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
Arts and Crafts Shopmarks Directory
The Arts and Crafts Collector is a Web site run by Bruce Johnson, author, columnist, and Director of the National Arts and Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC. If you are a die-hard Arts and Crafts Movement aficionado or only possess a casual interest in the artifacts of the Movement, you owe it to yourself to visit his site.
Among the many resources available to collectors and researchers is the incredible shopmarks directory. The online resource includes images of shopmarks and information on nearly 500 furniture manufacturers, metal shops and potteries. Mr. Johnson is in the process of collecting, organizing and identifying numerous Arts & Crafts shopmarks. Johnson’s goal is a complete record of every Arts & Crafts company. If you have information on lesser-known Arts & Crafts firms he could use your help. Visit The Arts and Crafts Collector for details.
Dedham Pottery backstamp (1896-1943). Dedham, MA.
Source: http://www.brothers-handmade.com/images/Dedham-Pottery_1896-1943.jpg
