The best museum exhibit I ever saw was “Signs of Life: Symbols in the American City” at the Renwick in Washington in 1976.
It was created by architects Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, Inc. Their description, with many photos, is here.
The exhibit had lots of neon and furniture and architecture labeled with their historical influences.
I learned about several outstanding artists from this exhibit.
John Baeder paints realistic pictures of diners.
Photographer Stephen Shore was the subject of a recent exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. He was commissioned to take photos for the 1976 exhibit.
The New York Times review is here.
“Invention and Tradition” – an essay by Denise Scott Brown, one of the exhibit’s creators.
Update 8/1/18 on one of their buildings:
Update: 9/21/18
Robert Venturi passed away.
The image at the top is the Guild House in Philadelphia designed by Venturi.
Sad! 