Stefan Sagmeister is an artists/designer who uses typography, video and imagery in a fresh and innovative way. I visited his exhibition, The Happy Show at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia over the weekend. The playful show invites the viewer to enter into the mind of Sagmeister and embark with him on his quest to find happiness. For his film The Happy Film Sagemiester attempts to train his mind to learn happiness by experimenting with meditation, therapy and mood-altering drugs. The first 14 minutes of the film, which won’t fully premiere until next year, is shown as part of the exhibition along with sculptures, videos, photographs, images and his trade-mark writing which literally invades nearly every wall in the museum. His personal narrative is an integral point of this show and activates the in-between space between the art, the museum and the viewers. There is so much more I can say about my experience with this exhibition, but I think the work can do the explaining.. for now, I will just tell you I left feeling.. well happy. Happiness Symbol Survery, 2012 (visit the Happy Tumblr HERE &  Flickr HERE to see entries.)

our happy symbols that were clearly influenced by our trip to the aquarium earlier in the day.

Everybody Thinks, in collaboration with Monika Aichele and Sportogo 2007

Happiness Instructional Card Dispenser, 2012 (these were at the entrance, you pushed a button and received a card with instructions)

some of Sagmeister’s commentary throughout the museum.. made me chuckle.

Trying to Look Good Limits My Life, in collaboration with Matthias Ernstberger 2004

Documentation of Banana Wall, in collaboration with Joe Shouldice 2008

Gumball Personal Happiness Survey, 2012

Actually Doing the Things I Set Out To DO Increases My Overall Level of Satisfation, 2012

Over Time I Get Used to Everything, 2007 (I loved this piece because on the wall next to it he explains how he has lived in New York City for 10 years and the things he does in this video are things he has never done before. 

A video I made of the neon sign piece. Basically when you walk into the gallery you are confronted by this giant neon sign that says “Seek Discomfort.” There is a bike in the middle of the room with really, no instructions.. I had a hunch what was going to happen once someone started riding the bike, but as I was waiting for my friend to finish the film he was watching so that he could film me, this girl beat me to it! It was still quite beautiful.