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03/14/18--21:46: Weekend / Stuff

Vase, lamp and a Dora De Larios owl

Stool by Olof Kettunen for Merivaara, Finland

Another Martin Perfit for Rene Brancusi table

Mighty Oak

And my favorite thing for the weekend is this.

03/17/18--17:11: Modernica / Props

You know this famous Julius Shulman photo. It's Case Study House 21 by Pierre Koenig.

Source: © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

Here is the room looking from the other direction.

Source: © J. Paul Getty Trust. Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles

And here is the Gerald McCabe sofa Pierre Koenig specified for the house. This is the one Koenig had McCabe produce in 1998, when Pierre was restoring the house. The original was damaged at some point.

It is now part of the massive inventory at Modernica Props.

The 65,000 square ft. prop house is located in the former Dolly Madison Bakery in Silverlake. As you can see, it's stacked high.

There are some gems.

Lots of Tropi-Cal

Wes Williams

The BBQ selection is deep.

The Cadillac of grills.

Osvaldo Borsani for Tecno (1954)

You know these (1956)

Raymond Loewy Barca Lounge (1966)

Americans really know how to fatten things up.

Jens Risom strap chair in beautiful original condition.

It's made of Douglas fir. The usual maple frame is on the right. The Douglas fir was used during WWII when materials were being rationed for the war effort. Pretty rare.

Interesting cord chair.

Jimmy Hoffa's chair. It's true!

Fiber department

Look at that ceiling.

Working on that new disco movie?

Dyson has nothing on these.

03/22/18--16:20: Weekend / Stuff

Hal Fromhold Hippo

Bruno Gambone and Vic Bracke

Kenji Fujita

03/28/18--07:54: Weekend / Stuff

Jack Boyd

Dick Seeger

Tom Tramel

Iron

Warren Bacon Stools

Lamps and a solid rosewood bench

Jute elephant

03/29/18--14:52: The Good Making of Good Things / Craft Horizons Magazine 1941–1979

The Good Making of Good Things: Craft Horizons Magazine 1941–1979

During its nearly 40 years in print, Craft Horizons documented the craft movement as it happened. This exhibition pairs works from ASU Art Museum’s collection that were made by artists featured in the magazine with articles, reviews and letters from readers to illustrate the essential role Craft Horizons played in the development of craft in the United States from 1941–1979.

This exhibition is curated by the 2017 Center for Craft Curatorial Fellows Elizabeth Essner, Lily Kane and Meaghan Roddy and was originally organized by the Center for Craft. It is supported by the Windgate Charitable Foundation as part of the Windgate Contemporary Craft Initiative at ASU Art Museum.

That was the official description above. The real scoop is that Meaghan, one of the curators, is a good friend and I've been very excited to see this exhibition. So much so, that I jumped the gun a little and saw it before it was fully installed. Be that as it may, it was mostly up and I was fortunate to have ASU curator Garth Johnson walk me through it.

This is the second stop for the exhibition and this iteration includes mostly pieces from ASU's collection, which is substantial and pretty great. Elizabeth, Lily, and Meaghan worked with Garth to put together a great exhibition. Pieces, like the Alice Parrott weaving above haven't seen the light of day in decades.

The Rolodex of longtime Craft Horizons editor Rose Slivka. She ran the show from 1959-1979, which really was one of the most exciting periods of craft. By the way, the card on the left is for Haystack.

Garth informed me that this Peter Voulkos almost got a curator fired. Rudy Turk was hired to transform ASU's collection, at the time it was mostly paintings and traditional "fine art", into a full-fledged museum. To the horror of the university's administration, Rudy purchased this Voulkos for $500. In retrospect, it was a damn good investment. Rudy was instrumental in building the museum's ceramic collection.

This Rudy Autio is also part of the ASU collection.

Susan Peterson was one of the founders of the ASU Ceramics Research Center. She donated her archives and a collection of ceramics to them. This is a classic wax resist bowl by her.

