Design & Desire in the Twentieth Century

Silly Saturday: Calling All Chubbies

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:00:19 -0400

Retronaut.com recently posted a strange politically incorrect yet amusing series of Lane Bryant advertisements on their site. Apparently during the earlier part of the Twentieth Century it had been acceptable to refer to larger women as “stout” and “chubbies.” It’s difficult, however, to image that doing so would increase sales.

One example is shown here. See the other ads at Retronaut.com.

“Calling All Chubbies” Lane Bryant Advertisement, Designer unknown (circa 1940-1950).
Source: http://www.retronaut.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Calling-All-Chubbies-0.jpg

Dodge and Burn: George Eastman House's New Tumblr Blog

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:00:13 -0400

Design and Desire in the Twentieth Century is pleased to welcome the George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film to tumblr. “Dodge and Burn” is the museum’s new blog, Their first post was dated March 14, 2013 (also birthday of renowned photographer Diane Arbus). The blog features outstanding photos from the museum’s collection such as the self-portrait of photographer Edward Steichen shown below.

Subscribe to Dodge and Burn.

Edward Steichen, Self-Portrait, ca. 1917, palladium print. Copyright: Estate of Edward Steichen.
Source:http://24.media.tumblr.com/aae954ce48f686ac0e74a81822d12789/tumblr_mkbnqndeYX1s8u38co1_1280.jpg

Frank Lloyd Wright Crashed on Park Avenue

Fri, 10 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400

A significant piece of New York City’s architectural heritage was lost early in April 2013 when the Hoffmann Auto Showroom interior designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, and considered a fore runner of the Guggenheim Museum design, was demolished. The showroom had been on the first floor of a building located at the corner of Park Avenue and East 56th Street.

According to Crain’s New York Business, owners of the building applied for a demolition permit for the showroom on March 28, 2013, less than one week after “the Landmarks Preservation Commission called the owners of 430 Park Ave. to tell them the city was considering designating the Wright showroom…as the city’s 115th interior landmark.”

Crain’s went on to say that by the end of the following week the showroom had been totally gutted leaving no trace of Mr. Wright’s design.

Read the entire article and see a video report on Crain’s New York Business.

Thank you to Frank Lloyd Wright Newsblog for bringing this sad tale to our attention.

Frank Lloyd Wright, Drawing for Hoffman Auto Showroom, New York City (1955). Demolished. Copyright Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy.
Source: http://www.savewright.org/news_images/mercedes.JPG

Storm Thorgerson, Pink Floyd Album Artist (1944-2013)

Tue, 07 May 2013 10:00:11 -0400

Storm Thorgerson, the designer who is best known for his work designing album covers for the rock band Pink Floyd, died on April 18, 2013 after a battle with cancer, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Perhaps the most iconic of Thorgerson’s covers was the rainbow prism for Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon.”

According to the LA Times’ obit, Thorgerson worked both individually and with the design group Hipgnosis, which he co-founded. Thorgerson’s work spans almost four decades and includes album cover designs for Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Genesis, Peter Gabriel, Anthrax, The Cranberries and Phish, among others.

During the 1980s and 1990s Thorgerson directed music videos not only for Pink Floyd and their lead vocalist David Gilmour but many other musical artists including Yes, Nik Kershaw, Robert Plant and Paul Young.¹

Read the entire LA Times obit and see a slide show of some of Thorgerson’s most famous album covers.

Storm Thorgerson. Album Cover Design for Pink Floyd’s “Dark Side of the Moon” (1973).
Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/3b/Dark_Side_of_the_Moon.png

Reference

Wikipedia, (2013). Storm Thorgerson. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storm_Thorgerson

Fifty Years of the Instamatic Camera

Wed, 01 May 2013 10:00:15 -0400

The Kodak Instamatic camera celebrates it’s 50th anniversary this year. Introduced in March 1963, the Instamatic revolutionized amateur photography in its day with it’s four shot flashcube and instant loading film cartridge. The Instamatic influenced many competitors’ products for years.

According to the George Eastman House blog, “It was introduced at a time when camera innovation was dominated by German and Japanese companies, proving American engineering could still produce competitive products.”

