California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way
“California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way” is on exhibit now through June 3, 2012 at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. This exhibit features more than 300 items including furniture, ceramics, metalwork, fashion and textiles, as well as industrial and graphic design. It is the first major show to examine the influence of California designers on mid-Twentieth century product design.
Christopher Hawthorne in his review of “California Design” writes:
“California modernism was a distinct style from its earliest years. It traded the social conscience of the Bauhaus for an approach to design that was not only ‘looser, warmer’ and often ‘ad hoc,’ as Kaplan puts it in the catalog, and more expressive of local character, but also entirely comfortable with the notion of salesmanship and the realities of commerce. Indeed, of the exhibition’s four thematic sections, the one on ‘Selling California Modern’ arguably makes up the heart of the show. The other sections are ‘Shaping,’ on the early years of California modernism; ‘Making,’ on materials and fabrication; and ‘Living,’ on housing, furnishings and the indoor-outdoor postwar aesthetic made possible by a benign climate.” Read the entire review.
More information on “California Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way” on the LACMA site.
Read our past post on photographer Julius Schulman and California architecture.
Julius Shulman (1910–2009), photographer, Pierre Koenig, architect, Stahl House (Case Study House #22), Los Angeles, 1960 © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library, Getty Research Institute (2004.R.10).
Source: http://www.lacma.org/sites/default/files/imagecache/Exhibition_Main/image/Shulman.jpg
An Art Deco Masterpiece in the Bronx
Last October we shared a post from Art Deco Buildings on several Art Deco architectural details found in The Bronx. Scouting New York has recently discovered a masterpiece of an Art Deco apartment house in the Bronx. This building features an aquatic inspired exterior mosaic mural and two stunning Rene and CP Graves murals in the lobby.
Read Scouting New York’s post here.
For more background on this amazing building visit Grand Concourse.
Architect unknown, entrance, apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7028/6618383711_f47eaf5414_o.jpg
Architect unknown, lobby apartment house, 1150 Grand Concourse, (circa 1937), Bronx, NY.
Source: ScoutingNY.com http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7175/6628828031_db2fbe5cff_o.jpg
The Archtitect’s Favorite Lawman
Source: http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvumyfXBiI1qeyobp.png
Photographers unknown.
Design and Desire is all about looking at the personal side of many of the Twentieth Century’s leading archtiects, artists and designers. So we could not pass up sharing this nugget posted on the Mies van der Rohe Society blog regarding the architect’s favorite television show, CBS’s long-running western, Gunsmoke.
“Much of Mies’ personal life remains a mystery, but we do know one of his loves was Gunsmoke—the long-running western starring James Arness. It’s a charming detail because the prime time drama seems very un-Miesian. The ramshackle wooden saloons and sheriff stations of Dodge City couldn’t be more different from the sleek steel skyscrapers Mies built in more worldly cities.” Read more »
Saul Bass: Man with the Golden Titles
Editors note: The video posted here was compiled by Ian Albinson and posted on the blog, The Art of The Title in celebration of the release of the book “Saul Bass: A Life In Film & Design.”
While Saul Bass (1920-1996) was undoubtedly one of the most influential graphic designers of the Twentieth Century, he is best known for revolutionizing the discipline of film title design. Throughout Bass’s career he has worked with many prestigious directors: Otto Preminger, Alfred Hitchcock, Billy Wilder, Robert Altman and Martin Scorsese.1
Born in the Bronx in 1920, Bass was a creative child and eventually went on to study at the Art Students League in New York and Brooklyn College.1 Bass worked as a freelance designer in New York City until 1946 when he moved to Los Angeles in search of greater artistic freedom.1
Bass began his film work in the mid-1950s, first working with Otto Preminger on Carmen Jones.2 In 1955, “Preminger again called on Bass to work on The Man With The Golden Arm, for which Bass created the famous jagged arm design, suggesting the jarring and disjointed existence of a drug addict… Bass, along with a small number of other 1950s designers such as Paul Rand and Erik Nitsche, operated against cluttered imagery and towards geometric designs using angular shapes and primary color schemes.”3
During this time Bass was responsible for designing titles for The Seven Year Itch, Around the World in 80 Days and Bonjour Tristesse. He also created titles for Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo and North by Northwest. He partnered with Hitchcock again in 1960, providing not only the title design for Psycho; this time Hitchcock asked Bass to work on the film production as well, including Janet Leigh’s infamous shower scene.1
During “the 1960s, Bass’s genius extended to building corporate identities for some of the biggest companies in the USA.” 3 Among the many organizations that Bass developed logos for were AT&T, Quaker Oats, United Airlines, Minolta and Warner Communications. In 1968 Bass took his turn behind the camera to direct “a series of shorts culminating in 1968’s Oscar-winning Why Man Creates.”1
Bass’s film career enjoyed revitalization in the late 1980s and 1990s, when a new generation of film directors became interested in his work. Bass’s projects from this period include Big, Broadcast News, Goodfellas, Casino and The Age of Innocence.1
Bass died in 1996, but his influence can still be seen in current advertising and in movies and television programs such as American Movie Channel’s Mad Men.
