Quantcast
Channel: Esoteric Survey

La Cacho / Tijuana Architecture

$
0
0

I joined @arquetipo_de_cambio while she was documenting historic buildings in Tijuana. Marissa grew up in Tijuana but has been living in Los Angeles for the last 15 years. Many extant structures still exist. However, in this rapidly changing city, more times than not the architecture from past decades is behind layers of change.  Hence the name of her project, the Archetype of Change. 

We spent the day mostly in Centro, Chapultepec and this post centers around Colonia Madero or La Cacho.

In the 1950s Tijuana became one of the fastest growing cities in the Western Hemisphere. This is when neighborhoods like Cacho started to develop.

What it looked like in 1964. This is from a series of photos by San Diego photographer Harry Crosby. 

More on Crosby, here.

The open carport is covered up with a concrete block screen.


Parroquia De Nuestra Señora Del Carmen (1955) by Architect Homero Martínez de Hoyos (1917-1998). 
Felix Candela had a role in hiring Martínez de Hoyos to design the church. 

Homero was on the team of architects who designed UNAM in Mexico City. He's circled in red. Although not pictured, Candela also designed at least one building on the campus.

In addition to helping on the overall plan, Homero worked on the Institute of Biology and School of Medicine buildings. Later he would also teach Architecture and Urban Planning at the University. More on UNAM, here.

Source: Arquitectura  1952

A watercolor rendering of the church by Homero. 

Speaking of art, in 1949 Carlos Merida did a stone mural in Martinez de Hoyo's home in San Angel, Mexico City. Homero had a brother named Ricardo who said he collaborated with Merida on the mural. Another brother was sculptor Oliverio Guillermo Martínez de Hoyos.



Photo: Harry Crosby


This apartment building from the early 1970s is across the street from the church. We met the owner. He doesn't know who the architect was but he did tell us that it's poured-in-place concrete. 

He was also nice enough to give us a tour.



The view from the rooftop. 

A nice Streamline modern house with some great iron work. I'm guessing this was one of the earlier houses in the area. The lots became smaller over time and many larger ranch properties in Cacho were subdivided.



Cool iron chairs hanging out in the yard.

Cacho also has some good cafes, like boh panaderia.

Follow Marissa's Tijuana project on Instagram: arquetipo_de_cambio She is covering a lot of different neighborhoods and architectural styles.

She has already documented some great ones, like this Juan Jose Diaz Infante Nuñez house in the Chapultepec neighborhood. 

Infante also did a building at the Museo de Arte Moderno that can seen here.

A few past posts about Tijuana:

https://esotericsurvey.blogspot.com/2022/01/colegio-la-paz-tijuana.html

https://esotericsurvey.blogspot.com/2018/09/cecut-tijuana.html

https://esotericsurvey.blogspot.com/2015/03/tijuana-modern.html

https://esotericsurvey.blogspot.com/2015/03/baja-calfornia-design.html



Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

Johannes Aasbjerg, Kenji Fujita  and Ben Seibel


I stopped by sidewalk sale on my ride to work and a guy was selling some of his nudes collection.

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

Craft geek stuff 

Richard Mills from the Artist-Foundary Movement that was happening in San Jose in the 1960s.
Dave Hampton wrote a book about it: Pouring Metal in the South Bay

Lamps

Alvar Aalto stools

Sottsass, Peter Shire and a metal Raymor vase

Japanese things

Weston Havens House / Harwell Hamilton Harris

$
0
0

Weston Havens House (1939-1941) by Harwell Hamilton Harris, way up in the Berkeley Hills.

Docomomo Northern California was hosting a tour that coincided with a shopping trip to the Bay Area.

John Weston Havens Jr. (1903–2001) was the heir to Berkeley founder, Francis Kittredge Shattuck. Weston was an art collector and owned a large amount of property. He commissioned Harris to build him a house that took full advantage of the view from site, which has a 35-degree slope.

The sloping ceilings were designed to take advantage of the sky view.