Architect Paolo Soleri (1919-2013)

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:00:37 -0400

Architect and theorist, Paolo Soleri, died on April 9, 2013. According to archdaily.com:

Paolo Soleri spent a lifetime investigating how architecture, specifically the architecture of the city, could support the countless possibilities of human aspiration. The urban project he founded, Arcosanti, 65 miles north of Phoenix, was described by NEWSWEEK magazine as “…the most important urban experiment undertaken in our lifetimes.”

Read the entire obituary on archdaily.com.

For more on Soleri and his work visit www.arcosanti.org.

View a short video on the Arcosanti project.

Paolo Soleri, Arcosanti, exterior detail (1970-present), Mayer, AZ. Photo credit: Arcosanti.
Source: http://www.arcosanti.org/sites/default/files/images/w20060120tt014a.jpg

Edith Head on Audrey Hepburn and “Transformation Through...

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Edith Head on Audrey Hepburn and “Transformation Through Wardrobe”

In this clip from a 1953 episode of “You Asked For It” Hollywood costume design legend Edith Head explains to host Art Baker how she familiarizes herself with a film’s actress as part of the process of “transformation through wardrobe.”

The example Edith Head uses here to illustrate this concept is her work with Audrey Hepburn for the film Roman Holiday. Edith Head won the Oscar in 1953 for costume design for Roman Holiday.

Read about designer Edith Head in a recent post.

Edith Head: Queen of Hollywood Costume Design

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 08:00:37 -0400

Even if you’re not an aficionado of classic Hollywood Cinema, chances are good that you are familiar with costume designer, Edith Head. Head reigned as the leading Hollywood costume designer for nearly five decades, earning thirty-five Oscar nominations and winning eight awards¹ for costume design — the most for a woman in any motion picture category.² But did you know that this legendary designer began her career as a romance languages teacher in a private girls’ school?

Edith Head’s Early Teaching Career

Born Edith Claire Posener in San Bernardino, California in 1897, and raised in the small mining town of Searchlight, Nevada, Edith earned a Master’s degree in French from Stanford University in 1920. She soon obtained a position as a language teacher at The Bishop School in La Jolla, California and later taught French at Hollywood School For Girls where she would be asked to also teach art.² “To improve her drawing skills… she took evening art classes at the Chouinard Art College”³. Edith soon discovered that she very much enjoyed working with figures and costumes.²

Producer Joseph Levine, actress Carroll Baker and Edith Head on the set of Harlow (1965). Photographer unknown.
Source: http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/12611/slide_12611_168830_huge.jpg?1364757599784

Edith Head’s Early Work At Paramount

Despite having no real professional experience in design or costume, Edith Head applied for a position as a sketch artist with Famous Players-Lasky Studios (later to become Paramount Studios) in 1924. She landed the job and soon was working as an assistant costume designer.²

Edith Head’s work during this period was often overshadowed by Paramount’s then head designer, Howard Greer then later under Travis Banton. After Banton resigned in 1938, Head was promoted to Paramount’s chief costume designer. She received public notoriety for Dorothy Lamour’s “sarong” dress in the films The Jungle Princess (1936)³ and The Hurricane (1937)².

It was during this time that Edith Head’s marriage to Charles Head, a salesman with a drinking problem, dissolved, but the designer would continue to use her first husband’s name throughout her career.⁴ “In 1940 Edith Head married one of her best friends, Wiard Boppo (Bill) Ihnen, a Paramount set designer”⁴. (Ihnen himself won two Academy Awards for Wilson and for Blood on the Sun.)⁵ The couple remained married until Ihnen’s death in 1979.⁴

An Actress’s Designer

“Edith Head was well known for her low-key working style and, unlike many of her male contemporaries, usually consulted extensively with the female stars with whom she worked”³. Some of film legends she designed for included Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, Ginger Rogers, Elizabeth Taylor, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Gloria Swanson, Marlene Dietrich and Natalie Wood. A close friendship developed between the designer and actress Anne Baxter, so close in fact that Baxter asked Head to be godmother to one of her children.³

Edith Head, Gown for Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday (1953).
Source: http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ly187o9NwK1qzdzbuo1_1280.jpg

View Edith Head’s Designs on A Certain Cinema.

