The Senses – Design Beyond Vision Both a Feat and a Feast done by collaborators under the names of Ellen Lupton (senior curator) and Andrea Lipps (assistant curator)
Ellen Lupton is a writer, curator, educator, and designer at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore. She is also the senior curator at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, which served as the Client for this exhibition. Andrea Lipps is the associate curator of Contemporary Design at Cooper Hewitt Museum as well. Lipps is the organizer and developer of some major award-winning shows and books, The Senses – Design Beyond Vision Both a Feat and a Feast being one of those.
The Senses – Design Beyond Vision was an exhibition born in April of 2018, interested in how “non-ocular centric and multi-sensory design” came to be. Sixty-five artists and designers include works within this exhibition. The collection goals were to showcase different explorations of materials, technology, and multi-sensory experiences providing something for everyone, including those with disabilities or sensory impairments. This exhibition has some fantastic things incorporated into it, such as Braille implemented everywhere. They also included descriptive tours twice a week through a smartphone app, so all are welcome. This article looks at the actual process that it takes to make such an influential space and the struggles that emerged while bringing this show to life. According to the article, “The show was segmented into 11 themes that wound through the 6,400-square foot space: introducing the senses, sensory city, tactile library, shaping sound, sensory materials, tactile expression, sensory appetites, the sensory table, senses and cognition, inclusion environments and sensory theater.” Studio Joseph, the exhibition design studio, favorite part of the exhibition is that it is “straightforward and simple in its minimal use of design devices to achieve multiple effects and its ability to display varied content.”
“The Senses—Design Beyond Vision Both a Feat and a Feast | SEGD.” SEGD, segd.org/senses%E2%80%94design-beyond-vision-both-feat-and-feast. Accessed 12 Feb. 2021.
https://segd.org/senses%E2%80%94design-beyond-vision-both-feat-and-feast