References
- Design Museum, (n.d). Saul Bass, Graphic Designer (1920-1996). http://designmuseum.org/design/saul-bass
- IMDB, (2011). Saul Bass (1920-1996). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000866/
- Nourmand, T. (2000). Saul Bass. Patek
Philippe, Number 9, Spring / Summer. http://www.saul-bass.com/
Remembering Architect Andrew Geller (1924–2011)
The man who designed the kitchen where Nikita Kruschev and President Richard Nixon held their famous “kitchen debate,” architect Andrew Geller, has died. Geller, who studied architecture at Cooper Union, designed the kitchen as part of the Leisurama house project while working for iconic designer Raymond Loewy.
Geller was also known for the modernist beach homes he designed for clients on Long Island. Read more on Geller in Mark Lamster’s post on Design Observer.
Geller’s grandson, filmmaker Jake Gorst who lives in Geller’s former Northport home is preserving his grandfather’s architectural legacy. Read more on Gorst’s work.
Andrew Geller, Frank House (1958), Fire Island Pines, NY. Photographer unknown.
Source: http://observersroom.designobserver.com/media/images/geller3.jpg
Apple’s Jonathan Ive Knighted
Apple’s senior vice president of industrial design, Jonathan Ive, has been awarded Knight Commander of the British Empire (KBE) in the New Year Honor’s list, as reported by BBC News. Ive is responsible for the design of Apple’s iMac, iPhone and iPad, among many other products.
According to BBC News, “The knighthood is the second time Mr. Ive has been recognized in the honor’s list. In 2005 he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE).”
Jonathan Ive with a MacBook Pro, circa 2010. Photographer unknown.
Source: http://flipter.com/media/photos/Jonathan_Ives.jpg
Silly Saturday: Mind Your Tone
This cartoon posted on artdepartmental’s blog made me laugh out loud! Thanks for sharing, Alison.
Liquid Angel, 2011.
Source: http://www.wherethepunis.com/changing-tone-tone-dont-pun-378.html
Eva Zeisel (1906-2011)
It was with great sadness that we learned of the passing of revolutionary ceramic designer Eva Zeisel. Dr. Zeisel is perhaps best known for the porcelain dinnerware service that she designed for the Museum of Modern Art in 1946.
The video above is a clip from a 2002 documentary film about Eva Zeisel, “Throwing Curves.”
Read Dr. Zeisel’s obituary on The New York Times Web site.
Read our post on the artist from November 2010.
Darwin D. Martin House’s Top 11 Events of 2011
As a new year begins, Eric Jackson-Forsberg, curator of the Darwin D. Martin House Complex remembers the institution’s top news and events of the past year. One highlight was a visit from legendary Taliesin photographer Pedro Guerrero and his wife, pictured below.
Pedro Guerrero and his wife, Dixie (2011). Photographer unknown.
Source: http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Fu_WUKI-RGQ/TvNzrWvpVLI/AAAAAAAABDA/N61h1s8Vsvc/s1600/IMGP3400.JPG
Silly Saturday: LEGOmania
Happy Holidays to you all! Design and Desire will be back again in 2012 with more posts on Twentieth Century Design.
With Christmas at close hand we’re rerunning a Silly Saturday post on everyone’s favorite toy, LEGOS. This post orignally ran on January 15, 2011.
LEGOs - they’re not just for kids anymore! Former architect Adam Reed Tucker builds iconic skyscrapers out of LEGOs. His work is on display at the National Building Museum in Washington DC.
Not only has Prairie Mod posted Grant W. Scholbrock’s Gamble House and Robie House built out of LEGOs, but they’ve also designed their own version of Frank Lloyd Wright, the architect himself, in LEGOs using LEGO Digital Designer.
LEGO Frank Lloyd Wright presents a LEGO model of his Guggenheim Museum.
Source: http://www.prairiemod.com/.a/6a00d8341bf72a53ef013485fb117f970c-300wi
Interested in emulating Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings in LEGOs? Check out these LEGO Architecture kits of Wright’s most famous works: Fallingwater and the Guggenheim Museum.
LEGO’s Landmark series features kits on the Empire State Building, the John Hancock Building, and the Seattle Space Needle.
