Mathematica

Offering a glimpse of what would soon become a core competency of Ray and Charles Eames’s design consultancy, Mathematica was the first major exhibition produced by the office. This postcard captures the second version of Mathematica created by the Eames Office and IBM in 1961 for the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago (the first iteration having been installed at the California Museum of Science and Industry in Los Angeles). The exhibition is illustrative of the multi-faceted approach the Eames Office took to communicate complex concepts and information: interactive and entertaining mechanical exhibit components coupled with a sheer oversaturation of visual and written content. The office spent a year researching the exhibition, drawing on their connections at IBM and in the world of academia, to most effectively (even non-mathematically) convey both the history of mathematical discovery and the mathematical ideas and principles that underpin our daily lives and the world around us.