Beyond the Center: Model Behavior at the Cooper Union

Model Behavior
October 4–November 18, 2022
The Cooper Union, 30 Cooper Square

Ekow Nimako, A Sacred Place, 2019. Assorted LEGO elements adhered to MDF plinth, 10x24x20 inches. Photo: Samuel Engelking.

Cameron Wu, Circumvolute 00, 2021. Aluminum fastened to plywood substructure, 18x36x18 inches. Photo: Cameron Wu.

Besler & Sons, Barn Raising, 2022. Printed paper. 36x36x59 inches. Photo: Shirley Chen.

Curated by Anyone Corporation, “Model Behavior” investigates how architectural models inform social behavior. Our current design landscape is shaped by the pandemic. Designs created in response to this change impact social behavior; architectural models have the capacity to do that as well. The exhibition asks its audience to reflect on the potential of an architectural model—how it can inform the discipline and shape contemporary culture.

The display features over 60 works and objects by 44 artists and architects, including artists Olafur Eliasson, Isamu Noguchi, and Thomas Demand, and architects Peter Eisenman, Darell Wayne Fields, Greg Lynn, and many more. Among them is a model by Ekow Nimako titled A Sacred Place, designed by utilizing assorted LEGO blocks infused over a plinth of MDF.

Complementary to the exhibition are lectures hosted by the School of Architecture, including art historian Annabel J. Wharton (October 10) and architect Kiel Moe (November 8). Learn more here.