Merit Award
Michael Graves Press Event
Location
The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Client
Target Stores
Design Firm
Design Guys
Design Team
Steven Sikora, Lynette Erickson-Sikora (Principals in Charge); Gary Patch
Fabricator
Kadan Productions, Rubicon Black Box
Consultants
Kadan Productions, Rubicon Black Box
This press event for the introduction of the Michael Graves product line for Target was dubbed by the designers "From Pompeii to Pop Art." The theme references one of Michael Graves' decorative collections, which was inspired by an artifact from Pompeii, and a toaster in the collection, representing Pop Art. For the Whitney, Design Guys devised floor plans, technical drawings and a verbal flow chart, which talked through the "experience" of attending the event. The intention was to create more than a static museum show. The event included a wall of singing teakettles, three huge chandeliers made of stainless steel cook's tools, which were lit by computer controlled projectors with color scrollers, and banks of plasma monitors that showed a slowly revolving teakettle.
Jury Comment
There is a high-design "tongue-in-cheek" sense of fun in the way the items are displayed for this press event that captures the essence of the marriage between Michael Graves and Target. The way these well-designed household objects are used to create other artful objects (such as the chandelier), and the museum-like quality of the other displays, highlights the underlying intention of the product line: bringing good design and style to the mass market.