Esoteric Survey

While I was at Southwestern College a few weeks ago checking out the original buildings before they get demolished ,  I paid a visit to "Dark" by Bruce Nauman. The sculpture is "a 4’ by 4’ by 4” thick solid steel slab with the word “DARK” written on the bottom. It was purchased as part of the Annual Purchase Award Exhibit: Outdoor Sculpture April 19 - May 10, 1968. $1900 of student funds were used to pay Nauman for the work.  Source: SPEAKOUT , Southwestern College Art Gallery, The First Decade It was a controversy before it was even out of concept form.   Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Little old ladies in tennis shoes did not start this fire. Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 Bob Matheny makes a great point.  Source: Chula Vista Star News, 1968 John Baldessari was an instructor at Southwestern College at the time and wrote an essay in defense of "Dark". Here are some of his key points, which are so good and so Baldessari. Read the full essay here ....

It was a pretty good weekend. Ellamarie Woolley, Jack Boyd, some Eames toys ,George Nelson, Timo Sarpaneva, Van Keppel-Green, and La Gardo Tackett. Jack Boyd Ellamarie Woolley

La Gardo Tackett for Architectural Pottery, with the original stake.  Although this is the first survivor I've seen, I would love to get more. They look great in a group. As seen in the Architectural Pottery catalog.  Knoll aluminum planters and a great 1930s lamp. 

Claremont United Methodist Church  (Originally Claremont Methodist Church) in Claremont, CA by Richard Neutra and Robert Alexander (1959) and rebuilt by Dion Neutra (1968).  I was in Claremont this past weekend and my friend Danny at Modern for All  asked if I had ever been to the Neutra church in town. I hadn't, so off I went. With fires nearby and pandemic restrictions in place, I was just expecting to do a smokey drive by. However, there was a car parked in front when I arrived. With camera in hand, the lady in the car asked if I was there for the architecture. After asking me a series of health questions, she invited me in--masked up of course. She turned out to be the Lead Pastor, Rev. Karen Clark Ristine. Coincidentally she used to live in San Diego. Rev Clark gave me five minutes to take photos of their beautiful church.  The original sanctuary was completed in 1959. Trademark Neutra touches like spider legs and clerestory windows are evident in the design. Th...

Isamu Kenmochi stool, Rosenlew kannellinen vuoka by Timo Sarpaneva and a  Oiva Toikka Nuutajarvi bird. March 1950

  San Diego Design Week is an annual five-day series of events that celebrates interdisciplinary design in our region through talks, studio tours, workshops, and self-guided tours. In 2020 we’re exploring the theme of Design+.  There are a ton of free events that look super interesting. Here is my short list: EPHEMERA AS EVIDENCE: MODERN SAN DIEGO GRAPHIC STORIES Ephemera as Evidence is an ongoing investigation into San Diego midcentury print culture. This video conversation with Dave Hampton and Bill Perrine examines two printed objects from the early 1960s: Guy Williams’ artists’ book “Poems for Painters,” and a complete deck of illustrated “Space Cards” made by the Art Department at Convair Astronautics Division of General Dynamics. These artworks come out of vibrant and distinct creative subcultures, one being a community of bookstores, independent publishing, poets and painters, and the other a world of scientific research, military-industrial contracts and space explora...