March 27, 2012
The Institute Of Contemporary Art Presents The Happy Show, A Visual Exploration Of Happiness, On Display Starting April 4
In his first museum exhibition in the U.S., artist Stefan Sagmeister explores the search for happiness via creative typography. (Photos courtesy Stefan Sagmeister)
It’s a somewhat safe assumption to say that artist Stefan Sagmeister’s favorite song might be “Get Happy,” since he spent 10 years exploring the desirable and rather elusive virtue of happiness.
This decade-long exploration has culminated in his latest exhibit, The Happy Show, which opens Wednesday, April 4, at the Institute of Contemporary Art.
Graphic designer Sagmeister, probably best known for his album covers for Talking Heads, Lou Reed and The Rolling Stones, not only tests the boundary between art and design in The Happy Show, but offers visitors the experience of walking into the depths of his mind as he attempts to achieve happiness via mediation, cognitive therapy and mood-altering pharmaceuticals.
The exhibition presents typographic investigations of a series of maxims, or rules to live by, collected from Sagmeister’s own diary and displayed in a variety of imaginative and interactive forms. To put the maxims into context, Sagmeister has gathered social data from various prominent psychologists, anthropologists and historians that details how the roles of age, gender, race, money and more determine happiness.
This is Sagmeister’s first museum show in the U.S. It opens with a kick-off reception from 6-8 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4. The show will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in winter 2013.
The Happy Show by Stefan Sagmeister
When: April 4–August 12
Where: Institute for Contemporary Art, 118 S. 36th Street
Cost: Free
More info: www.icaphila.org
Leave a comment with Facebook
Leave a comment directly on the blog (1 Blog Comment)
I recently saw an exhibit at the art museum featuring an exhibit by Zoe Stauss. Her photos were quite the antithesis of the Happy Show. Very dark theme with a focus on struggle and hardship. I’d much rather view the Happy Show. I hate to quote cliches but their useful when everyone gets it; is the glass half full or half empty?
I think I’d prefer the Happy Show.