Closing Sunday, August 12 at Institute of Contemporary Art: Graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister not only tests the boundary between art and design, he often transgresses it through his imaginative implementation of typography. Centered around the designer's ten-year exploration of happiness, The Happy Show (above) offers visitors the experience of walking into the designer's mind as he attempts to increase his happiness via mediation, cognitive therapy, and mood-altering pharmaceuticals. Filling the ICA's entire second-floor galleries and Ramp, and activating the in-between spaces of the museum, this exhibition presents typographic investigations of a series of maxims, or rules to live by, originally culled from Sagmeister's diary, manifested in a variety of imaginative and interactive forms. "I am usually rather bored with definitions," Sagmeister says. "Happiness, however, is just such a big subject that it might be worth a try to pin it down." Institute of Contemporary Art, University of Pennsylvania, 118 S. 36th St., Philadelphia, PA. The Happy Show will travel to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles in winter 2013.

Tuesday, August 7

Opening reception 7-10 pm: Takayuki Nomura | Two Worlds. Ouchi Gallery, 170 Tillary Street, No. 507, Brooklyn, NY.

Continuing through September 4 at powerHouse Arena: Olympic Portraits | Joe Klamar. Above: Jonathan Horton of the US Olympic Gymnastics team. © Joe Klamar, AFP/Getty Images.

Wednesday, August 8

Opening reception 7-9 pm: The Post-Olympic City | by photographer Jon Pack and filmmaker Gary Hustwit. Storefront for Art & Architecture, 97 Kenmare Street, NY, NY. Save the date: August 17, 7-9 pm: the artists and invited panelists will discuss the "after-match" of the Olympic games on host cities and their urban environments. 

Opening reception 7-9 pm: Détournement: Signs of the Times | curated by Carlo McCormick, features the work of AIKO, Dan Witz, David Wojnarowicz, Dylan Egon, Eine, Ilona Granet, Jack Pierson, John Law (Jack Napier), Leo Fitzpatrick, Mark Flood, Martin Wong, Max Rippon (RIPO), Mike Osterhout, Posterboy, Ron English, Shepard Fairey + Jamie Reid, Steve Powers (ESPO), TrustoCorp, Will Boone, Zevs. Jonathan LeVine Gallery, 529 West 20^th Street, NY, NY.

Artist talk, 6:30 pm: Shana Agid, Eileen Arnow-Levine, Ana Cordeiro, & Thomas Parker Walker | Tell Me How You REALLY FEEL/Diaristic Tendencies. The Center for Book Arts, 28 West 27^th Street, Third floor, NY, NY. Donation.

Museum of the Moving Image and Rooftop Films present Outdoor Cinema, at sunset: Summer Wars 2009, 114 mins. Directed by Mamoru Hosoda. The story of a teen math prodigy who unwittingly unlocks a virtual world of avatars, this cyber-fantasy/sci-fi anime love story is a breathtaking tour of a visually brilliant alternate universe, and a clever parable about technology, family, and society. Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Boulevard, Long Island City, NY. Pre-film performance, Japanese Gypsy Rock by Kagero, begins at 7 pm. Free. Cash café: JJ’s Asian Fusion.

Dulce Pinzon: Bernabe Mendez from the State of Guerrero works as a professional window cleaner in New York. He sends 500 dollars a month. Included in the Dumbo (super)heroes photo-fence. Information.

Thursday, August 9

Opening day, 10am – 6 pm: Staff Picks | Favorite Photographs from Our Inventory featuring work by Jacques Henri Lartigue, Robert Frank, Joel Meyerowitz, William Gedney, Danny Lyon, Bruce Davidson, Dorothea Lange, Arnold Newman and more. Howard Greenberg Gallery, 41 East 57^th Street, NY, NY.

United Photo Industries, the Dumbo Improvement District, and the NYC Department of Transportation present, 6 pm: (super)heroes, a 340-foot photo fence based on the theme of superheroes, featuring works by Maleonn (China), David Graham (United Kingdom), Alex Gross (USA), Walter Iraheta (El Salvador), Susanne Middelberg (Netherlands), Dulce Pinzon (Mexico / USA), Gregg Segal (USA), Nicolas Silberfaden (Argentina / USA), and Astrid Verhoef (Netherlands). Manhattan Bridge, under the Archway, Dumbo, Brooklyn, NY. Information.

Out Of Town

Friday, August 10, artist talk, 7 pm: Brian Ulrich | Navigating the Long Photographic Project. Center for Photography at Woodstock, 59 Tinker Street, Woodstock, NY. Register for the workshop, August 11-12, $325.

Saturday, opening reception, 6-8 pm: Matthias Düwel | Eden at Martha Otero Gallery, 820 North Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles, CA.