Disegno: Selections from the R & Company Archives Collection
Now on exhibit on the first floor of Stevenson Library through December 13, 2024.
Opening Reception: Friday, September 27 2-4 pm
About the exhibit
What is Design? As a noun, design can mean the plan to construct something, the composition of a physical or digital object, or the thing itself; as a verb, it is the action of materializing an idea with intent. As absurd as it may sound, a designer designs a designed design. At the R & Company Library and Archives, we are interested in all definitions of design and in preserving the materials that help makers achieve their goals.
Drawings are a crucial part of many creators’ practices, serving purposes as varied as the techniques employed in their making. Drawings may serve to jot down ideas, establish a concept, test form and function, enable construction, or present products. They may be quick sketches, detailed renderings, collages, and everything in between. While some designers don’t draw at all (and might conceptualize with models or build intuitively), others register each step of their progress. The latter group’s strategy gives us a glimpse into their creative processes, which offers an invaluable tool for understanding the full ethos of their works. For these people, the Italian word disegno, which means both drawing and design, serves as an apt operator.
Understanding design and drawing as interchangeable in the context of creative thinking, the present exhibition showcases highlights from our archives that illustrate the different functions and strategies drawings may serve, made by designers from distinct countries, periods, and backgrounds. By juxtaposing these works, this display reveals unexpected dialogs and comparisons between people who would otherwise not be in the same conversation. In common is their desire to materialize an idea by putting pen to paper.
About the R & Company Library and Archives
New York-based design gallery R & Company holds an important and extensive non-circulating library and archival collection covering the history of art, design, and architecture from the 1900s to the present. The holdings include many rare and out-of-print titles, specializing in international design overviews, period pamphlets, catalogs, photographs, and other rare resources and ephemera. The department is committed to preserving these collections and fostering a dynamic center for research and education surrounding the collections. Researchers are welcome by appointment year-round.
This Thursday, October 17 from 6:30- 8 pm, please join us in the kLIneBRARY to celebrate the closing of Hispanic Heritage Month with an open-mic style poetry night! We will have Spanish and Latin American poetry & literature on hand for you to read from, or bring your own! Kline will be serving cuisine from Colombia in conjunction with this event. So grab your dinner and come to the kLIneBRARY to celebrate Hispanic voices!
