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Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury

G u i d e t o t h e E x h i b i t i o n

ADDISON GALLERY OF AMERICAN ART EDUCATION DEPARTMENT Phillips Academy, Main Street, Andover, MA

Julie Bernson, Director of Education & Amy Freedberg, Education Fellow Contact 978.749.4037 or [email protected]

FREE GROUP TOURS for up to 55 students are available on a first-come, first-served basis: TUESDAY-FRIDAY, 10AM-4PM

PUBLIC MUSEUM HOURS: TUESDAY-SATURDAY 10AM-5PM & SUNDAY 1-5PM

A D D I S O N G A L L E RY O F A M E R I C A N A R T

Exhibition organized by the Orange County Museum of Art

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What makes it COOL?

Charles and Ray Eames, RAR rocking chair, c. 1950, Boyd Collection

Album cover for Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool (Capitol Records, 1957). Courtesy Blue Note Records

Karl Benjamin, Small Planes: White, Blue and Pink, 1957, oil on linen, 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm), The Buck Collection, Laguna Beach, California. © Karl Benjamin

Julius Shulman, photograph of Case Study House #22 (Pierre Koenig, architect, Los Angeles, 1959–60), 1960. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute

Guide to the Exhibition Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury, Addison Gallery of American Art, Winter 2008

What does the word cool mean?

How can a chair, a song, a house, or a painting be cool?

Can something that was cool years ago still be cool today?

What makes something remain cool through the ages?

In the late 1950s and 1960s, various artists, musicians, architects, filmmakers, and designers in California contributed to the development of a unique cool style that can all be seen—and heard–in this dynamic, interactive exhibition.

Considered cool at the time that they were made, some remain in style and have inspired other cool things in the decades that followed.

But, what is the style of cool?

How can cool be understood and described, and how is it different

in a painting, a song, a building, or a chair?

C o o l M U S I C

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You will have the opportunity to listen to a sampling of jazz music while in the exhibition. For a preview, you can listen to Miles Davis’ Moon Dreams from the album Birth of the Cool (available from iTunes and on CD) - or songs by other musicians/singers such as Chet Baker, June Christy, Ornette Coleman, and Art Pepper.

Do you think this painting is cool? Why or why not?

How does the arrangement of shapes make this painting cool?

What about the colors make this painting cool?

Karl Benjamin, Small Planes: White, Blue and Pink, 1957, oil on linen, 36 x 48 in. (91.4 x 121.9 cm), The Buck Collection,

Laguna Beach, California. © Karl Benjamin

C o o l PA I N T I N G

What about the rhythm and pattern of notes makes the music cool?

How do the instruments make this music cool?

Do you consider this music cool? Why or why not?

Album cover for Miles Davis’s Birth of the Cool (Capitol Records, 1957). Courtesy Blue Note Records


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C o o l A R C H I T E C T U R E

How do the lines of the ceiling, floor, and windows make this house cool?

How do the windows of the living room make this a cool space for a party?

What about the location of the house makes it cool?

Would you feel cool if you were sitting in this living room? Why or why not?

Julius Shulman, photograph of Case Study House #22 (Pierre Koenig, architect, Los Angeles, 1959–60), 1960. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute

Cool FURNITURE and DESIGN

How do the lines and shapes of this chair make it cool?

What about the materials and colors make it cool?

Can you imagine sitting in this chair? How would you feel?

Charles and Ray Eames, RAR rocking chair, c. 1950, Boyd Collection


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What do these objects from the exhibition have in common?

How is a cool painting similar/different from a cool song, toy, or dance?

Why do you think these things from the 1950s and 1960s are still considered cool today?

W h a t i s C O O L ?


William Claxton, photograph of Ornette Coleman, Hollywood, 1959 ©William Claxton; courtesy Demont Photo Management

#1 Barbie Doll (1959), collection of Susan A. and James N. Phillips, Laguna Niguel, California ©2007 Mattel, Inc.

All Rights Reserved. Barbie® is a trademark owned by and used with permission from Mattel, Inc.

