At the Addison Gallery of American Art until April 13, 2008

Where have I been? I only discovered the Addison Gallery at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. a couple of weeks ago. According to their website, it was established in 1931 as an “academic museum dedicated to collecting American Art.” It boasts a collection of 16,000 works, including 6000 photographs, some by Walker Evans. Apparently he was an Andover alum. Who knew? Not me.

It was the “Birth of Cool” exhibit that brought me to the museum for the first time. The exhibit title was borrowed from a 1957 Miles Davis jazz album by the same name. The featured work spans many media: painting, music, animation, architecture, photography, and furniture. The introductory signage announces, “This exhibition takes a retrospective look at the distinctive fusion of high modernism and a ‘cool’ aesthetic that were a defining aspect of Southern California culture in the 1950’s.” It’s a fun idea for a show, exhibiting a variety of artifacts ranging from the first Barbie, to abstract “Hard-edge” paintings, to Charles and Ray Eames molded plywood chairs.