TOOLS - EXTENDING OUR REACH

Tools celebrates the richness of the human imagination through a
surprising range of juxtaposed and seemingly disparate objects.
Accompanying an exhibition of the same name that celebrates the fall
2014 reopening of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum, Tools is unprecedented in its composition of collaborators--the exhibition is
Cooper Hewitt's first pan-institutional show, spanning ten Smithsonian
museums. From the earliest times to the present, tools have been at the
frontier of design, demonstrating how technology and culture are
inextricably linked. Consider, for example, that hand axes remained the
dominant tool for 1.5 million years before any significant change was
made to the human toolkit, and that the range of tools began to expand
only 10,000 years ago. It is notable that the design of our basic
tools--hammers, saws, screwdrivers, drills--has remained virtually
unchanged for hundreds of years, indicating not only their continuity of
need and function, but also the effectiveness of their design
solutions. Their various incarnations and histories link us to the past.
Other tools highlight new technologies and scientific breakthroughs
that have opened new worlds to us. Through lush images, authoritative
essays and superb design, the book shows the interconnectedness of
scientists, designers, historians, anthropologists, engineers and
artists through design-thinking and problem-solving, while also looking
at various design perspectives and methodologies. Tools explores the world of design ideas while celebrating human ingenuity across cultures and over time.