“Style for the Road” Exhibition at The Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian–Florida International University will be hosting an exhibition called Styled for the Road: The Art of Automobile Design, 1908-1948, an intriguing look at automobile design in America from the 1900s through the 1940s. On view from October 16, 2009 through March 14, 2010, the exhibition highlights the important role played by designers and visual artists in communicating the complex ideas that guided the development of automobiles, roadways, service stations, and advertising materials.

Design drawing - Graham-Paige Convertible, model year 1940 (Gordon M. Buehrig, designer), Courtesy of Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf

More than 80 skillfully and elegantly rendered design drawings—most presented publicly for the first time—will ilustrate how the design of automobiles changed dramatically through styling, as well as how the automobile exerted a profound impact on the built environment and on American culture.   In providing evidence of the visual strategies and techniques used to translate abstract ideas into concrete form, Styled for the Road explores the widely overlooked contribution of designers and visual arts in creating the aura of American automobile culture. “These drawings might convince a manufacturer to re-style a fender or radiator grille, persuade a consumer to buy a new car, or provide valuable information for an urban planner,” explains Marianne Lamonaca, curator of the exhibition and The Wolfsonian’s associate director for curatorial affairs and education. “Today, they also invite our scrutiny because they reveal the beauty and intensity of hand-rendered drawings, at a time when digital imagery dominates our visual culture

Organized by The Wolfsonian, the exhibition presents original artworks drawn primarily from the Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf Collection of American Automobile Art along with advertising brochures, automobile industry periodicals, and other printed ephemera from The Wolfsonian’s collection.   The exhibition is part of The Wolfsonian’s “Celebrating America” series of exhibitions that explore various aspects of the American experience—social, political, and cultural—from the early 1900s to the present, through a range of viewpoints.

A rich program of lectures, films, and workshops is offered in conjunction with the exhibition. From enlightening talks with contemporary automotive designers to a car jamboree, visitors of all ages and all levels of knowledge about the American automobile will find something to stimulate their imagination. The exhibition is accompanied by an illustrated catalog available in The Wolfsonian’s Dynamo Museum Shop or by contacting paola@thewolf.fiu.edu.

The Wolfsonian-FIU – 1001 Washington Ave., Miami Beach; Tel:  (305) 531-1001