Mary Levine ceramic bag. Her work always blows me away.

Russell Barnett Aitken. I wasn't familiar with him. Garth was excited about these being shown. They're from 1941 and obviously very political. He was influenced by Viktor Schreckengost and is grouped in with other "Jazz Age" artists. Russell served in WW II and married very well, a couple times. The last marriage was to Irene Roosevelt Aitken, the widow of John A. Roosevelt, youngest son of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. More information can be found at The Cleveland Museum of Art.

A rare ceramic piece by the influential Hopi jewelry artist, Charles Loloma.

Speaking of jewelry, here is a piece by Ruth Radakovich.

Ruth scored a Craft Horizons cover in 1957

Source: American Craft Council

Bob Stocksdale

Kay Sekimachi

Lenore Tawney (1959)

Norma Minkowitz, Sleeping bag wall hanging (1974)

I can't recommend this exhibition enough. The Ceramic Resource Center and gallery itself is also incredible. You can get a sample of what they have, here.

More information about the exhibition can be found here.

04/04/18--17:59: Weekend / Stuff

Stool and Akari lamp by Isamu Noguchi

Irving Harper for George Nelson - 1958

John Caruthers

Esther and Gross Wood

For books

For plants

For doors

Andrew Bergloff

Tackett and animals

04/07/18--06:59: AFASE Solar House / Scottsdale

Solar House (1957) by Peter Lee

In 1954, a group of Arizona politicians, business leaders and Arizona State University joined forces with the Stanford Research Institute to form the Association for Applied Solar Energy (AFASE). The mission was to promote research and investment in solar energy. They held symposiums, exhibitions and sponsored architecture and design competitions.

This included a 1957 competition called Living with the Sun. Architects submitted designs for a solar house that would be built in Phoenix. Concepts were submitted by Paolo Soleri, Victor Olgyay, Davis, Brody and Wisniewski, and Leland Lewis Evison. The prize-winning design was awarded to University of Minnesota School of Architecture senior, Peter Lee.

Image: ASU via A House in the Sun: Modern Architecture and Solar Energy in the Cold War by Daniel A. Barber

Lee was a student of Ralph Rapson, who was the Dean of the architecture department at the time. Rapson's Case Study #4 was seen as a big influence in Lee's design since it mirrored an interior courtyard Rapson referred to as the “Greenbelt.”

Image: Ralph Rapson: Sixty Years of Modern Design

Completed in April 1958, Lee's design consisted of two volumes separated by an open courtyard. Manually-operated solar louver-collectors were used to store heat or block it, depending on the time of year.

Image: ASU via A House in the Sun: Modern Architecture and Solar Energy in the Cold War by Daniel A. Barber

According to a 1958 magazine article... Heat is collected by long, aluminum louver shells stretched on wooden frames. Dacron batting insulates the aluminum, and blackened copper Tube-in-Strip rests on the batting. The copper absorbs the sun's heat, transferring it to the water that circulates through its small tubes.

Image: ASU via A House in the Sun: Modern Architecture and Solar Energy in the Cold War by Daniel A. Barber

A retired couple from Iowa purchased the home. Less than six months later, they filed a lawsuit to get the money they had paid off to that point back, because many of the systems did not function as advertised. The solar components were eventually removed from the house.

Image: ASU via A House in the Sun: Modern Architecture and Solar Energy in the Cold War by Daniel A. Barber

To say the house has seen better days is a bit of an understatement. Although the steel beams which once held the louvers are still there, it has suffered from years of neglect, bad additions and when I peeked inside, the walls were covered with mirrors.

Last month it sold for $500k. The listing reads "Designed by Architects competing for National solar-power project in 1955-1958. Original build in 1958. Needs a full remodel or potential tear down. Built with steel, glass and concrete." Let's hope the new owner has some sense and restores this poor thing.

I posted a photo of the house on Instagram and a couple of people left some comments about the house...

