I’m still a m

usician. I wondered w

hat musical

object could be used to embody at once

the whole creative process of d+

evolution. I needed som

ething that would m

odel the w

hole concept imm

ediately and physically. Pianos, w

hich you will see in m

ultiple incarnations throughout this exhibit, serve as the w

ellspring for many m

usical traditions. O

nce the exclusive privilege of the w

ealthy, today many perfectly usable

pianos find themselves casually discarded.

I flashed on the work of m

y old friend and m

usical colleague Megan M

cGeorge of

Portland, Oregon. Through her non-profit,

Piano. Push. Play., Megan salvages as m

any pianos as she can. S

he recycles them each

summ

er by placing them in the public

spaces in her hometow

n, where people

of all ages and walks of life delight in the

opportunity to play them.

I’m still a m

usician. I wondered w

ho would

know how

to take apart those unwanted

pianos, and help me reim

agine their elem

ents to frame the eight concepts of

this exhibition. Megan suggested R

obert Petty from

ZGF A

rchitects’ Portland, Oregon

office. Together he and I conceived the piano-piece designs, m

ade by ZGF, w

hich now

accompany each group of objects

featured in Esperanza Spalding S

elects.

Oh, and about the m

usic featured in the gallery of Esperanza S

palding Selects?

I’m still a m

usician! I still wanted to

emphasize that the eternal process

of devolution and evolution works in a

continuous loop, with no real beginning or

ending. Form continuously flow

s into form.

So I turned to another old friend and m

usical colleague, Leonardo G

enovese. He and I

recorded four sections of music: a classic

performance draw

n from the sheet m

usic I selected from

the Sm

ithsonian Design

Library’s collection, an improvised

interpretation of the same song, a variation

for bass and voice, and a re-rearrangement

of all three of these recordings electronically sequenced into a new

composition. These

pieces are played in a continuous loop.

I want to express m

y sincere gratitude to the staff of C

ooper Hew

itt for their warm

support throughout.

And to you, dear visitor! M

ay the eternal process of devolution and evolution inspire your life too.

Love,Esperanza Em

ily Spalding

D+EVOLVE THIS POSTER IN

TO A BROCHURE!

Indi

an T

ribes

of

Nor

th A

mer

ica

the

styl

e of

“M

’Into

sh, a

Cre

ek c

hief

” ha

s be

en d

evol

ved

and

evol

ved

by A

mer

ican

col

onia

l gar

b of

the

19

th c

entu

ry.

Col

onia

l aes

thet

ics

have

bro

ken

apar

t th

e st

yle

of h

is c

ultu

re. V

lisco

, a

com

pany

spe

cial

izin

g in

Dut

ch w

ax p

rints

(a t

echn

ique

ado

pted

from

the

fo

rmer

Dut

ch c

olon

y of

Ind

ones

ia)

adap

ts t

hose

prin

ts f

or c

usto

mer

s in

W

este

rn A

fric

a an

d th

e di

aspo

ra.

D+E

VOLV

ING

DES

IGN

TEC

HNOL

OGIE

STh

e pr

esum

ptio

n th

at e

volu

tion

mea

ns “

mor

e ad

-va

nced

” is

not

alw

ays

true

. The

se d

iver

se t

exti

les

carr

y a

com

mon

mes

sage

: so

met

imes

th

e si

mpl

er

way

bec

omes

the

mos

t in

nova

tive

. Pa

ul

Poire

t hi

red

untr

aine

d gi

rls

to

wor

k in

his

sch

ool,

Écol

e M

arti

ne. E

ncou

ragi

ng th

em

to

sket

ch

thei

r in

noce

nt

impr

essi

ons

of p

lant

s an

d an

imal

s, P

oire

t tu

rned

the

dr

awin

gs in

to p

opul

ar d

rape

ry, c

arpe

t, a

nd w

allc

over

-in

g de

sign

s. K

enya

n ar

tisa

ns re

turn

to

thei

r ow

n tr

adit

ion

of u

tiliz

ing

drum

bea

ts t

o gu

ide

the

accu

ra-

cy o

f the

ir pl

eati

ng a

nd b

indi

ng o

f the

fabr

ic b

efor

e it

is

dye

d to

cre

ate

this

mod

ern

text

ile’s

pat

tern

.

Cop

yrig

ht ©

20

17

Coo

per H

ewit

t, S

mit

hson

ian

Des

ign

Mus

eum

. All

right

s re

serv

ed. P

ublis

hed

by C

oope

r H

ewit

t, S

mit

hson

ian

Des

ign

Mus

eum

.

