Laurence Technical University (LTU) is currently hosting an exhibition of automotive design’s golden age in partnership with the producers of American Dreaming, a documentary film that aims to tell the stories of designers that worked in Detroit’s automotive design studios during the halcyon period of creativity from 1946-1973.
“We want to shine a bright light into the world of Detroit’s automotive design studios and recognize the artists of this golden age of car design,” explains American Dreaming co-producer Robert Edwards.
The exhibition, organized and curated by Edwards and co-producer Greg Salustro, features a huge number of design sketches ’stolen’ out of the carmakers’ studios once the programs were finished — saving them from the shredder in the process. They depict a time in post-war America when Detroit dreamed big. And, just as a successful design should, the work speaks for itself.
But if you happen to be in the Detroit area, LTU has also gone a step further to shed light on Detroit’s golden age of automotive design. The University will open the doors to its Architecture Auditorium to welcome iconic automotive designers and art historians to discuss mid-century designs of the automotive industry on April 29th.
The panel discussion, which will be led by Keith Nagara, director of LTU’s transportation design program, takes place in LTU’s Architecture Building auditorium. As with the exhibition, it is also open to the public and admission is free, and Edwards and Salustro will have the cameras rolling…
While an enormous number of design sketches unfortunately didn’t escape the car company policies that mandated the destruction of preliminary artwork once the final designs were selected for production, LTU’s exhibition is a great opportunity to see the work of automotive artists that few will, if ever, lay eyes on.
The “American Dreaming: Detroit’s Golden Age of Automotive Design, 1946–1973” exhibition is free and open to the public every day from noon to 5pm. It will run through Saturday, May 2 at Lawrence Technological University, 21000 West 10 Mile Road, Southfield, Michigan 48075
Visit the Lawrence Technical University and the American Dreaming websites for more information. Pledge your support for the making of the American Dreaming documentary on their Indiegogo fundraising page.