Source: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of The Huntington Library



The "spider legs" on the bridge might be a nod to Neutra. Harris started his architecture career working at the Neutra office.

The furniture was collected by Havens in Finland and Sweden.  He lived in the house until his 90's and made few changes. It was then donated to UC Berkeley and is under the stewardship of the College of Environmental Design

Source: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of The Huntington Library

Most of this original furniture is still in the house. They have receipts for many of the pieces, including the early Knoll Womb chairs. He added them later since Saarinen didn't design them until 1948.


It looks like he may have picked up an Arne Bang on his Scandinavian adventures.
I resisted the temptation to check the signature.

Havens asked Harris to design a wall of books.


A 1949 photo showing some bronze outdoor chairs. 
They weren't in any of the photos from the early 1940s, so like the womb chairs, he must have bought them later.

They are now tucked away downstairs

In addition to his European travels, he may have went down to Santa Barbara to purchase them at Robert Lewis's shop. 


The dining room

The map mural opens up as a passthrough to the kitchen.



Even the stove is original. An electric range was very high-tech in 1941. Apparently it turns on by itself sometimes and might be replaced soon. 
In terms of the coffee set ups on the range, I'll take the pour over.

The undulating curved hallway leads to a bedroom and bathroom.

Weston was an Aalto fan.

The curved bathroom wall is behind the staircase below.

Havens collected Asian art.

Man Ray did a photo series of the house. This one was used in a period magazine article. 

The Harwell stairwell is epic.


"Eva" chair with attached reading table by Bruno Mathsson in a downstairs bedroom.

I wonder who did the desk?

The downstairs patio.

It was originally a badminton court.  There's a VKG ottoman. I searched for other pieces in the photos but didn't see any. I also didn't see it floating around when I was there. 

Source: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of The Huntington Library

Looking into the upstairs bedroom from the bridge.

Looking into the kitchen from the bridge.

1939 design drawing of the house.

Source: Harwell Hamilton Harris collection, Alexander Architectural Archives, University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin

Source: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of The Huntington Library

Source: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of The Huntington Library

John Entenza, who purchased California Arts & Architecture magazine (he later dropped California), commissioned Harris to design a house in Santa Monica. It was built in 1937, which predates Entenza's involvement with the Magazine. In a lecture at Sci Arc in 1976, Harris said the experience of the house commission led to Entenza's interest in architecture and to buying the magazine. It's an interesting comment about a man who just hired an architect to design him a modern house, but who am I to doubt Harwell? Judging by one of the covers of the magazine shortly after taking over, he was obviously a Harwell fan.

Ten years later Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen designed Case Study House 9 for Entenza.

The Sci Arc lecture is on YouTube. Just about 25 minutes in, Harris talks about the Havens House.

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 


At 5:30 in the morning, in the dark, that weed pot looked like you know who.  It's not. 
I don't know who did the ceramic bird either, but it's cute.

Seymour Robins

Downtown Modernism / April 27th

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

This post is the stuff from the weekend before last. I'm catching up.

Paul Rand and a chair frame by the Martins. I'll go more in depth on them later.

L-shaped coffee table

Robert Maxwell

Ruth Asawa from 1997

Bailey House / Architectural Digest

$
0
0

 
The Bailey House by Kendrick Bangs Kellogg made it to the Architectural Digest Unique Spaces video series.

And our boy Dave was part of it. Hopefully he won't get too mad that I posted a picture of him. He did a great job talking about Kellogg, like no one else can.

Watch it here. 

Check out a recent post I did on the house here.

More about the house and short-term rentals and photo shoots can be found on their website: https://www.baileykelloggresidence.com/about


Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 Here is my load from Downtown Modernism. 

It was another great one!

Donald Drumm wall mounted candelabra and more of the Raymor spot lamps. Some dealers/auctions have attributed them to Harry Gitlin but I don't think Raymor sold his lamps.

Handmade stool that has a label from the City/County of San Francisco. I'm curious if they worked with someone we might know on some sort of commission.

Freeman Lederman bell. These are from their Import Collection. Although it does have a Tackett look, I think it was part of a collection they imported from Japan.