Pho

togr

aphy

: Mat

t Fl

ynn

© S

mit

hson

ian

Inst

itut

ion;

C

over

(fro

nt &

bac

k): “

God

’s T

rom

bone

s: S

even

Neg

ro

Ser

mon

s in

Ver

se,”

illus

trat

ed b

y A

aron

Dou

glas

and

“F

an,”

desi

gned

by

Theo

Maa

s; D

esig

n: Y

o-E

Ryo

u;

Prin

ted

in U

SA

on

10

0%

pos

tcon

sum

er m

atte

sto

ck

Espe

ranz

a S

pald

ing

Sel

ects

is t

he f

ifte

enth

exh

ibit

ion

in t

he N

ancy

and

Edw

in M

arks

Col

lect

ion

Gal

lery

ser

ies

devo

ted

to s

how

casi

ng t

he m

useu

m’s

col

lect

ions

. In

the

Sel

ects

ser

ies

des

igne

rs,

wri

ters

, and

cul

tura

l fig

ures

are

invi

ted

to e

xplo

re a

nd re

spon

d to

Coo

per H

ewit

t’s

colle

ctio

n.

Espe

ranz

a S

pald

ing

is a

mus

icia

n, c

ompo

ser,

and

four

-tim

e G

ram

my

Aw

ard

win

ner.

Espe

ranz

a S

pald

ing

Sel

ects

is m

ade

poss

ible

by

the

Mar

ks F

amily

Fou

ndat

ion

Endo

wm

ent

Fund

. In

-kin

d su

ppor

t fo

r the

sit

e-sp

ecif

ic in

stal

lati

on is

pro

vide

d by

ZG

F A

rchi

tect

s. P

iano

pro

vide

d by

S

tein

way

& S

ons.

(13

3/8

× 1

3 3

/8 in

.);

Col

lect

ion

of S

mit

hson

ian

Libr

arie

s, C

oope

r Hew

itt,

N

5 .W

46

9

13

Tex

tile

, Fan

, 19

85

; D

esig

ned

by T

heo

Maa

s (D

utch

); M

anuf

actu

red

by

Vlis

co (H

elm

ond,

Net

her-

land

s); W

ax-r

esis

t pr

inte

d co

tton

; 54

8.6

x 1

20

cm

(1

8 ft

. x 4

7 1

/4 in

.); G

ift

of V

lisco

, 20

15

-1-8

14

Boo

k, L

es c

hose

s de

Pa

ul P

oire

t (P

aul P

oire

t’s

Thin

gs),

19

11

; Des

igne

d by

Pau

l Poi

ret

(Fre

nch,

1

87

9–1

94

4);

Illus

trat

ed

by G

eorg

es L

epap

e (F

renc

h, 1

88

7–1

97

1);

Boo

k w

ith

litho

grap

hic

plat

es; 3

6.5

× 3

4.5

× 2

cm

(14

3/8

× 1

3 9

/16

×

13

/16

in.);

Col

lect

ion

of

Sm

iths

onia

n Li

brar

ies,

C

oope

r Hew

itt,

GT5

13

.L

59

19

11

15

Tex

tile

, Blu

ette

, ca.

1

91

2; D

esig

ned

by A

telie

r M

arti

ne (P

aris

, Fra

nce)

fo

r Pau

l Poi

ret

(Fre

nch,

1

87

9–1

94

4);

Scr

een-

prin

ted

cott

on a

nd li

nen;

1

46

x 7

6 c

m (5

7 1

/2 x

29

1

5/1

6 in

.); G

ift

of L

ouis

e D

ushk

in, 1

98

4-1

36

-1

16

Tex

tile

, Cha

n C

han,

1

96

4; D

esig

ned

by E

liza

Wilc

ox (E

nglis

h, a

ctiv

e 1

96

0s)

; Pro

duce

d by

Ja

ck L

enor

Lar

sen

Inco

rpor

ated

(New

Yor

k,

New

Yor

k, U

SA

); Ti

e-dy

ed

cott

on; 1

58

.8 ×

13

4.6

cm

(5

ft. 2

1/2

in. ×

53

in.);

