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The Art of Rube Goldberg

Mar 15, 2018–Jul 8, 2018

The Art of Rube Goldberg explores the career of Rube Goldberg (1883–1970), one of the most celebrated and influential cartoonists of all time. Marking the first comprehensive retrospective exhibition of Goldberg’s work since 1970, the exhibition brings together never-before-exhibited original drawings and preparatory sketches alongside rare photographs, films, letters, and memorabilia from the Goldberg family archives.

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about the eXHIBITION

The exhibition begins with Goldberg’s groundbreaking early work, with original drawings tracing his rise to prominence as a nationally syndicated presence in the 1920s and 1930s. Highlights include one of Goldberg’s earliest existing drawings, “The Old Violinist,” from 1895, an original concept drawing of Boob McNutt and Bertha from the 1920s, as well as original artwork for such daily and weekly comic strip series as Foolish Questions, Mike and Ike—They Look Alike, Lala Palooza, and Boob McNutt from the 1910s and 1920s. The influence of vaudeville, jazz, and early film on Goldberg’s art is explored while his satirical take on fashion, sports, politics, gender roles, and other aspects of modern life is celebrated. Rare family photographs and early films provide period detail and essential context. Three full-page comics from the color supplements of Sunday newspapers (featuring Bill and Boob McNutt’s Ark) are shown alongside the original artwork.

Also on view are two of Goldberg’s earliest animated films, Leap Year from 1915, and a 1924 animation of Goldberg’s characters Boob and Bertha, as well as examples of Goldberg’s published books, rare color postcards, collectibles, and memorabilia based on Goldberg’s early cartoons.

At the center of The Art of Rube Goldberg is a section dedicated to his invention drawings. Showcasing over thirty original drawings, this section explores the development of these iconic inventions—overly complicated chain-reaction machines designed to perform simple tasks—from their first appearance in 1912 to the emergence of Goldberg’s mature style in “The Inventions of Professor Lucifer G. Butts, A.K.,” which appeared in Collier’s magazine from 1929–1931. His zany contraptions function, as he put it, as a “symbol of man’s capacity for exerting maximum effort to achieve minimal results” and made him a popular cultural icon.

Also on view is film footage from the Goldberg scripted film—Soup to Nuts—from 1930 starring the Three Stooges; the classic self-operating napkin sequence from Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times (1936); a rare interview of Goldberg by legendary broadcaster Edward R. Murrow and Peter Fischli and David Weiss’ 1987 film The Way Things Go. There are examples of children’s toys, hobby kits, and board games directly inspired by the invention drawings, as well as examples of Goldberg’s related advertising. Highlights from the 2009 documentary film Mousetrap to Mars profiles the annual Rube Goldberg Machine Building Contest. 

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ABOUT RUBE GOLDBERG

Jennifer George, the granddaughter of artist Rube Goldberg, talks about the origins of the exhibition.

Rube Goldberg was born in San Francisco in 1883 and died in New York in 1970. He was part of an established Jewish family—his father Max was Sheriff of San Francisco County in the 1890s. He graduated from Lowell High School in 1900 and UC Berkeley in 1904, in engineering. After working as an engineer for the city briefly, he left to do sports cartoons for the San Francisco Chronicle. He relocated to New York in 1907, where he remained for the rest of his life; he married and had two sons, George and Thomas, who changed the family name to George during WWII.

 

John George, the grandson of artist Rube Goldberg, on the family's name change.

press
Jul 7, 2018

Rube Goldberg still inspires fanciful art, San Diego Jewish World

Jul 2, 2018

RUBE GOLDBERG!!! Great Show at Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, Lively Foundation

May 15, 2018

Who Was Rube Goldberg, and What Are His Contraptions?, How Stuff Works

May 14, 2018

Inventos descabellados hacen reflexionar sobre la tecnología, Taringa!