View more designs on mubi.com.

Well-Deserved Awards for a Renowned Designer

In 1949 an Academy Award for costume design was established and Edith Head, along with Gile Steele (who designed the men’s costumes), won the first of these awards for their work on The Emperor Waltz. Head would go on to win seven more Oscars and earn twenty-eight nominations altogether. She won her last Oscar in 1974 for her costume design for The Sting.³ That same year Edith Head was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.¹

A Celebrity in Her Own Right

As Edith Head collected her awards, she began to become to the American public synonymous with Hollywood costume design. She was famous for her “rather severe flat-top hairdo, oversized sunglasses, and a reluctance to smile when she knew she was on camera”².

In addition to her costume design work, she “designed Vogue sewing patterns; toured the country staging Hollywood fashion shows; wrote magazine and newspaper columns”⁴ and frequently appeared as a guest on Art Linkletter’s House Party television show during the 1950s and 1960s. She also “wrote two books, including The Dress Doctor (with Joan Kesner Ardmore; Little, Brown and Co., 1959) and How to Dress for Success (with Joe Hyams; Random House, 1967)”⁴.

Edith with Gloria Swanson wearing one of Edith’s designs for Sunset Boulevard. Photographer unknown.
Sources: http://acertaincinema.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/head-swanson-sunset-blvd_opt.jpg

Head’s Later Years at Universal

Edith Head left Paramount in 1967 and joined Universal Studios. As the studio system declined, she transitioned into designing costumes for television. Her television work included designs for film icons Bette Davis in The Disappearance of Aimee (1976) and Elizabeth Taylor in Return Engagement (1978). During her years at Universal, Edith earned four Academy Award Nominations and won an Oscar for costume design for The Sting (1973).¹

Head remained at Universal until her death “in 1981 of a progressive and rare blood disease, myeloid metaplasia, two weeks after completing work on her last film, Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” ⁴.

Paul Newman and Robert Redford look sharp in Edith Head’s Oscar Winning designs for The Sting (1973).
Source: http://www.thefancarpet.com/uploaded_assets/images/gallery/431/The_Sting_4888_Medium.jpg

Edith Head: Gone but Not Forgotten

Today Edith Head continues to be remembered both for her outstanding contributions to costume design in film as well as her quirky personality. In 2001 the musical duo They Might Be Giants released a song called “She Thinks She’s Edith Head.” In Disney Pixar’s The Incredibles (2004), the character “Edna Mode” was based upon her.¹ In 2011 Head’s biographer Paddy Calisto and actress Susan Claassen collaborated on a one-woman show “A Conversation with Edith Head.” Ms. Classen, who bears a striking resemblance to Head, also played the role of the designer.⁶

References

IMDB.com, (2013). Biography for Edith Head. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372128/bio
NNDB.com, (2013). Edith Head. http://www.nndb.com/people/065/000163573/
Wikipedia.com, (2013). Edith Head. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Head
Calistro, P., (n.d.), Edith Head Bios. http://www.edithhead.biz/html/bios.html
IMDB.com, (2013). Wiard Ihnen (1897–1979). http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0407311/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1
Stoudt, C., (13 November, 2011) Review: A dishy ‘Conversation With Edith Head’ at Pasadena Playhouse. http://articles.latimes.com/2012/nov/13/entertainment/la-et-cm-theater-review-an-evening-with-edith-head-at-pasadena-playhouse-20121113

For Further Reading

Calistro, P. and Head, E. (2008). Edith Head’s Hollywood, 25th Anniversary Edition. Santa Monica, CA: Angel City Press.

Chierichetti, D. (2003). Edith Head: The Life and Times of Hollywood’s Celebrated Costume Designer. New York, NY: HarperCollins.

Coffee Anyone?

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 10:00:22 -0400

Just for fun, how about a mid-century mid-morning pick up? Imagine serving your hot piping cup of Maxwell House Coffee from this Pyrex coffee carafe from the 1960’s. Thanks to Klappersack’s for sharing this image:

Pyrex Coffee Carafe (circa 1960).
Source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/indiaromeo/423267627/

For everything you ever wanted to know about Pyrex and Corning Ware check out Corell Corner.