Rumor has it that it was a “cat house” for decades. - mr.shuffles

It was. I don't think it was for decades, but it did happen. I grew up like 5 houses over. I remeber when they raided those houses (there were at least 2) prostitutes running thru peoples yards trying to get away. That house has always been at the center of so many neighborhood stories. I've sadly never seen the inside, but I've always been curious. I heard that many of the inside walls were glass, curtains were built in the inside walls to be drawn for privacy. - robotic_tree

04/11/18--22:54: Weekend / Stuff

In terms of shopping, it was a very minimalist weekend.

This is from the André Emmerich Gallery exhibition in 1979.

Cedric Hartman

A very well done E.T. ceramic face.

Ha!

04/17/18--16:57: Jun Kaneko / Desert Botanical Garden

Jun Kaneko at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix
The exhibition includes a series of monumental sculptures by Kaneko.

Sun Dial with a Soleri bell

The Kaneko exhibition runs until May 18th

04/18/18--20:11: Weekend / Stuff

John Follis for Architectural Pottery

La Gardo Tackett for Architectural Pottery

Robert Maxwell Critter

Peter Shire, 1989

04/24/18--09:31: Maurice Martiné / Exhibition at Archive

The Maurice Martiné exhibition is installed and the opening was a lot of fun.

It runs Monday through Saturday 11-5, until May 11th:

Archive 20th Century

884 W 18th Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

More information and some tips, here.

I couldn't be happier about how it looks.

More pics later.

The opening. Archive really went all out hosting the event.

Thanks to all my buddies that were there!

I'll do a more more in-depth post later.

04/24/18--21:46: Downtown Modernism / Los Angeles

Downtown Modernism Show in Los Angeles

Sunday, April 29th

It only happens twice a year.

I've said it before, it's my favorite flea market--for both buying and selling.

I'll be in my usual spot.

04/26/18--18:53: Weekend / Stuff

The 80s called. They want their modern back.

Ettore Sottsass Enorme Telephone

05/01/18--09:21: Gaps in the Record / Dave Hampton

GAPS IN THE RECORD:

VANGUARD PRINT CULTURE IN SAN DIEGO

May 11 – August 5, 2018

Gaps in the Record: Vanguard Print Culture in San Diego documents the overlapping literary and visual art practices and independent publishing activity within San Diego’s mid-twentieth century creative community. The exhibition centers on a small group of painters who were also writers: Don Dudley (1930), Guy Williams (1934-2004), Richard Allen Morris (1933), Malcolm McClain (1923-2012), John Baldessari (1931), and Fred Cooper (1939).

Curated by Dave Hampton

The opening is Friday, May 11th

More information at San Diego History Center

Poems for Painters, by Guy Williams, Duchamp, 1963, offset print on paper

05/02/18--06:56: Weekend / Stuff

Max Gottschalk chair and his bouncy buddy Tork

Smalls

05/02/18--22:03: Edward A. Killingsworth / Historical Society of Long Beach

Killingsworth, Brady and Associates, Killingsworth House (1966)

Celebrating the Architecture of Edward A. Killingsworth

Saturday, May 19th

The Historical Society of Long Beach will be hosting a presentation by Ronald Dean Lindgren, Partner in Killingsworth Stricker Lindgren Wilson Architects. Lindgren will present “An Architectural History of Edward A. Killingsworth FAIA”, an illustrated presentation detailing Killingsworth’s work in Long Beach and beyond.

A tour of homes and offices designed by Edward Killingsworth, including his personal residence, will follow the presentation.

More information and tickets here.

05/09/18--07:38: Weekend / Stuff

Michael van Beuren

In 1937, Van Beuren designed this chair for the bungalows at the famous Hotel Los Flamingos in Acapulco. It was his first project in Mexico and the beginning of the Bauhaus-trained designer's long career in the county.

Source: El Diseño De Van Beuren, Ana Elena Mallet