Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay on view March 7 - June 14, 2009
The whimsical and enchanting original drawings, paintings, and sketches of best-selling author and illustrator David Macaulay are the subject of the Currier Museum's major spring exhibition, which opens March 7 Macaulay's gift for conveying complex concepts in a fun and understandable way has delighted children and adults for decades. He has a special genius for explaining the wonder of the way things work—from gadgets to gargantuan buildings—and for bringing readers on extraordinary journeys of the imagination. Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay is the first in-depth museum exhibition to explore the work and process of this popular artist.
"David Macaulay is one of the most creative and innovative artists working today. His books have inspired and intrigued more than two generations of readers around the world. We are delighted to bring his original work to northern New England," says director Susan Strickler.
The exhibition presents a diverse range of materials, including over 100 original works of art, studies, sketchbooks, book dummies, manuscripts and correspondence, artifacts (including hand-built ship models), stuffed specimens, reference materials, travel mementos, and a video documentary about the artist, produced for the exhibition by the Norman Rockwell Museum.
Macaulay's books, which bring together the worlds of art, history, science and fantasy include The Way Things Work, The New Way Things Work, Unbuilding, Cathedral, Castle, City, Mill, Ship, Mosque, Rome Antics, Angelo, Black and White as well as his newest book released in fall 2008 entitled The Way We Work.
The exhibition has been divided into three significant aspects of Macaulay's work: "Big Ideas," "Building Ship: Exploring the Artist's Process," and "Journey Books: The Evolution of Ideas." "Big Ideas" explores the mechanics of everyday objects, the construction of the world's most complex architectural structures, and the intricacies of the human body. Viewers will learn about Macaulay's evolution as an artist and his innate desire to understand and explain how and why objects and structures come to be. Dramatic, original drawings from such classic books as The Way Things Work, Mill, City, Underground, Unbuilding, Pyramid, Mosque, and Cathedral, will be featured.
"Building Ship: Exploring the Artist's Process" examines the creation of a book from concept, research, and preliminary layouts to finished art and text Through images and artifacts relating to David Macaulay's 1993 book Ship, about boat building and maritime archaeology, this section of the exhibition offers insights into the artist's creative process through ship models, artifacts, studies, drawings, photographs, and finished art.
"Journey Books: The Evolution of Ideas" looks at the unpredictable and often frustrating nature of the evolution of ideas. Original paintings, drawings, sketches, book dummies and manuscripts will be presented from works inspired by Macaulay's love of travel and his appreciation for journeys of the imagination, including Rome Antics, Angelo, Shortcut, Why the Chicken Crossed the Road, Baaa, and Black and White.
A series of family-friendly programming accompanies the exhibition. Visit http://www.currier.org for details.
Building Books: The Art of David Macaulay has been organized by the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The Currier Museum of Art presentation of the exhibition is supported in part by TD Charitable Foundation and RiverStone Resources LLC.
About the artist:
As a young boy in Lancashire, England, David Macaulay was fascinated by the way objects are made and how they operate. Out of cigar boxes, he constructed elevators. Using yarn, he made intricate systems of moving cable cars. In 1988, using his remarkable talents for translating concepts and information to the printed page, he was asked to illustrate The Way Things Work: From Levers to Lasers. Macaulay has since expanded the book to include digital technology. The artist's books have sold two million copies in America and have been published in a dozen languages, and Cathedral, Castle, and Pyramid have been made into popular PBS television programs. Macaulay is the recipient of many prestigious awards, including the Caldecott Medal and Honor Awards and a MacArthur Fellowship.
About the Currier:
The Currier Museum of Art (www.currier.org) is home to an internationally respected collection of European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. New galleries showcase the collection of over 11,000 objects, including works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, O'Keeffe, and Warhol. Visitors of all ages will enjoy the engaging traveling exhibitions, a series of dynamic programs ranging from music to lectures to hands-on art-making, an expanded gift shop and an airy café filled with light and equipped with WiFi. The associated Art Center offers studio classes, art camps and intensive workshops for all ages.
The Currier is located at 150 Ash Street, Manchester, New Hampshire and is wheelchair accessible. Museum hours are: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, 11-5; Saturday, 10-5. Closed Tuesday. Open 11-8 the first Thursday of each month. Museum admission: adults $10; seniors $9; students $8; children under 18 free. Free to all on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. To get more information, visit http://www.currier.org or call 603.669.6144, x 108.