Installations AND CURATED EXHIBITIONS

Co-created and curated interdisciplinary exhibitions that explore diverse themes emerging at the intersection of architecture with ethics, social & political conditions, Jewish identity and the built and natural environments. - Lynda Monick-Isenberg and Jay Isenberg

The following installations and exhibitions were created at Form+Content Gallery from 2005-2015 overseen by The Department of Public Design (Jay Isenberg and Lynda Monick-Isenberg) in collaboration with other smart and creative people.

BEYONDBRAND - THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC DESIGN, 2013

Conceptually inspired by contemporary movements such as Brandalism ("revolt against corporate control of the visual realm."), No Logo (“every transformative movement in history has used strong graphic design”) and Design for Good (“A movement to ignite, accelerate and amplify design-driven social change”), the exhibition invited work from designers anywhere in the world that was contemporary, experimental, provocative, pertinent and poignant, either locally or globally focused, and was open to all media used in the discipline.  We encouraged personal expression unencumbered by professional boundaries and respect work that merges art, design, typography, image and message

For more on the Department of Public Design and the Excavation of Zone 5 see the Installation blog:

Exhibition review by art critic Mary Abbe

Exhibition review by art journalist Camille LaFevre

EXCAVATION OF ZONE 5 – THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC DESIGN

The Director of the Department of Public Design announced in May 2011 that an ambiguous assortment of artifacts and materials recently uncovered in Zone 5 was to be evaluated by the Council of Architects and presented in an exhibition of reAssembly July 2011.

The Council's findings were on display in July 2011 at Form + Content Gallery in Minneapolis, MN.  The public was invited to view this presentation and encouraged to respond with alternate explanations and interpretations for consideration by the Council, after which a final report was to be prepared for the Department's purview. While the Department could not be reached in any manner for information or questioning, the findings of this ongoing investigation can be found at the designated project website.

The findings were assembled in collaboration with architects Ben Awes, Stephen Knowles, Michael Roehr, Chris Schmitt, Geoffrey Warner, Jay Isenberg and Lynda Monick-Isenberg.  

UNBUNDLING THE HOUSING CRISIS

investigations • interpolations • interventions • instigations

This thematic exhibition brings together artists, architects, designers, scientists, and writers in response to the housing foreclosure crisis and its effects on communities and families. Curated by architect Jay H. Isenberg, AIA and artist Lynda Monick-Isenberg.

Unbundling The Housing Crisis Exhibition Overview and Introduction to design teams.

Exhibition Commentary: Unbundling House and Home by Thomas Fisher, Dean of the College of Design, University of Minnesota

Dialogue on the Wall

AN INSTALLATION ON THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT with Jay Isenberg, Lynda Monick-Isenberg and Ron Haselius. Photos by Bill Kelly. 

Read an informative online interview with Jay Isenberg by Bryan Finoki of Subtopia,  "A Dialogue on Walls"