Mid-20th century America was home to an astonishing cross-fertilization of avant-garde aesthetics, business, and cutting-edge media, as innovative artists and designers produced trademarks, corporate identities, print advertisements, and television commercials for major corporate clients. Libraries, archives and special collections have become the primary repositories of these complex legacies that lie at the intersection of art, design, and media. How can library special collections support scholars and museums exploring the development of American visual culture?

Scholars and Curators Corinne Granof (Northwestern University, Block Museum) and Amy Beste (SAIC) will tackle this question through a discussion of the archival research and library loans that fostered the exhibition Up is Down: Mid-Century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl Studio. The exhibition examined the legacy of a trailblazing Chicago design firm that brought Bauhaus aesthetics to the American public with work for such clients as Motorola, Kimberly-Clark, Revlon, and 7-Up. The exhibition case study will offer a springboard for considering how library and museum partnerships can give voice to unexplored cultural histories.

Event page: https://www.choice360.org/webinars/advertising-design/