A tea set by Richard Shaw

Aluminum box and a nice Joel Edwards

Olga Lee, Charles Allen, Paul McCobb and George Nelson

Modular Housing / Juan José Díaz Infante

$
0
0

In the late 1960s Mexican architect Juan José Díaz Infante Núñez (1936-2012) designed an all-plastic modular house for farm workers in Mexico. The fiberglass-reinforced polyester shell made them easy to produce and to construct. 

My friend Arquetipo de Cambio has discovered a number of them around the Tijuana area. This example is the best so far. It is currently being operated as an AirBnB by an architect in Tijuana.

The structure has been at the current site since the 1990s. He has plans to remodel the interior, but in the meantime he was generous enough to let us in to check it out.  






Photo: Air BnB

In Tlayacapan, Mexico, architecture firm PRODUCTORA constructed a house with shells the client had inherited.  Originally, they were from the family's 1970s weekend house.

Side note: Some years back, a friend of mine found some of these just south of Tijuana. They have since been installed at another friend's house in Valle de Guadalupe. 

Source: ArchDaily

This is the finished structure in Tlayacapan. 

Source: ArchDaily

A base was added to give it more height, which looks great.

Source: ArchDaily

 According to Diaz Infante's son, the inspiration for his design came from a 1960 trip to Disneyland where he saw the Monsanto House of the Future.

Diaz Infante and Mickey

Photo: Archdaily

He received a US Patent for the design in 1970 and a mention in the October, 1974 issue of House Beautiful: 

Not unattractive at all, the six-module house was designed by Architect Juan Jose Diaz Infante for sugar field workers and their families. A minimum house, with bath and kitchen, sold last year in Mexico for under $4,000. The largest star-shaped model sells for less than $10,000. Fiber-glass-reinforced polyester forms the outer and inner skins of the house shell; foamed polyurethane fills the inner wall cavity. Many U.S. producers have tried the modular housing path and many have failed. Interesting that a similar operation in Mexico thrives. Architect Diaz has made several attempts to market his design here, but so far. to no avail. However, at last word, he intends to keep trying. —JOHN H. INGERSOLL


He developed a number of models, including the Aztecalita, which can be seen at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City

1967 Installation in Mexico City


Model of modular concepts by Díaz Infante.

Source: Calli (1967), via RNDRD

Model of concepts by Díaz Infante. Let's call it the Mexican Metabolism, possibly influenced by the post-war Japanese biomimetic architectural movement. 

Source: Calli (1967), via RNDRD

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0


Carl Auböck egg and Isamu Kenmochi Bauhaus dishes.

It was a tough weekend on the picking front. Although the dishes do complete a set. 

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 

It's a great weekend when a new Jack Boyd is involved.

Ceramics, including Amy Donaldson and Hal Fromhold

Noguchi and another three legger.

Robert Josten table

Catalogs




Ivan Bartlett / Chicago

$
0
0

I came across this painting I've had for years in storage while I was pulling things out for Downtown Modernism. I decided I would sell it.

I don't remember when or where I bought it but it was several years ago. Anyway, after second thought, I decided to leave it at home and do some research.

It turns out there's an interesting story. The artist is Ivan Bartlett, who was California-born and a Graduate of Chouinard Art institute of Los Angeles. He is most known as a textile designer but was also muralist. This includes a number of WPA murals.  His work was also exhibited at the San Francisco and New York World Fairs. He was the winner of the 1947 award of the American Institute of Design. He also had a piece in An Exhibition for Modern Living, which was curated by Alexander Girard and held at the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1949. 

The painting shows points of interest around Chicago, including the Ambassador East hotel. For some reason that stood out to me 

The Ambassador East opened in 1926. A venture by hoteliers Frank Bering and Ernie Byfield. 
Walter T. Stockton was the architect of the 17 story brick structure.


In 1937 Samuel Marx was commissioned to redesign a restaurant space in the hotel called the Pump Room, which is also depicted on the painting. Incidentally, Marx often used Dorothy Liebes textiles for his projects. The Pump Room was a Chicago institution and hosted many celebrities. 