William Claxton, photograph of Sunday jam session at Terry Gibb’s house, North Hollywood, 1960. © William Claxton; courtesy Demont Photo Management

Karl Benjamin, Red, Blue, Pink, 1958, oil on canvas, 30 x 40 in., courtesy Louis Stern Fine Arts, West Hollywood. © Karl Benjamin

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W h a t i s c o o l N O W ?

How long do things stay cool?


W h o d e c i d e s ?

What is cool to YOU?

Takashi Murakami, Flower Ball (3-D), Kindergarten, 2007, acrylic and silver gold leaf on canvas mounted on board, 39-1/2 in. diameter

Bratz™ dolls

Lava® lamp

Image for Flo Rida, “Low” from Poe Boy Music Group/Atlantic Records

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Julius Shulman, photograph of Case Study House #21 (Pierre Koenig, architect, Los Angeles, 1958), 1958. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library at the Getty Research Institute

Frederick Hammersley, Up Within, 1957–58, oil on linen, 48 x 36 in. (121.9 x 91.4 cm), Collection Pomona College, Museum of Art, Claremont, California, Museum purchase with funds provided by the Estate of Walter and Elise Mosher. © Frederick Hammersley, photograph by Schenck & Schenck

E x p l o r e a C o o l E l e m e n t Choose a cool color and a shape—a yellow

circle, a blue stripe, a red crescent, etc.—and incorporate it into a variety of projects.

Make a painting, build a model piece of furniture, design a house, write a song!

Use your color and shape in different ways to explore how these elements can appear in

different media to create a cool style.

Artists from this time period used bold shapes, colors, and lines in different combinations to create their cool paintings.

Using a variety of shapes and lines in different colors, create a cool painting or a collage with cut out paper, felt, fabric, etc.

Put on some cool jazz tunes while you work!

Y o u r C o o l P a i n t i n g

C o o l A C T I V I T I E S

Design a room using your own unifying cool style.

Furnish your room with cool furniture made with cool materials—and create cool art for the walls.

Make a model for your room, and don’t forget a cool playlist in the background.

Design a Cool Room


A C o o l T I M E L I N E A c t i v i t y

W h a t h a p p e n e d i n 1 9 9 3 ?

February 19: Swedish band Ace of Base

releases their #1 hit single The Sign.

January 20: Bill Clinton is sworn in as the 42nd President of the United States.

Guide to the Exhibition Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury, Addison Gallery of American Art, Winter 2008 8

What political and historical events took place in the year 1993?

What were some of the trends in popular culture?

What were the cool toys, movies, music, and television shows?

Guide to the Exhibition Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury, Addison Gallery of American Art, Winter 2008 9

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers becomes a popular line of toys and television series.

The World Wide Web, just two years old, grows by approximately 341,000 percent.

June 11: Jurassic Park shows in theaters.

A T I M E L I N E o f o n e y e a r . . .

Your Cool Timeline

What happened in the year you were born?

What political and historical events took place in that year?

What was cool in popular culture?

Research some of the events and trends from the year of your birth. Make your own timeline with images and text

—and perhaps even music.


Visits are inquiry-based and shaped by

teacher objectives and student interests. Students and teachers are encouraged to engage with the artwork they see in the museum by discussing and sharing ideas,

responding to and posing questions, and making connections with their own lives.

The ideas and questions in this Guide are intended to simulate the teaching approach of the Addison education staff.

All group visits are organized according to the specific grade, subject, and interests.

How to Arrange a Visit

At least two weeks in advance, contact Amy Freedbergat 978.749.4037 or [email protected]

with possible dates for your visit (Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 AM - 4 PM). Visits range from 45 - 90 minutes.

We can accommodate up to 55 students at one time. Group tours are always free of charge.

Before your visit, mention that students will need to keep in mind: • stay with the group • raise hands to ask or answer questions •

no touching the artwork or the walls • no running • • no food or gum •

Lorser Feitelson, Dichotomic Organization, 1959, oil on canvas, 60 x 60 in., Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, Marie Eccles Caine Foundation Gift. © Feitelson Arts Foundation

A catalogue to accompany the exhibition is available for purchase at the Addison Gallery.

Documents

Birth of the Cool - Addison Gallery of American Art · Birth of the Cool : California Art ... or songs by other musicians/singers such as Chet Baker, June ... Museum purchase with