May 10, 2018

Charles Desmarais’ art picks for May 13, San Francisco Chronicle

May 1, 2018

The Story Behind Rube Goldberg’s Complicated Contraptions, Smithsonian.com

Apr 25, 2018

This Exhibit of Classic Rube Goldberg Cartoons Is The Antidote To Silicon Valley Technophilia, Forbes

Apr 22, 2018

Rube Goldberg and ‘Contraption’ @ CJM, Squarecylinder

Apr 20, 2018

Though he was no inventor, Rube Goldberg’s ‘machines’ made him a household name, The Times of Israel

Apr 20, 2018

Jewish Contraptions, Tablet Magazine

Apr 14, 2018

Rube Goldberg’s beautifully ridiculous contraptions come to life in SF, East Bay Times

Apr 13, 2018

SFChronicle critics’ picks: What to do the week of April 15, San Francisco Chronicle

Apr 12, 2018

Rube Goldberg’s beautifully ridiculous contraptions come to life in SF, The Mercury News

Apr 11, 2018

Bay Area arts and entertainment picks, April 11, San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 30, 2018

Joking Aside, Rube Goldberg Got Tech Right, Collector's Weekly

Mar 29, 2018

At the CJM, 'Rube Goldberg' is an Adjective, Not a Verb, KQED Arts

Mar 29, 2018

7 awesome SF Bay Area things to do this weekend, March 30–April 1, The Mercury News

Mar 28, 2018

Rube Goldberg’s famed cartoons on display at Contemporary Jewish Museum, The Mercury News

Mar 22, 2018

Contemporary Jewish Museum Honors Cartoonist Rube Goldberg, Hoodline

Mar 22, 2018

Celebrating Rube Goldberg's Dada-Like Cartoon Inventions, KQED Do List

Mar 22, 2018

Patented Rube Goldberg, Bay Area Reporter

Mar 18, 2018

When Hubert de Givenchy came to San Francisco, San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 15, 2018

The work of Rube Goldberg — artist, inventor, adjective — on display in SF, San Francisco Chronicle

Mar 13, 2018

Rube Goldberg’s machines (and his politics) on display at CJM, J. The Jewish News of Northern California (JWeekly)

Mar 12, 2018

Cartoonist & Invention Illustrator Rube Goldberg’s Career-Spanning Exhibition on View at the CJM, SF Station

Jan 25, 2018

Winter 2018 Arts Preview: Museums and Galleries, San Francisco Examiner

Jan 4, 2018

2018 in Bay Area art museums, Bay Area Reporter

supporters

The Art of Rube Goldberg was conceived by Creighton Michael; developed in cooperation with Heirs of Rube Goldberg, LLC, New York, New York; and curated by Max Weintraub. The tour was organized by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC. The Contemporary Jewish Museum of San Francisco’s presentation is presented on occasion of The CJM’s Tenth Anniversary in its Daniel Libeskind-designed building.

Lead sponsorship is provided by Gaia Fund, Maribelle and Stephen Leavitt, and Nellie and Max Levchin. Major sponsorship is provided by Dorothy R. Saxe. Patron Sponsorship is provided by Fred Levin and Nancy Livingston, The Shenson Foundation, in memory of Ben and A. Jess Shenson; and Amy and Matt Berler. Supporting sponsorship is provided by David Agger; Riva and David Berelson, in memory of Gita and Henry Baigelman; Pacific Heights Plastic Surgery; Joyce B. Linker; and Marilyn and Murry Waldman. Additional support is provided by Ron and Barbara Kaufman and Scott Ullman.

The Contemporary Jewish Museum thanks the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts for its lead sponsorship of the Museum’s exhibition program.

Image Credit

Header image: Rube Goldberg, Foolish Questions Postcards, c. 1910. Color postcards. Artwork Copyright © Rube Goldberg Inc. All Rights Reserved. RUBE GOLDBERG ® is a registered trademark of Rube Goldberg Inc. All materials used with permission. rubegoldberg.com