Jumping ahead to 1951, Liebes was asked to design a deluxe suite at the hotel. It weas decked out in Dunbar furniture and Dorothy's textiles.  The theme of the room was described as "California-Come-to-Chicago". The suite was named after Liebes and included a silver plaque with her name on it.

The project received a lot of publicity.  This end of this 1951 Chicago Tribune quote is just great:"The Dorothy Liebes suite in the Ambassador East hotel, named for its decorator, America's foremost weaver, will be launched today with a champagne party. Guests, in keeping with the loomed theme of the room, plus the bubbly, will be expected to walk in and weave."

Source: Buffalo Courier Express, 1951


There is a Liebes stick weave panel in the foreground perhaps in front of a fireplace, that seems a bit dicey to be honest. However, doesn't that painting back there look sort of familiar?

Ivan and Dorothy Liebes seemed to be good friends. There are several letters between the two in her archive at The Smithsonian.

Many of them include mentions of Dorothy trying to help Ivan with his struggling career.  She even encourages him to move to New York where she says all the jobs are, which he eventually does.

Source: Dorothy Liebes Papers at The Smithsonian

She also included two of his designs in her car design concept.

So it makes sense that Dorothy called on her fiend Ivan to paint two pieces for her Ambassador East hotel suite. This article is the first thing I discovered that seemed like it could be my painting.

Source: Chicago Tribune, March 18, 1951

It wasn't until I found this clipping in her archive at the Smithsonian that I knew it was.

It was part of her scrapbook. There are a number of pages dedicated to the Ambassador East project. 

Source: Dorothy Liebes Papers at The Smithsonian

Ivan's second painting is seen here. It shows the Great Lakes. He also designed one of the wallpaper patterns used in the room. 

Her scrapbook was so fun to go through. Here are the MoMA Good Design clippings.

Now the question is how did this Chicago painting from the room designed as"California-Come-to-Chicago" make it to California for me to find? 

It could have been an auction, like this one held in 1976 for the contents of the Pump Room restaurant in the Ambassador. Can you imagine if all the Samuel Marx furniture was part of the sale??




Edo-Tokyo Open Architectural Museum / Japan

$
0
0

The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum has been on my list for a while. The House of Kunio Maekawa, seen here was my main motivation. 

Edo is the former name of Tokyo, as well as the time period between (1603-1867).  However, the buildings in the museum go well beyond that time period. Most are from the Meiji Period (1868-1912) or more recent. The way the museum describes it, during the Edo period, Tokyo lost a large number of important historical buildings because of fires, floods, earthquakes and war. This continues today through redevelopment in a rapidly changing Tokyo.

 In 1993, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government established the museum. The mission "aims to relocate, reconstruct, preserve, and exhibit historical buildings of great cultural value that are impossible to preserve at their original location, as well as to pass on these valuable cultural heritages to future generations."

The house was built in 1942 by architect Kunio Maekawa (1905-1986), for himself. It was originally located in the Shinagawa Ward of Tokyo. The design is that perfect balance between traditional and modern architecture and materials. 










It was his primary residence until 1974 . After Maekawa passed away in 1986, the house was reconstructed at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum using the original materials. 

Tokiwadai Photo Studio (1937)


Second House of the Nishikawa Family (1932)

One section of the museum is set up like an old Tokyo town with shops and even a streetcar. It's model 7500, which used to run between Shibuya Station, Shinbashi, Hamacho-nakanohashi, and Suda-cho.



I wonder if the outfit was planned?

Stationery store “Takei Sanshodo” (1927) on the left and “Hanaichi” Flower Shop (1925) on the right





Police Box at the Mansei Bridge from the Meiji Period (1868-1912)

House of Uemura (1927) is covered in copper.

Mantoku Inn, built at the end of Edo period to beginning of Meiji period.

