Through January 11, 2015
Bard Graduate Center Gallery
18 West 86th Street
New York, New York 10024
Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 11am–5pm, Thursday 11am–8pm
Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life presents the work of a pioneering American artist and designer. One of the few women to come to the forefront of graphic design in the Mad Men era of the early 1960s, her distinctive illustrations have appeared on the covers of nearly every major American magazine, including Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone, and The New York Times Magazine. In the early 1980s, she was among the first professional illustrators to master the computer as an artistic tool. Her work ranges from provocative drawings (some for men’s magazines) and paintings that represent her underlying feminist views (Gloria Steinem was her roommate in the early 1960s), to advertising campaigns for major corporations (Levi’s and Ralph Lauren were among her clients), and large-scale commissions for public buildings. The exhibition features sketchbooks, hand-drawn and computer-generated illustrations, paintings, collages, textiles, and fashion.
On view in the Focus Gallery
Nineteenth-century New York City was a visual experience—a spectacle for resident and visitor alike. Visualizing 19th-Century New York explores New York City through prints and photographs produced by its cultural entrepreneurs. Men such as Mathew Brady (daguerreotypes), Edward and Henry T. Anthony (stereoviews), Currier & Ives (lithographs), and Harper & Brothers (woodcuts in popular magazines and books) created a vast commercial market for their images of the booming metropolis, which was a spectacle for resident and visitor alike.
Upcoming gallery programs
“Image as Language: On Being an Art Director”
Thursday, November 6, 6pm
Art director Ruth Ansel presents highlights from her five-decade career working with international artists and photographers including Richard Avedon, Diane Arbus, Helmut Newton, Andy Warhol, Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, and David Hockney. Read more and register here.
“Historical Prints and Photographs from the New York Historical Society”
Friday, November 7, 9:30am–3pm
This intimate program will begin at the Bard Graduate Center with an exclusive tour of Visualizing 19th-Century New York. After a group lunch, participants will gather at the Print Study Room of the New York Historical Society, where Dr. Marilyn Kushner, curator and head of the Department of Prints, Photographs, and Architecture Collections, will offer a rare opportunity to closely examine 19th-century prints, photographs, and architectural drawings from the Society’s vast holdings. Registration is limited. Read more here.
Sketch Night
Friday, November 14, 5:30–8:30pm
Join teaching artist Joan Chiverton for an evening of figure sketching in the galleries of Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life. Clothed models will be on two gallery floors for quick and long drawing opportunities. For beginner to advanced levels. Read more and register here.
“From Analogue to Digital: Documenting the History of Computer-Generated Art and Design”
Tuesday, November 18, 6pm
In the 1960s, computer art was largely ignored or dismissed by the art establishment. Today it is recognized as playing an important precursor to contemporary digital art practice. Douglas Dodds, Senior Curator in the Word and Image Department at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, will provide a brief history of digital art and design, and explain how the V&A is forming an internationally significant collection of computer-generated artworks from the early 1960s onwards. He will also examine the role played by pioneering women artists and designers, including Barbara Nessim. Read more and register here.
Gloria Steinem in conversation with Barbara Nessim
Thursday, December 4, 6pm
In the 1960s, Gloria Steinem and Barbara Nessim were roommates. These two independent, creative women—one from East Toledo and the other from the Bronx—forged a friendship that has lasted over 50 years. Join them for an intimate conversation about their lives, their work and life in New York City from the 1960s to today. Read more and register here.
About the BGC
The Bard Graduate Center is a graduate research institute in New York City. Our gallery exhibitions and publications, MA and PhD programs, and research initiatives explore new ways of thinking about decorative arts, design history, and material culture. Founded in 1993, the BGC is an academic unit of Bard College.
