The arrival of spring brings new art exhibitions to the city that highlight some of my favorite things.
I hit the trifecta! Three dazzling exhibits opened this spring in New York City that focus on some of my favorite topics: Travel, movies and fashion.
At Poster House, a gem of a show – Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters – occupies the main hall. Excellent posters, as ads and marketing tools, introduce the Big Apple to its newcomers and visitors from the late 19th- to mid-20th century. On the lower level, a smaller, one-woman show details the creation of movie posters: The Anatomy of a Movie Poster: The Work of Dawn Baillie. Her name is likely unfamiliar to most outside the advertising/design industries, but her work is iconic.
Over at The Museum @FIT, an unusual show focuses on the evolution of sleeves, aptly titled Statement Sleeves. That’s right, sleeves, and how their imaginative designs defined some apparel from the 19th century to the present.
Selected highlights from each exhibit below – but it's always more fun to experience them in person, if possible.
Wonder City of the World: New York City Travel Posters Main Hall at Poster House
As an adopted New Yorker, I could probably be defined as “New York–centric.” Just as any convert is usually more devoted to their new “thing” than its nativites. If that’s a word. I love New York City – with all its riches, and foibles, faults and fails – I have for decades. Poster House’s newest exhibition does too.
This exhibition charts the course as New York grew into an international city. —Curator Nicholas D. Lowry
With Lowry’s vast knowledge of vintage posters – as president of Swann Auction Galleries – and the show’s beautiful design by Ola Baldych – exploring some of the best New York City travel posters through time is a joy.
As New York City's growth exploded in the late 19th century and onward, more travel posters were designed for this city than any other in the world. The posters range from 19th century depictions of New York City as a travel destination within the state, through images from the 20th century, as the iconic skyline that we know today began to form.
The exhibition is an intensely graphic, visual extravaganza in storytelling. Through juxtapositions of type, shapes and colors, artists captured the pulse of this thriving metropolis – its hustle-bustle, its bright lights and its angular edifices.
Ships, planes, trains and more
Many posters were created as marketing tools for airlines, cruise lines and railroads. Others were more historical in nature and functioned as PSAs (public service announcements). Some posters supported the war effort. And some were adapted from magazine covers – and vice-versa.
The highlights of many talented artists are featured, including the home-grown David Klein, known for designing some of the most famous TWA posters from the 1950s/60s. Swiss designer/artist Henri Ott was a longtime freelancer for Swissair from the 1940s. And Tomoko Miho’s late 1960s New York posters with their strong architectural influence stand in stark contrast to posters from earlier decades. Just wonderful!
The exciting factor about New York is the constant reinvention. Other major global cities have more tradition, but New York is the capital of dynamism. …These posters highlight the constant change that is inherent in the city itself… —Nicholas D. Lowry
As an FYI, I was very surprised to see a New York souvenir travel guide on display as part of this exhibition. I had the very same booklet – a piece of NYC history.
Thru 8 september 2024
The Anatomy of a Movie Poster: The Work of Dawn Baillie Downstairs at Poster House
Downstairs, a smaller exhibition is a fascinating story. The multi-award-winning creative/art director Dawn Baillee essentially owns the position of movie poster designer. (It would have been my dream job.)
Covering nearly four decades, from her first solo piece as designer for the film, Dirty Dancing, her style is as varied as the movies she covers. Perhaps her most iconic work – the poster for Silence of the Lambs – clearly illustrates why she is a leader in her field. To be able to convey a film's story in one poster – simply, while hitting just the right emotional tone to connect with audiences and reel (no pun intended) them into theaters is no small feat. As her career blossomed, her talent and craft became crucial in bridging the studios’ demands and driving marketing campaigns with enviable success.
Thru 8 september 2024
Statement Sleeves | The Museum @FIT
You may be wondering, what is a “statement sleeve”? The exhibit describes it as:
A sleeve style that is exaggerated, embellished, elaborately constructed, or otherwise eye catching to the extent that it defines a garment.
In more visual words: Puffed, sheer, ruffled, ruched, bell, cold, split, butterfly, kimono, and on and on.
With nearly 80 pieces from the museum’s permanent collection on display – many for the first time – the exhibition features the work of fashion luminaries including Balenciaga, Schiaparelli, Rudi Gernreich and Vivienne Westwood. But the sleeves trump the designers and are the stars here.
The show is organized thematically rather than chronologically. Pieces range from the 1890s through the mid 20-teens – reinforcing the idea that fashion respects its past in creating its future. The exhibition illustrates how sleeves alone can serve as a mode of self-expression – animating our gestures, our body movement. And ultimately our personality.
It’s an exciting and fun show exploring color, shape, form and movement in fashion through the decades.
Thru 25 august 2024
What exhibitions have you seen lately?
Top photo/illustration, and all photos: © 2024 Janet Giampietro.
