In October 2022, The Church in Sag Harbor devoted an exhibition to guitars; specifically, 16 rare and classic guitars selected by G.E. Smith. It was followed a year later by “RE-CYCLE — The Ubiquitous Bike,” for which Eric Fischl and Ryan Long selected 20 bicycles from the Bicycle Museum of America.
Guitars, bicycles, why not typewriters? Tom Hanks, in a career marked by two Best Actor Academy Awards and multiple Golden Globes, Emmys, and Screen Actors Guild awards, has found time to collect more than 300 typewriters, and has hand-picked 35 of them for this show, “Some of Tom’s Typewriters: From the Collection of Tom Hanks.” It will open at The Church on Saturday, with a reception from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and will remain on view through March 10.
Simon Doonan, a renowned creative director and author and a resident of Shelter Island, designed the exhibition. “These machines — strange, complex, but also ridiculously simple — have so much to teach us about history and culture,” Mr. Doonan said in a release. “After all, the soundtrack of the 20th century is the magical clacking and pinging of a typewriter. Clack, clack, clack — ping!”
On Sunday at noon, he will discuss some of the stories that inspired his approach to the show, including the presence of typewriters in films. He will also delve into the creative workings of design as he discusses his initial sketches for the exhibition, the visual impact of added display elements, and more. A question-and-answer discussion will follow the presentation.
Tickets are $25, $20 for members. With the inclusion of a post-talk reception, the cost is $35, $25 for members. Copies of Mr. Doonan’s newest book, “The Camp 100: Glorious Flamboyance, From Louis XIV to Lil Nas X,” will be available for purchase and can be signed during the reception.
Concurrent with “Some of Tom’s Typewriters,” The Church will present “Some Odes: Sam Messer With Paul Auster, Eleanor Gaver, Denis Johnson, and Sharon Olds.”
Mr. Messer, an artist, has been friends with many writers, among them Auster, Johnson, Ms. Olds, and Jonathan Safran Foer. For more than 20 years he has created over 200 paintings of typewriters, which began as a reflection of Auster’s relationship to his machine and evolved over time.
The exhibition includes never-before exhibited notes, both typed and handwritten, by Auster and Johnson, as well as a type-set print created by Ms. Olds in a dialogue with Mr. Messer. One large-format typewriter painting features his wife, Ms. Gaver, a filmmaker with whom he has shared a creative dialogue for more than 40 years.
Additional coverage of “Some of Tom’s Typewriters,” including interviews with Mr. Doonan and Mr. Messer, will appear in next week’s issue.
