Marveling at Wire and Wood

Last week I was the co-leader of a YMCA- sponsored trip to the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), where I and a dozen or so teenagers explored the Museum's new exhibition "Wire & Wood: Designing Iconic Guitars" (on view June 29-September 29). It was a highlight of the many outings I've been on with this group during my summer as a YMCA day camp counselor.

Exterior of MODA; photo by Wally Gobetz

The exhibit showcases the relationship between the utility and aesthetics of guitars, and it vividly displays the tension between functionality and appearance while presenting the guitar not only as a medium through which music is brought to life but as an artifact and a work of art in and of itself.

In the main hallway, guitars made of various materials lined the wall: wood, carbon fiber, aluminum, and even 3-D printed guitars. Each one seemed to represent a new evolution in the aesthetic of the instrument. For fans of great guitarists, the first of two rooms connected to the hallway features a collection of individual musician’s guitars, from Bo Diddley to Kurt Cobain. Some, like Jack White’s one string guitar (which pays homage to Detroit legend One String Sam), are intentionally simple, crude yet functional, exuding a charm of their own. Other guitars are neon bright, flashy, elaborate. The final room of the exhibit demonstrates the stages of guitar creation, and features a visual, step-by-step recreation of guitar manufacturing. Walking through this space felt like visiting a shrine to a meticulous, almost sacred process.

Not only was I impressed by the curation of the exhibit, but by the guide who walked us through the exhibit. She was knowledgeable, self-possessed,  and enthusiastic about the design artistry on display and the examples of how specific musicians have made these instruments sing. She allowed us to marvel at the beautiful instruments on display while patiently explaining the history of the instrument.

At the end of the tour we traced and designed our own guitars on paper with wooden replicas of guitar parts, immersing ourselves in a seemingly simple process of self expression, which also reminded us of what complex and compelling sounds this instrument has inspired throughout its history. 

ADDENDUM--

[From photographer Wally Gobetz's Flickr site I learned more about MODA and its history:

"The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA), at 1315 Peachtree Street, is the only museum in the Southeast devoted exclusively to the study and celebration of all things design. MODA first opened in 1993 as the Atlanta International Museum of Art & Design in the Peachtree Center district of Downtown Atlanta. Rebranded and refocused as a design museum in 2003, it moved to its current location in 2011, in the former parking garage of a 1986 office building transformed by into a LEED Platinum certified structure by architectural firm, Perkins+Will."]