Cool '60s Design - A retrospective of Canadian Craft and Design of the 1960sGatineau, Quebec, February 24, 2005 — Canada's profound social and economic changes in the 1960s were reflected in the design of Canadian-made consumer and individual products. The evidence will be on display in a large retrospective exhibition opening February 25, 2005 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Cool '60s Design looks at Canadian crafts and design of that decade, and explores how they were influenced by the social and political currents of the day.
Canada was transformed in the 1960s by a variety of forces such as the early Baby Boomers, rock music, new nationalist movements and the space race. At the same time, the country was determined to bury its image as a hewer of wood and a drawer of water. Led by the federal government, Canada wanted to show the world that it was now a modern and innovative country, firmly focused on the future. The combination of social change and federal government support led to a blossoming of Canadian artistic and industrial design.
"The 1960s were a golden age for Canadian designers who were clearly among the most talented and imaginative in the world," says Dr. Victor Rabinovitch, President and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. "This exhibition celebrates their personal achievements, and provides insight into Canada's social, political and artistic development."
Cool '60s Design features Canadian made and produced objects ranging from airport seating to macramé wall hangings, that tell a unique story of creativity and success. Among the more familiar items is the sleek and angular Contempra telephone designed at Bell Canada-Northern Electric. It was a radical departure from the bland and boxy telephones of its day, and it helped launch a design revolution.
The exhibition has three main sections. The first examines the federal government's role as a promoter of the new Canadian identity and a key patron of Canadian designers and artisans. The second focuses on Montréal's Expo 67, which was an extraordinary international showcase for all things Canadian. A particular highlight was the Habitat 67 housing complex and its model suites featuring Canadian décor. The final section of the exhibition is devoted to the Baby Boomers, whose coming of age in the 1960s had a profound effect on industrial and artistic design.
The show is introduced by a video, produced by CBC Halifax's Artspots, with archival footage from both the English and French networks of the CBC. The video brings to life the people, events and ideas that shaped the decade. Visitors will be able to search the CBC Archives Web site for additional footage (www.cbc.ca/archives).
Toronto's Design Exchange (DX) is key collaborator on this exhibition. DX also worked with the CMC and McGill-Queen's University Press on a complementary book published for the occasion. With contributions from writers across the country, the book explores many of the exhibition's themes in greater detail.
Other partners include Charlottetown's Confederation Centre of the Arts, which is loaning the CMC over 20 craft works, and the Canadian Clock Museum of Deep River, Ontario, which offers a wonderful specialized resource.
The defining decade of the Baby Boom is also being featured in special exhibitions at two other Museums in the National Capital Region. The National Gallery of Canada is presenting The Sixties in Canada, an exhibition with more than 80 works representing a broad spectrum of movements and media, while the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography captures the innovative spirit of the time with The Sixties: Photography in Question.
Cool '60s Design will be open to the public from February 25 to November 27, 2005 at the Canadian Museum of Civilization, located just opposite from Parliament Hill, in Gatineau, Quebec.
FACT SHEETS
Media Information:
Media Relations Officer
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7169
Chief, Media Relations
Canadian Museum of Civilization
Tel.: (819) 776-7167
Fax: (819) 776-7187
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