The Edo-Tokyo Open Air Museum Architectural Museum (江戸東京たてもの園, or Edo Tōkyō Tatemono "Edo Tokyo Buildings Garden") is definitely worth a little trip out into the suburbs of Tokyo. It's a little hike from the train station but not too bad. At 17 acres, there is a lot to see. I only a posted a small number of the buildings. 

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 This is a couple weekends worth in Japan. The thing I dream about finding when I'm over there is vintage Sori Yanagi. Luckily, I was able find some.

Then there are the bronzes. 

The iron

The animals


This is one of my favorite things I came home with and it was a gift.

The clay

I also picked up a lot of things that just had something about them, like this bamboo kimono hanger. 

There were some cute things as well, but I'll stop here.


Il Plazzo / Aldo Rossi & Shigeru Uchida

$
0
0

Hotel Il Palazzo by Aldo Rossi and Morris Adjmi (1989) with the original interior design by Shigeru Uchida. Located in Fukuoka, Japan. Uchida was actually commissioned to design the hotel and called on Rossi to do the architectural design while Uchida did the interior. 

 It's a post-modern icon and is seen as one of Rossi's most important projects. 




Here is the original 1989 design by Shigeru Uchida. 

 Photo: Nacása & Partners Inc

The hotel has changed hands at least couple times over the years. The original furniture was sold off long ago and for very cheap according to a collector friend in Japan. 

 Photo: Nacása & Partners Inc

This is what one of the original Japanese style rooms looked like. All the rooms are western style rooms now as far as I know.

 Photo: Nacása & Partners Inc

The latest redesign was done by Uchida Design Studio in 2021, since Uchida passed away  in 2016. It's great that they went back to his firm. 

They used many of his designs throughout the hotel.




I hit the dessert bar hard.



 Uchida Dear Morris clock. It was designed for the hotel and named after Morris Adjmi, a partner in the Aldo Ross firm.

 On each trip to Japan I try to visit cities I've never been to before. I'm not sure exactly why I was drawn to Fukuoka but I had to stay at Il Palazzo. So here are my Po-Mo PJs.

 Shigeru Uchida designed the branding for the hotel.

There are two buildings on each side which originally housed four bars that were designed by Ettore Sottsass, Gaetano Pesce, Alfredo Arribas, and Shiro Kuramata.

This was Zibibbo, the Sottsass-designed bar. 

Source: Architectural Record (May, 1990)

The view from one of the new buildings located across the street. 

Said building as viewed from my room.

The Good Flea / Heath Ceramics

$
0
0

 Vintage Market at Heath Ceramics in San Francisco 

I'll be selling at the first Make Good vintage flea market on Saturday June 14; 10am–5pm and Sunday, June 15; 10am–4pm at Heath San Francisco, 2900 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110

There is a great line up with dealers from as far away as Tokyo and Mexico City. I better step up my game on this one.

More about the market is available here and RSVP to the Market here

The Good Flea is Heath’s elevated take on a classic flea market, offering visitors a chance to explore a wide selection of unique antiques and artifacts pulled from the private collections of expert curators, vendors, and creative leaders. This group—assembled by Clay Studio Director Tung Chiang—will bring not only hand-chosen vintage finds, but also a deep well of knowledge on design and craft history.

Hosted within Heath’s SF tile factory, The Good Flea showcases objects that span eras and styles—including some special finds from Heath’s archive! Enthusiasts, collectors, and connoisseurs are invited to discover unique, curated vintage pieces in an energetic, community-driven space.

The Good Flea is more than just a market—it's an opportunity to discover and connect with design history. Don't miss the chance to explore rare finds and meet the experts behind them!

Heath Ceramics
Pass the Plate
Tung Chiang
Renee Zellweger
Esoteric Survey
Maz / Saved by Maz
Mark Edelsberg / Future Forms
Shinichiro Nakahara
Lisa Cliff
David Montes de Oca / Cordoba
Takahiro Goko / Swimsuit Department
Oak Street Vintage
Justin Hoffman / Joe Meade Objects
Lauren Frost Vintage
Offshore Sounds
Letterform Archive
Juan Salazar / Luis Corona

Curated by Tung Chiang
Tung reached out to numerous design leaders, curators, and collectors to bring The Good Flea to life. While exploring unique objects of all sorts—from books and records to apparel and furniture—you’ll meet a select group of experts who can’t wait to tell you the stories behind what they’ve brought.


