ACF 969: Selling Happiness - an exhibition of 1960s-80s Consumer Design in Korea

Selling Happiness
1960s-80s Consumer Design in Korea
When: April 7 - June 3, 2011
Where: The Korea Society
950 Third Avenue @ 57th Street, 8th Floor, NYC
Entrance on 57th, the south-west corner of the intersection

During Korea’s drive for economic modernization, commercial artists created goods and advertisements that were visually appealing and richly detailed. After the war, Korea transformed itself economically, yet rapid growth was accompanied by dramatic social changes and political concerns surrounding authoritarianism. By the late 1980s, Korea had embraced democracy and a newly prosperous society clamored for fresh goods manufactured for domestic consumption. With the 1988 Olympic games, Korean products and adverts grew more global in orientation.

This exhibition is the first in the United States to focus on items associated with Korea’s export-led growth era. It features products and designs from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, including Korea’s first domestically manufactured radio (the Goldstar A-501), Korea’s first black-and-white television (the VD-19), rice dispensers, cookers, and other kitchen items—even the popular “Italy towel,” employed in homes and bathhouses for a rigorous scrub.

Koreans look upon these items with some nostalgia, as they stand in sharp and, at times, amusing contrast with today’s products, which range from remarkable paper-thin flatscreens to Motortrend’s Car of the Year. Presented with the support of the Korea Craft and Design Foundation, this exhibition features early consumer products, advertisements, and social commentary from a transitional and controversial era when the seeds of Korean design saw fertile ground.

Gallery Opening Reception on Thursday, April 7, 2011 from 6-8 PM
RSVP

The exhibition is free and open to the public M-F, 10 AM - 5 PM.

For complete information about this exhibition, click here.