C

owta

n an

d To

ut L

arse

n A

rchi

ve C

olle

ctio

n, G

ift

of L

ongh

ouse

Res

erve

, 2

01

6-3

2-5

15

16

EVOLVING

PERSPECTIVESThe progression of these designs docum

ents our expanding cultural aw

areness: the devolution of patently racist im

ages opens the door to an evolving kinder aw

areness of our comm

on realities. This group features sheet m

usic cover designs used to market

Am

erican popular music in the

early 20

th century. Representa-tions of the people depicted on these covers illustrate degener-

ate and evolving views tow

ard the indigenous, North

African, or A

frican Am

erican traditions that influ-enced each song. For exam

ple, “Quit C

ryin’ the Blues” features a w

eeping Sam

bo caricature of an African

Am

erican man. “S

olitude,” from 1

93

4, displays an

elegant photo of composer D

uke Ellington. The artist who sketched the play-

ers surrounding Ellington focused on their roles in the orchestra rather than their racial identity. Fifteen years later, “S

ugar Blues” carries the picture of a sm

iling, elegantly dressed European-Am

erican. Music and design integration

often precedes societal integration, though our progress seldom travels in a

straight line. People buying this sheet music m

ay have perceived themselves

as separate or superior to caricatures portrayed on these covers, yet they w

elcomed the culturally m

ixed songs into their homes and playing hands.

FUNCTION

AL/DECORATIVE

Pairs of objects demonstrate new

decorative designs evolving—

emerging from

the aesthetics of purely functional parts, equipm

ent, or tools. As an exam

ple, the unusual design of this A

merican gold ring descends

from the A

frican pattern and form of a utilitarian

object: a simple A

shanti bronze weight. The designer

of a poster produced for the Wiener W

erkstätte referenced collections of 1

9th-century katagam

i (pattern paper), a tool created by Japanese craftsm

en to print patterns on silk.

01

Sheet M

usic, Quit

Cryin’ the B

lues: Fox-Trot, 1

93

1; D

esigned by H

ap Hadley S

tudio (Los A

ngeles, California,

US

A); C

omposed by

Felix Lewis; Lithograph

on paper; 26

.5 ×

18

cm

(10

7/1

6 ×

7 1

/16

in.); C

ollection of Sm

ithso-nian Libraries, C

ooper H

ewitt, M

13

56

.L49

Q5

1

93

1

02

Sheet M

usic, S

olitude, 19

34

; C

omposed by D

uke Ellington (A

meri-

can, 18

99

–19

74

); Lithograph on paper; 2

6 ×

18

cm (1

0 1

/4 ×

7

1/1

6 in.); C

ollection of S

mithsonian Libraries,

Cooper H

ewitt, M

13

66

.E4

4 S

65

19

34

03

Ring, ca. 1

98

5;

Designed by Ed W

iener (A

merican, 1

91

8–

19

91

); Cast gold; 4

.5

x 3.8

x 3.7

cm (1

3/4

x 1

1/2

x 1 7

/16

in.); Gift

of Mr. and M

rs. Kelley R

ollings, 19

92

-15

-1

04

Trans . . . Arm

chair, 2

00

7; D

esigned by Fernando C

ampana

(Brazilian, b. 1

96

1) and

Hum

berto Cam

pana (B

razilian, b. 19

53

); W

icker, iron, found ob-jects (plastic, rubber); 1

02

.5 x 9

6.5

x 83

cm

(40

3/8

x 38

x 32

11

/16

in.); C

omm

issioned from

the designers by C

ooper-Hew

itt, Na-

tional Design M

useum,

20

07

-46

-1

01

03

02

Trom

bone

s, n

ot g

ener

ally

ass

ocia

t-ed

wit

h sp

iritu

al p

reac

hing

, car

ry t

he

them

e of

Jam

es W

eldo

n Jo

hnso

n’s

book

of p

oeti

c se

rmon

s.

REVE

ALIN

G C

OVER

SD

esig

n of

ten

reve

als

mes

sage

s an

d te

nsio

ns th

at re

flec

t the

com

mun

ity

in w

hich

it is

pro

duce

d. T

hese

cov

ers

reve

al a

ten

sion

bet

wee

n ar

tist

ic v

isio

n an

d co

ntem

pora

ry a

ssum

ptio

ns

abou

t “th

e ot

her.”

Thi

s 1

98

9 b

iogr

aphy

of J

osep

hine

Bak

er—

wor

ld-r

enow

ned

sing

er, d

ance

r, sp

y fo

r the

Alli

es d

urin

g W

orld

War

II, a

nd a

dopt

ive

mot

her o

f w

ar o

rpha

ns—

defa

ults

to

an o

bjec

tify

ing

port

rait

th

at s

how

s he

r po

sing

nea

rly n

aked

. The

cov

er

of t

his

19

28

edi

tion

of

Wen

ding

en s

how

s th

at

from

afa

r, ar

tist

s in

Hol

-la

nd r

espe

cted

cul

tura

l tr

adit

ions

, w

hile

th

eir

gove

rnm

ent

cont

inue

d to

col

oniz

e m

any

Asi

an

coun

trie

s.

