--showcases some of the most exciting and provocative design created around the globe during the past three years. These pages aim not to emphasize the hidden beauty in the everyday--a beloved teapot or favorite shoe--but to locate transformational beauty in contemporary design that is exuberant, ethereal, atmospheric, experiential, exceptional or sublime. Sixty-two designers represent a vast range of disciplines from architecture, fashion, digital, graphic, and product design, to interiors, hair, nail and lighting design. The objects featured cause us to take pause, catch our breath and get lost in our pursuit to understand or explain them.
Designed by the innovative Kimberly Varella, the book is itself a tactile, fluid and provocative interpretation of beauty. Varella's design provides unexpected points of entry, playing with the concepts of beauty by using reflective surfaces, hot pink thread weaving pages together and a "heart" of the book, from which all else flows. Ethereal, Intricate, Extravagant, Transformative, Transgressive, Elemental and Emergent Beauty are the seven themes. Each section includes the individual designers in conversation with the curators about her or his process and beauty's differing forms, punctuated by rich galleries of their work, generating the ultimate feast for the senses.
