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Jason Steven's wrote:

> Eric Siegel recently forwarded a NY Times review of exhibitions at the 
> NY Hall of Science in which the reviewer raved about Mathematica, the 
> classic Eames exhibit (40 years old?), noting that despite its age, 
> the content keeps the exhibit always-fresh, always-interesting.  
> Granted, this was a NY Times reviewer, and the NY Times staff adores 
> everything Modern (the Eames being saints of Modernism), but I took 
> reassurance in a critique that looks first at content.
>
Mathematica is not really a modernist exhibition, in the way that I 
understand modernism.  Fortunately, we have the new Museum of Modern 
Art, arguably the creator of the term modernism as it is currently 
used, right here to remind us of the clean, form-follows-function, 
unadorned qualities that are usually called "modernist."  To my mind, 
Mathematica is a kind of sui-generis work of an interested and 
tremendously creative pair.  By modernist standards, it is cluttered 
and overly adorned.  It's filled with collage-style typography, quirky 
materials ranging from dark stained woods to metals and plastics.  
Matter of fact, if you are looking for an "ism" for Mathematica, I 
would call it "post modernist,"  but more to the point, it is really 
the product of creative individuals.  It is a beautiful and original 
creation, without much need for category.

> That being said, Mathematica works, I suspect, on the charm of it's 
> context within the Hall, overall, which is by-and-large much newer.  A 
> museum full of the tired exhibits Charlie Stout described ain't 
> exactly destined for greatness.  Charm is one thing.  Dingy is 
> another.
>
Actually, it is in a building created at almost the exact same time as 
the exhibition, for the 1964 worlds fair.  It is not dingy, or at least 
we hope not, but it is certainly period-like. Interestingly, after we 
bought the exhibition from California Science Center, we got a call 
from Eames Demetrios, Charles and Ray Eames' grandson, who claimed the 
right to approve the installation at the Hall of Science.  He is a 
passionate advocate for the Eames' work (he heads the Eames' office, 
and I would imagine spends a large amount of his time protecting the 
eames name from unauthorized copies of their famous furniture.) He was 
*very* concerned, as were we, about the best way to install the 
exhibition in our existing space, preserving the original dimensions 
and layout of the exhibit.  In fact, the way the exhibition is 
currently installed was the result of a series of very productive 
conversations we had with Eames about the original aesthetics of the 
exhibition.


Eric Siegel
Executive VP
    Programs and Planning
New York Hall of Science
47-01 111th Street
Queens, NY 11368
[log in to unmask]
www.nyscience.org

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