|
|
Contact: Kathlene Ferris, 277-7172 |
|
|
Jan. 13, 2003 UNM CSWR EXHIBITS WORK OF PLASTICS PIONEER JAN. 24-MAY 17 The exhibit "Plastics: The Art and Science of Armand G. Winfield"
is on display at the University of New Mexico Center for Southwest Research
(CSWR) at Zimmerman Library Jan. 24-May 17. An opening reception is set
for Friday, Jan. 24, from 5 to 7 p.m. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public. Winfield, pioneer, researcher and developer in the field of plastics,
is the first scientist to have his work archived at CSWR. Winfield's career spans six decades and focuses on research and development
aspects of the plastics industry. He is privy to new materials and processes
long before they reach consumers and has been retained around the world
as a plastics consultant. The exhibit will feature examples of Winfield's jewelry - acrylics embedments
of miniature works of art - produced at Winfield Fine Art in Jewelry,
New York City, in the 1940s. Also on display are samples of Crystopal,
a 1962 colored material with a crystal-like pattern used for architectural
features such as windows and doorknobs; a cultured marble table and two
reproductions of art-deco style lamps, each made in the 1980s in Santa
Fe, and a professional racecar built at UNM in 1996-97. "I have enjoyed my work in plastics. I always used a creative approach
to engineering," Winfield said. "Many companies and inventors
brought me assignments that no other company or consultant would touch
and, as such, I have pursued many unusual projects, a number of which
resulted in patents. "I am very pleased to be able to show a few of my interesting and
unusual projects, which include images of the world's first soft bathroom,
uses of atoms for peace, low cost housing for developing countries, work
at the New York (1963-64) World's Fair, and in the 1970s, amusement parks
and sets for the Metropolitan Opera." The exhibit honors Winfield's distinguished career and his decade of
contributions to UNM. It is also an example of the breadth of CSWR's collections,
said Kathlene Ferris, curator. "Since our collections focus on the Southwest, many people do not
realize that we have materials relating to scientific and engineering
topics," Ferris said. "For example, our collections include
materials on geology, mining, energy, and, of course, plastics research.
Armand's research and development in plastics is so broad in scope that
it has been difficult to select materials to highlight in the exhibit.
I hope that people come away with the understanding that his work is both
imaginative and practical." The John F. Kennedy Library and Museum in Boston, Mass., interviewed
Winfield in December for its oral history collection, which features a
myriad of oral histories by noted figures including former New Mexico
Senator Clinton Anderson, Israeli Prime Ministor David Ben-Gurion, U.S.
Senator Edward Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. The Boston Fine Arts Musuem recently acquired 15 pieces of Winfield's
early plastics jewelry for its American design collection. In addition,
nine other museums are home to his works, including the American Craftsman
Museum, Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution's Cooper-Hewitt
Museum and Museum of American History, London National Science Museum,
Historic Plastics Museum, and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
Winfield is the author of nearly 300 publications stored at the CSWR,
including The Inventor's Handbook. At UNM, he serves as director of the
Training and Research Institute for Plastics (TRIP). He is currently working
with Mechanical Engineering students on a new carbon fiber racecar body.
The exhibit is sponsored in part by the UNM School of Engineering and Engineering Society's President's Council. ### |
|
|
Please let us know what you thought of this article. Comments to: paaffair@unm.edu |
The University
of New Mexico
Public Affairs Department
Hodgin Hall, 2nd floor
Albuquerque, NM 87131-0011
Telephone: (505) 277-5813
Fax: (505) 277-1981