Modern Bookshelf / Mingei

 

Dave and I will be hanging out at Mingei on Friday. I'm going to try to make him do all the talking.

In this talk, San Diego-based collectors, Steve Aldana and Dave Hampton will discuss their interest in vintage books and ephemera, specifically mid-20th century craft and design periodicals and exhibition catalogs as important sources of inspiration, learning and practical identification, as well as thoroughly realized examples of modernist print culture. Known for his informative blog, Esoteric Survey, Steve Aldana shares his notes on unique design objects, latest finds, and the architecture sites he visits. Vintage books, magazines and catalogs are used to guide his documentary-style approach to travel and collecting. The results resonate with design professionals, collectors and dealers. Dave Hampton is a local collector and curator connected to the Museum through his work on exhibitions such as San Diego's Craft Revolution and The Erik Gronborg Experience, both of which involved extensive research utilizing vintage publications and highlighted ephemera in the exhibition context. Among other mid-20th century publications, Steve and Dave will consider the Pasadena Museum of Art's California Design series of exhibitions and its accompanying body of literature, the Museum of Modern Art's Good Design series from the late 1940s, magazines like Arts & Architecture and Craft Horizons (the influential voice of the American Crafts Council). They will also discuss Objects: USA, the landmark exhibition of contemporary craft and companion exhibition catalog, mounted in 1969 by the Smithsonian Institution. When fellow collectors Aldana, Hampton, and Ronald W. Kerner joined forces as online specialty dealers in 2005, they named their new website in honor of Objects USA, since it had become such an iconic point of reference for their aesthetic interests.