The Pyrex Collective is a terrific blog devoted to Pryex products.

Silly Saturday: What If Fonts Were Human? Designers know that...

Sat, 13 Apr 2013 10:00:29 -0400

Silly Saturday: What If Fonts Were Human?

Designers know that each font typeface has a unique style or “personality.” But has anyone considered what could happen if these personalities took human form?

Could “Ransom” take over the world?
Will “Courier” and “Curls MT” be saved?
And what about “Zapf Dingbats”?

For the answers to these and other pressing questions, tune into this hilarious video by Collegehumor.com and find out.

New Hampshire's Palace Theatre

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 06:00:00 -0400

Leon Lempert & Son (architects), Palace Theatre. Manchester, New Hampshire (1915).
Source: http://www.wegoplaces.com/User%20Interface/Images/Itinerary%20Item%20Images
/USA/NH/Manchester/48773_Palace%20Theatre.jpg

The newest addition to our blog roll, The Daily Kylie, posted an article about a recent visit to The Palace Theatre in Manchester, New Hampshire. Built in 1914-1915 by Greek immigrant Victor Charas, and designed by Leon Lempert and Sons, the Palace is a glorious example of one of the early extravagant movie palaces. “Fashioned after its namesake in New York City,” according to the Theatre’s web site, ”the Palace Theatre was (and still remains) remarkably similar to its larger cousin.”

Please enjoy The Daily Kylie’s visit to the Palace.

Silly Saturday: "Bad Dog" Leaves His Mark

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 08:00:34 -0400

Richard Jackson, Bad Dog (2013).
Source: http://www.architizer.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/85.jpg

It seems that everyone’s a critic, but Califoria artist Richard Jackson really makes his point — or should we say the pointer makes a point. The larger than life dog is part of a retrospective of the artist’s career, “Richard Jackson: Ain’t Painting a Pain” on now through May 5, 2103 at the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) in Newport Beach, California. And yes, according to Architizer Blog, the sculpture is programmed to periodically discharge yellow paint on the museum’s facade.

Glam! The Performance of Style

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 11:00:23 -0400

By now you’ve probably heard the hype about David Bowie’s new album, The Next Day, his first release in over ten years, but did you also know that his Glam Rock style form the late 1960s and 1970s is the subject of an exhibition at Tate Liverpool in the UK? Glam! The Performance of Style looks at Bowie’s impact upon the fashion, Rock and art scene of that period.

The show includes works by photographers Mick Rock, Terry O’Neill, Cindy Sherman and artists David Hockney, Allen Jones and Ray Johnson among others. Glam! the Performance of Style examines Glam influence upon Bowie’s contemporaries such as Roxy Music. The importance of Bowie’s connection with Andy Warhol and its relationship to Glam style is also explored.

Glam! The Performance of Style runs at Tate Liverpool (Albert Dock, Liverpool, UK) through May 12.

Read a review of the show on Hyperallergic.

Bowie items at Glam! the Performance of Style exhibition, Tate Liverpool (2013). photo credit: Mark Sheerin.

Silly Saturday: Marilyn Peep Show

Sat, 30 Mar 2013 08:30:13 -0400

Since Easter is coming, we’re reblogging a post form earlier this year that illustrates some creative uses for eveyone’s favorite Easter candy, Peeps® marshmallow candies.

Happy Easter! And for those of you who don’t celebrate Easter, Happy Spring!

Karyn Zupke, Marilyn Monroe (n.d.). Copyright 2012 PeepTopia!
Source: http://peeptopia.tumblr.com/post/37730474739/marilyn-monroe

Apologies for the rather misleading headline, but we just couldn’t resist. If you look closely at the image posted here, you can see that the Andy Warhol inspired portrait of actress Marilyn Monroe is made of Peeps® marshmallow candies. How Sweet it is!

