Herman Miller - WKTV Journal

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By Angela Peavey

The Saugatuck Center for the Arts opens its 15th anniversary season with an exhibition featuring works by designer Alexander Girard. “TEXTILE PLAY: The Magnificent Eye of Alexander Girard” opens Jan.27 and runs through Mar. 24.

The opening reception for the show is Friday, Jan. 27 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. and is free to the public. The exhibition is open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. and during evening events.

“We’re thrilled to bring this visually stunning exhibition to the West Michigan community,” said SCA Executive Director Kristin Armstrong. “It shares wonderful stories about Girard’s fascination with color and pattern – stories that fit squarely into our current conversations about the intersection of math, design thinking, and art.”

Armstrong noted that the SCA worked with both the Herman Miller archives as well as private collectors to gather works for the exhibition.

Girard was one of the most meaningful textile designers and interior architects of the Twentieth Century. He had a gifted eye for both the extraordinary and the little details of the world.

As the manager of the Material and Textile Department at Herman Miller, the American-Italian designer created more than 300 different graphic designs in 20 years. Every one of his designs expresses Girard’s affection for strong colors and abstract forms. His textile designs range from brightly colored, floral elements to monochromatic patterns – always including a playful element. Seemingly simple stripes, circles, and triangles became wonderful patterns – and their influence is still felt today.

“Textile Play” features Girard fabrics, screen prints, furniture, and books from Herman Miller’s archives and local collectors. The pieces, along with stories about Girard’s design process, celebrate his vision for using “everyday” shapes and objects, strong colors, and elements from pop art and folk art to create a rich, playful world that continues to be his lasting legacy.

A series of interdisciplinary educational opportunities related to the exhibition are available for children and adults throughout the run of the show. For more about those events or the show, visit www.sc4a.org. The Saugatuck Center for the Arts is located at 400 Culver St., Saugatuck.

By: Kristen Krueger-Corrado

History can be fascinating and enlightening because it gives us the opportunity to see how people lived before us. In a way, we’re seeing our future, because at some point the history books are going to look back at our time period and the way we lived.

Far too often, history is digested and explored at the national level. Wars and major events that almost everyone can relate to are often discussed. However, local history can be just as fascinating. It’s your backyard. It’s someone or something a generation or two before you actually experienced in first-person.

The Grand Rapids Public Library has partnered with six local historical agencies to present the History Detectives program. The day-long event will be held on Saturday, January 23 and run from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm at the Ryerson Auditorium in the Main Library – 111 Library St NE.

The event is free and open to the public. Six, 45-minute session topics presented by a local author or historian will be available. Session topics include:

•   Kindergarten and “Radical” Women in 1890s Grand Rapids
•   When “Everyone Knew Everyone”: Forming a Latino Community in Mid-Century West Michigan
•   Retail Icons: Shopping Downtown in 1950s Grand Rapids
•   New-Car Smell: Nostalgia and the Story of Grand Rapids Car Dealerships
•   Modern Design Leader: The Story Behind Herman Miller
•   The Intoxicating History of River City Brewing

After the sessions are history, all participants are invited to an after party at Mitten Brewing Company to further talk about the day over a couple brews.

A box lunch is available for $10 and must be ordered in advance by calling 988-5492 or by emailing rspv@grpl.org.

Partnering organizations include the Grand Rapids Historical Society, the Grand Rapids Historical Commission, the Western Michigan Genealogical Society, the Grand Rapids Public Museum, the Kutsche Office of Local History at GVSU, and the Greater Grand Rapids Women’s Historical Council.