Disneyland has been a powerful symbol of contemporary American culture from the moment it opened on July 17, 1955. Just as Disney's theme parks have expanded around the globe, their architectural strategies have spread far beyond the park enclosures. Disney's style has suggested a new approach to the "real-world" architecture of the shopping mall and the resort, and has subtly changed public expectations of the cityscape. As a result, Disneyland has been a lasting subject of controversy and debate. Celebrated and attacked as the ultimate embodiment of the consumer society, "Disneyland" has become a watchword in the cultural battleground between "high" and "low," a metaphor for America's entertainment culture, and a synonym for what trivializes or sentimentalizes the world around us.
This exhibition casts a fresh eye on critical aspects of modern America's architectural culture-its promises, its roots and offshoots, and its unparalleled worldwide impact. Organized by the Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) and curated by Karal Ann Marling, Professor of Art History and American Studies at the University of Minnesota, The Architecture of Reassurance: Designing the Disney Theme Parks presents 350 never-before-seen architectural drawings, models, paintings, and plans for the parks and their attractions from the archives of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Also on view is a selection of works from California photographer Catherine Wagner's CCA-commissioned visual essay on the four Disney theme parks-Anaheim, Orlando, Tokyo, and Paris. These photographs reinforce the parks' fiction of reality by multiplying the optical illusions, shifting scale, and manipulating color.
SELF-GUIDED DISNEY AUDIO TOURS
Join art-cultural historian Karal Ann Marling for an audio tour of the Disney exhibition. Journey through the worlds of Main Street U.S.A., Tomorrowland, Adventureland, Frontierland, and Fantasyland. Learn about the development, history, and evolution of a real-world American utopia as seen through the eyes of Disney. The audio tour is available for rent at the Walker lobby desk.
The exhibition was organized by the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Montréal. The CCA gratefully acknowledges the extraordinary cooperation of Walt Disney Imagineering, Walt Disney Attractions, and The Walt Disney Company in the preparation of this exhibition. The exhibition and related programs are made possible with the generous support of Target Stores, Dayton's, and Mervyn's California by the Dayton Hudson Corporation. The exhibition and the accompanying publication have also benefited from the support of the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts. Special thanks to the Cuningham Group for its support of the minneapolis presentation.
SPECIAL ART LAB INSTALLATION and WORKSHOPS
Disney's lands: from Main Street to your street.
View the specially commissioned Art Lab installation located in Gallery 3--a hands-on space for students of all ages to create work related to the exhibition. Conceived by the Cuningham Group, Minneapolis, and crafted by Displaymasters, an Exhibitgroup/Giltspur Company, the Art Lab will function as an Imagineer's studio. Students will manipulate scale models of buildings on hand-painted topographical landscapes to make designs of their communities. To schedule a tour and an Art Lab workshop, call 375-7609 between 8 am and 4 pm. When the Art Lab is not being used by student groups, it will be open to the public on selected days for drop-in, hands-on workshops that explore themes in the exhibition. Workshops are free with gallery admission.
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