COLO

NIA

L IN

VERS

ION

The

exch

ange

of

aest

heti

cs b

etw

een

colo

-ni

zed

peop

le a

nd t

heir

oppr

esso

rs e

volv

es

and

devo

lves

the

pre

viou

sly

conc

entr

ated

de

sign

val

ues

of b

oth

part

ies.

The

se t

exti

le,

fash

ion,

an

d w

allc

ov-

erin

g de

sign

s de

mon

-st

rate

sty

les

that

dev

elop

ed i

n W

este

rn n

atio

ns

infl

uenc

ed b

y th

e tr

adit

ions

and

tre

nds

of c

olon

ized

la

nds,

and

vic

e-ve

rsa.

In a

boo

k ti

tled

His

tory

of

the

and

Frie

nds,

19

70

; D

esig

ned

by N

orm

an

Orr

(Am

eric

an, b

. 19

49

); Pr

inte

d by

Tea

Lau

trec

Li

tho

(San

Fra

ncis

co,

Cal

ifor

nia,

US

A);

Off

set

litho

grap

h on

whi

te w

ove

pape

r; 5

5 x

35

.5 c

m (2

1

5/8

x 1

4 in

.); G

ift

of M

r. an

d M

rs. L

eslie

J. S

chre

y-er

, 19

79

-34

-18

10

Boo

k, G

od’s

Tro

m-

bone

s: S

even

Neg

ro

Ser

mon

s in

Ver

se, 1

92

7;

Writ

ten

by J

ames

Wel

don

John

son

(Am

eric

an,

18

71

–19

38

); Ill

ustr

at-

ed b

y A

aron

Dou

glas

(A

mer

ican

, 18

99

–19

79

); B

ook

wit

h lit

hogr

aphi

c pl

ates

; 20

× 1

8 c

m (7

7/8

×

7 1

/16

in.);

Col

lect

ion

of S

mit

hson

ian

Libr

arie

s,

Coo

per H

ewit

t, P

S3

51

9.

O2

62

5 G

6

11

Boo

k co

ver,

Jazz

C

leop

atra

, 19

89

; De-

sign

ed b

y C

arin

Gol

dber

g (A

mer

ican

, b. 1

95

3) f

or

Dou

bled

ay (N

ew Y

ork,

N

ew Y

ork,

US

A);

Writ

ten

by P

hylli

s R

ose

(Am

eri-

can,

b. 1

94

2);

Lith

ogra

ph

on p

aper

; 24

.1 ×

19

.5 c

m

(9 1

/2 ×

7 1

1/1

6 in

.); G

ift

of S

teve

n H

elle

r, 1

99

6-

74

-10

4

12

Jou

rnal

, Wen

ding

en:

maa

ndbl

ad v

oor b

ouw

en

en s

iere

n (In

vers

ions

/U

phea

val),

Vol

. 9, N

o.

5, 1

92

8; D

esig

ned

by

Joha

n Fr

eder

ik E

ngel

bert

te

n Kl

oost

er (D

utch

, 1

87

3–1

94

0);

Des

ign

Dire

ctor

: Hen

drik

us T

he-

odor

us W

ijdev

eld

(Dut

ch,

18

85

–19

87

); Li

thog

raph

on

pap

er; 3

4 ×

34

cm

09

10

11

12

13

14

BEYOND

FUNCTION

ALITYThe function of these fam

iliar objects has devolved. These designs have evolved to serve a purpose beyond their form

. John De C

esare transmuted the

way

the m

usic of

Wagner’s

“Die

Walküre”

made

him

feel—draw

ing a

“non-functional” score that invites the view

er to feel it too. The designers w

ho created this chair

from

a collection

of discarded objects produced an intriguing design w

hile reminding us that nothing need be w

asted.

DEVOLVE TO EVOLVE

These pieces

developed from

deconstructed

mate-

rials intended for a wholly different function. Tooled

leather w

allcover-ings m

ade in Hol-

land were used as

screens in Japan. The

wallcoverings

were then cut up further, devolving

into this purse.

SACRED SECULAR

These items intended for secular use draw

from the aesthetics of religious

imagery. S

ymbols from

secular life illuminate our understanding of religion.

This majestic robe from

Nigeria displays

embroidery patterned after calligraphy

styles found in the Holy Koran. This post-

er, advertising a rock and roll concert in an im

plicitly secular club, draws inspi-

ration from iconic portraiture of Jesus.

