Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury is one of the most ambitious exhibitions ever organized on this seminal period, encompassing the painting, architecture, furniture design, decorative and graphic arts, film, and music that launched midcentury modernism in the United States and established Los Angeles as a major American cultural center. The influence of these modernist practices on contemporary art and culture has been widespread, and today the styles associated with this period have become shorthand for beauty, sophistication, and confident urbanity.

The exhibition installation is designed by a distinguished team that includes artist Jim Isermann, architect Frederick Fisher, and graphic designer Lorraine Wild. In sync with the interdisciplinary nature of the project, the Birth of the Cool installation features a jazz lounge; a media bar with film, animation, and television programming; an outdoor area with Van Keppel Green furniture and architectural pottery; a period art gallery of hard-edge abstract paintings; selections of art, architectural, and documentary photography; and an interactive timeline that highlights examples of California, national, and international culture and history in the 1950s.

Through more than 150 objects, Birth of the Cool examines the dynamic community of architects, designers, artists, filmmakers, and musicians who overlapped and interacted in Southern California at midcentury. An international roster of creative artists—including Chet Baker, Karl Benjamin, William Claxton, Louis Danziger, Charles and Ray Eames, Jules Engel, Lorser Feitelson, Oskar Fischinger, Frederick Hammersley, Pierre Koenig, John Lautner, Helen Lundeberg, John McLaughlin, Gerald Mulligan, Richard Neutra, Julius Shulman, and John and James Whitney—many of whom made their way to the West Coast from various locations throughout Europe and North America, played a germinal role in the development of this influential and iconic style of high modernism. In the spirit of “cool,” inspired by Miles Davis’s album "Birth of the Cool," the exhibition explores the affinities among these innovators of art, design, and style working on the West Coast in the postwar era.

Birth of the Cool is accompanied by a 300-page, fully illustrated book published in association with Prestel Publishers, which provides a thorough reassessment of this important period.

Opening Weekend Events
Saturday, October 6, 2007
2–5 pm: An afternoon program of talks and performances
7–9 pm: Opening Night Reception