“Spectacular Vernacular”
to
Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design (MIAD) 273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53202
Two new exhibitions open this fall at the Milwaukee Institute of Art &
Design (MIAD): “Steel Genesis: Sandra Gould Ford” takes you on a journey of a city’s declining working class industry and the strength of its workers, and “Spectacular Vernacular” reimagines objects through design, asking how they can be designed to address hopes and fears. Special programming and events include:• Steel Genesis: Sandra Gould Ford, Opening Reception Friday, October 19, 5 – 9 p.m. during Fall Gallery Night in the Historic Third Ward. (Sandra will be at MIAD on a date TBD in November.)
• Spectacular Vernacular Opening Reception, Thursday, November 8, 6 – 8 p.m.
• Spectacular Vernacular Curators Panel Discussion, Tuesday, November 27, 7 p.m., moderated by the Milwaukee Art Museum’s Demmer Curator of 20th- and 21st-Century Design Monica Obniski
ABOUT “SPECTACULAR VERNACULAR”
On view November 3, 2018 – March 2, 2019 in MIAD’s Brooks Stevens Gallery. This exhibition examines designed objects and their functions through a journey of observation, experimentation and speculation.
Married British duo Tim Parsons and Jessica Charlesworth of Parsons & Charlesworth design studio explore the rhetorical and practical opportunities of designed objects, encouraging a broadening of the conventional definition and understanding of the designer’s role.
“We want to start conversations about design,” said Parsons. “How can we imagine objects to be different? Beyond need, how can we design them to address hopes and fears?”