05

Draw

ing, Study 1

40

d, “The M

agic Fire-Scene,”

from D

ie Walküre by

Richard W

agner, July 19

, 1

95

7; D

esigned by John D

e Cesare (A

merican, b.

Italy, 18

90

–19

72

); Color

pencil, graphite on cream

wove paper; 7

0 ×

48

.6

cm (2

7 9

/16

× 1

9 1

/8 in.);

Gift of the Estate of John

De C

esare, 19

82

-25

-65

06

Purse (kin-chaku) w

ith Pendant (netsuke) and C

ord Fastener (Japan and the N

etherlands (leather)), ca. 1

75

0;

Stam

ped, silvered, and varnished D

utch leather, carved ivory, enam

el and brass; 2

1.5

× 1

0.5

× 2

.5

cm (8

7/1

6 ×

4 1

/8 ×

1

in.); Gift of Eleanor and

Sarah H

ewitt, 1

93

1-

48

-73

07

Vitam

in Store

Necklace, ca. 1

99

0; M

ade by Verena S

ieber-Fuchs (S

wiss, b. 1

94

3); M

etal w

ire, plastic, foil; 27

×

58

.2 ×

4.5

cm (1

0 5

/8 ×

2

2 1

5/1

6 ×

1 3

/4 in.); M

u-seum

purchase through bequest of R

ichard G

reenleaf in mem

ory of his m

other Adeline Em

ma

Greenleaf, 1

99

9-2

6-1

08

Robe (N

igeria), ca. 1

90

0; S

ilk and cotton, em

broidered with silk;

28

7 ×

12

9.5

cm (9

ft. 5

in. × 51 in.); Museum

pur-chase through gift of Paul F. W

alter and from G

eneral A

cquisitions Endowm

ent Fund, 2015-17-1

09

Poster, Voices of East H

arlem/D

elaney Bonnie

04

0506

07

08

JUNE 9, 2017–JANUARY 7, 2018

D+E

VOLU

TION

ESPE

RAN

ZASP

ALD

ING

SELE

CTS

WORKS FROM THE PERMANENT COLLECTION

WHEN

COOPER HEWITT FIRST TAPPED

M

E TO GUEST CURATE AN

EXHIBITION,

I WAS IM

MERSED

IN EXPLORIN

G M

Y PERSON

AL AND

MUSICAL REVELATION

S ABOUT D

EVOLVING

WHILE EVOLVIN

G, IN

EM

ILY’S D+EVOLUTION

, AN ALBUM

AND

LIVE PERFORM

ANCE PROJECT.

I didn’t see how design had anything to do

with m

usic or performance. But, after a few

days, I began to w

onder: could d+evolution be

one expression of wider creative processes?

I decided to propose d+evolution as the

theme for m

y exhibition. The curators asked m

e “what IS

that?”

As I’ve com

e to understand it, d+evolution

is the true nature of transformation.

When a structure or identity is broken

down or rendered obsolete, a contrapuntal

growth process em

erges, evolving itself via the fragm

ents or openings created by degeneration, or devolution.

Throughout my w

ork on Emily’s D

+Evolution

I got to know the d+

evolution process intim

ately. Instead of developing the album

and live performance from

the structure of m

y musical studies, I decided to w

ork as instinctively as possible. I let anything in m

y imm

ediate environment, em

otions, or circum

stances inform the project’s

development.

I allowed the structures of m

y musical

training to partially dissolve into the urgency of m

y imm

ediate experiencing of this universe. A

s I listened to much of the m

usic I love—

jazz, classical, avant-garde, rap, m

úsica popular do Brasil, funk, and folk—

I realized that each genre emerged due to

the breaking down and cross influence of

tiered traditions.

Devotees of a m

usical style or culture may

state claims about w

hat differentiates their true form

from the rest. But, any recognizably

distinct genre is merely a snapshot of sound

and style in transition. Musical convention—

it seems—

is in a constant state of flux.

I wondered if design aesthetics in objects,

prints, and textiles might reveal a history of

disparate traditions colliding and evolving. W

ith the guidance of Cooper H

ewitt’s

curatorial team, I started digging through

the collection to find out. I selected nearly fifty objects from

the collections of Cooper

Hew

itt and the Sm

ithsonian Design Library—

encompassing draw

ings, prints, textiles, jew

elry, and furniture. Studying the history

of these objects, I’ve learned that design does not progress in a straight line. D

esign grow

s in response to the same essential

forces of breaking down and building up that

inform all innovation. A

ll of these objects reflect a juncture in design w

here previously held values, form

s, and relationships broke dow

n as their new iterations em

erged.