Up is Down: Mid-century Experiments in Advertising and Film at the Goldsholl studio

In the 1950s, Chicago-based design firm Goldsholl and Associates made a name for itself with innovative "designs-in-film." Headed by Morton and Millie Goldsholl, the studio produced television spots, films, trademarks, corporate identities, and print advertisements for international corporations like Kimberly-Clark, Motorola, and 7-Up. Although they were compared to some of the most celebrated design firms of the day, the Goldsholls and their designers are relatively unknown today.

Featuring films, television ads, and other kinds of moving images alongside designed objects, print advertisements, trademarks, photographs, and drawings, Up is Down will be the first exhibition to illuminate the distinctive brand of motion pictures that Chicago became known for in mid-century and the ways the city served as an influential testing ground for ideas connecting art, industry, design, and film. The exhibition, its related publication, and public programs will provide context for understanding Chicago as a unique site for ideas connecting art, design, and film that eventually gained international currency. 

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website.