The Birth of The Cool

The cool could not survive the 1960s, when all the repressed energies and conflicts of American society burst to the surface. But in its own time it was more than just a passing style. The cool did not try to change the world; rather, it was an end in itself.It was a way of being that turned its back on the anxious striving and the inauthentic routines of corporate, middle-class life. To be cool was its own reward, a state of grace. It’s hard to imagine the stars lining up for a rebirth of the cool, but if there is a heaven, I bet it’s a pretty cool place.“Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design and Culture at Midcentury” is at the Addison Gallery of American Art, 180 Main Street, Andover, Mass., (978) 749-4015, http://www.addisongallery.org , through April 13.http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Cool-California-Culture-Midcentury/dp/ 3791338781