Visit PeepTopia to view more Peeps® masterpieces.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Home Movies

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 09:00:15 -0400

Beret Balestrieri Kohn writes in the Milwaukee Museum of Art’s blog “Under the Wings” about a recent donation to the institution’s archives of films from the personal collection of Joan Salzstein, the grandaughter of architect Dagmar Adler. The donated films features candid shots of Frank Lloyd Wright interacting with students and visitors at Taliesin his home in Wisconsin.

According to Kohn, “Wright worked for and studied under Adler, and his granddaughter Joan became a regular visitor to Wright’s home and farm at Taliesin in Spring Green, Wisconsin for many years. During those visits, she captured the atmosphere of daily life at Taliesin on film.”

Read the entire blog post and see more interesting stills.

Frank Lloyd Wright and Olgivanna Wright in the garden, late 1930s-early 1940s. Photo credit: Still from a film from the personal collection of Joan Salzstein. Milwaukee Art Museum, Institutional Archives.
Source: http://milwaukeeartmuseum.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/color_flw_008.jpg?w=640

The Whimsical Work of Matte Stephens

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 08:00:12 -0400

Although he wasn’t yet alive in the 1950s, illustrator Matte Stephens’ work recaptures the spirit of mid-century designers such as Charles and Ray Eames, Alexander Girard, and Irving Harper. Stephens has done work for IBM, Disney, American Express and Herman Miller among others.

Thanks to our friends at Aqua-Velvet for introducing us to the work of this brilliant young artist.

Read grain edit’s recent interview with Stephens.

Matte Stephens, Family Vacation (2012).
Source: http://img1.etsystatic.com/000/0/5152542/il_570xN.63514501.jpg

A Ride on the Olympian Hiawatha Travel back in time and in...

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 09:00:22 -0400

A Ride on the Olympian Hiawatha

Travel back in time and in luxury on a Pacific Northwest holiday on the “super speed” Olympian Hiawatha. This train features Brooks Stevens’ designed “Skytop” domed observation cars.

After your trip, read more about Stevens and the Olympian Hiawatha in our recent post.

Getting There: How Design Influences Travel

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 13:00:14 -0400

Arthur Radebaugh, Advertisement for Bohn Aluminum and Brass Corporation (circa 1940s).
Source: http://designmuseumboston.org/images/exhibits/gettingthere/gallery/gettingthere_gal-10.jpghttp://photo-muse.blogspot.com/

“Getting There: How Design Influences Travel” is an exhibition organized by the Design Museum of Boston and aptly located in Terminal E of Boston’s Logan Airport; the show explores the influence of design on the travel industry.

According to the Design Museum of Boston Web site the exhibition features “Drawings, models, and prototypes from design firms such as Bose, Samsonite, Teague, Two Twelve, and IDEO, … projects that have creatively addressed design challenges posed by the constraints of human travel.”

The show is ongoing and free to the public.

Photographer Gabriele Basilico (1944-2013)

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 10:00:09 -0400

“Monuments embarrass me. I have no friendship for castles.” -Gabriele Basilico

Last month The Guardian reported the death of documentary photographer Gabriele Basilico. Trained as an architect, Basilico gained international attention for his photographs of factory buildings and apartment blocks. In the 1990’s the photographer captured the bleak landscapes of Berlin after the fall of the Wall, and Beruit, Lebanon.

Gabriele Basilico, Genoa, (1997).
Source: http://www.artribune.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Gabriele-Basilico-Genova-1997-Courtesy-Gabriele-Basilico-and-Photo-Co.-Turin-Italy.jpg

Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced

Tue, 05 Mar 2013 10:00:00 -0500

Stephen Burrows was one of the hottest young fashion designers of New York City’s disco and music scenes in the 1970s. His creations captured the spotlight with innovative use of bright wild colors and silky flowing fabrics. Burrows’ celebrity clients include Barbra Streisand, Cher, Liza Minnelli and Dianna Ross among many others.

In the 1980s, Burrows career took a downturn, but “after twenty years of obscurity, he made one of the biggest comebacks in fashion history”¹.

This spring the Museum of the City of New York will host the first retrospective of Burrows’ work. The show “Stephen Burrows: When Fashion Danced” opens March 22, 2013.