Weekend/ Stuff

$
0
0

 

It's a great weekend when you come home with a Henry Takemoto. The one on the right needs a little more research. Someone who attended Chouinard Art Institute in the 1950s bought the Takemoto directly from him, along with pots from fellow Otis ceramicists Voulkos, Rothman and Mason. This includes the piece on the right.

Early Soleri bell and an uncommon Kenji Fujita pitcher

The Good Flea / Good Times

$
0
0

 Heath Ceramic's Good Flea was a lot of fun. This was the first vintage market they hosted and what a great group of vendors it was. Heath Clay Studio Director Tung Chiang selected 15 dealers from around the world to participate. It was held in their tile factory in San Francisco. As you can see here, the shoppers showed up for it.

Heath was not only an exceptional host but they also participated as a vendor with a great selection of vintage Heath. It's part of their Pass the Plate initiative.

Tung had a space too.

He was selling some of his treasures from Finland.

 
In addition to folk craft, he had a Sori Yanagi can opener.

Shinichiro Nakahara also had some incredible pieces from Japan.

Shin also had this Paul Rand catalog and spoon by David Tisdale.

 Cordoba Gallery from Mexico City

Cordoba had a great collection of items including Nakashima and pieces from Mexico.

I've been a longtime fan of Oak Street Vintage. Their shop is located in Eugene, Oregon. In addition to a lot of great dog content, the photos they post of the shop always has me wanting to drop everything and head up to Eugene.

Such a great eye with so many special pieces. Carl is also incredibly nice.


The legendary Saved by Maz. The King of Chemex! This was my first time selling in the Bay Area, so to be able to set up and hang out with friends like Maz was a real treat.

Also, I don't know if Maz knew that I knew, but he was channeling Chemex inventor Peter Schlumbohm when he posed for that photo. 

Joe Meade is always schooling me on Northern California ceramics. He was showing some great pots, including a collection by Sandra Johnstone. 

Justin Hoffman was set up with pieces he acquired on his trips to Japan. 


Things went fast but I was lucky enough to pick up a couple pieces.

 Juan Modern and Objects and Luis Modern Cactus brought a little bit of everything and it was all good!


Mark Edelsberg / Future Forms has an incredible inventory of space-age electronics and industrial design. 


Lisa Cliff was there too. She always has the best but she wouldn't let me post a picture of her.

Renee Zellweger with Eva Zeisel dinnerware, ceramics, Italian lighting and Roy McMakin! Her display was so simple and lovely.  

Cathy Bailey, co-owner of Heath Ceramics, also had a space! Before she owned Heath, she also collected Zeisel. In fact, Renee was her collecting buddy.

I brought some things too. I thought the Luther Conover table and Edith Heath tile mural were a nice fit since they were business neighbors in Sausalito. I didn't get a good photo on the smalls table.

It was such a fun (and successful) weekend. The Heath team was incredibly supportive, as were their customers!  It sounds like they will be making this an annual event.

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 

Unknown ceramic sculpture and C. Carl Jennings

Roy McMakin for Heath Ceramics (2003).
I bought this at the Heath Market. Apparently it never went into production. It was part of the inventory when current owners Cathy and Robin purchased Heath Ceramics.


Sori Yanagi 

I guess I can't stop buying things from Japan

La Esperanza schools of Tijuana / James Hubbell

$
0
0

I tagged along with arquetipo_de_cambio again on her latest trip to Tijuana. 

We visited the La Esperanza schools of Tijuana. Many of the buildings were designed by James Hubbell and built with his help, along with many other volunteers over the years. It was founded in 1989 and is located in Colonia La Esperanza in Tijuana. The Jardin de Niños La Esperanza kindergarten and Colegio La Esperanza elementary school offer arts-based programs combined with academics. 

As described on their website: The La Esperanza schools were founded to create a social institution in an unorganized, unincorporated, unrecognized yet highly populated area.  The recognition that Art and Music are elements that transcend class barriers led The Americas Foundation to create beautiful school architecture that everyone would appreciate and value.  Famous artists like James Hubbell conduct  ongoing monthly volunteer, construction workdays.  Art is also incorporated into all educational and development programs.

Colegio La Esperanza elementary school was our first stop.


One thing they are looking is donations of colorful tiles.

This is one of the newer buildings on the campus.

The music studio.







The view from the property.

The front of the school.

Our next stop was The Jardin de Niños La Esperanza kindergarten. It was actually built first.








I would like to thank Christine Brady, the president of the foundation, for taking the time to show us this incredible project that she had led since its inception.



Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

Eugene Weston table for Modern Color Inc. This is cheating a little because I owned this table before but got it back in a trade. 

Soleri bell, Richard Fisher and a crucifix. 


Inside the Design Center / Mingei International Museum

$
0
0

 

Inside the Design Center at Mingei International Museum

There is another Dave Hampton curated exhibition coming up at Mingei. Todd Pitman and I are also lending a hand.

Ilse and Lloyd Ruocco’s Design Center, located in the Hillcrest neighborhood of San Diego, was a foundation for the modern design community of the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s. Inside the Design Center brings to life a vignette of mid-twentieth century interior, lighting, and furniture design, featuring pieces by significant California designers, manufacturers, and craftspeople as selected by Ilse Ruocco for her 1950 showroom.

This exhibition offers an immersive, revelatory window into San Diego’s culture of modernism through the lens of architecture, design, interior decorating, home goods retailing, landscape architecture, graphic design, and photography. Historic images of the Design Center set the backdrop for over 30 original pieces of modernist furnishings. Works by designers such as Ray Eames, Charles Eames, Greta Magnusson Grossman, Dorothy Schindele, Milo Baughman, and Edith Heath of Heath Ceramics are included. 

It opens on September 6th and will coincide with Boundless, Reflections of Southern California Landscapes in Midcentury Studio Ceramics It will include 150 objects from Mingei’s permanent collection. 

More information: Inside the Design Center

Weekend / Stuff

$
0
0

 David Tisdale PicNic (1986) in anodized aluminum. 

I went bike riding instead of picking this weekend so that's it. I might do the same next weekend too.


Image: 80s style : designs of the decade
by Bangert, Albrecht

Eames / Past as Prologue

$
0
0

 Past as Prologue: The Last Decade of Furniture Design by Ray and Charles Eames (1968–1978) explores the final years of Eames furniture. 

A couple weeks ago when I was in San Francisco for the Heath market, I was able to check out the latest exhibition by the  Eames Institute. It's being held at the Transamerica Pyramid Annex Gallery.

In the late 1960s, with the post war housing boom fading, Herman Miller made the decision to turn their focus to office furniture. 

“Only innovate as a last resort,” was an Eames mantra.

Robert Propst's Action Office 2 line of modular panels brought Herman Miller into the corporate cubicle world. This brought along a number of developments to meet the needs of the office workers who would be spending long hours at their desks.

Source: Eames Institute

The Eames Intermediate Chair was released in 1968. It was built off the Aluminum Group and Time Life chairs previously developed.

The EC127 was introduced in 1972 and evolved from the design of the DCM from 1946.
In addition to cushions..."I just want to say one word to you. Just one word... Plastics." The Graduate (1967) 

A 1960s DCM

The Eames EC178 has its roots in the classic fiberglass shell chairs that were developed in the late 1940s.   Considering they were made in the 1970s, they're surprisingly hard to find. I've only had one over the years. They're incredibly comfortable and, if you ask me, kind of a sleeper collecting-wise. 




DSS - Dining, Side, Stacking base. The base came about five years after the initial fiberglass side chair shell was developed.



Eames with Girard fabric





More about the exhibition cam be found at The Eames Institute.