Esoteric Survey

Some months back I posted the William Rotsler sculpture seen on the table.  The photo is from the installation of the 1989 exhibition at MoCA Los Angeles,  Blueprints for Modern Living:  History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses .  Carole Krohn and her husband made the table that was used in the exhibition. It's one of two they produced. She also provided objects for the timeline of consumer appliances section in the exhibition. Carole assisted with many other exhibitions, like What Modern Was and Machine Age Design .  Photo: David Wasco Blueprints for Modern Living:  History and Legacy of the Case Study Houses  was held in 1989 at the the Geffen Contemporary at MoCA Los Angeles.  Specifically, it was at the "Temporary Contemporary" space designed by Frank Gehry. The exhibition and accompanying book were and still are a big deal. It was the first museum show focused on the impact of the Arts & Architecture Case Study House program. It...

Case Study House 16 by Craig Ellwood (1953), also known as the Henry Salzman House and Case Study House 1953 I've driven by this one before but it was my first up close look. It did not disappoint.  This was a spec house for Henry Salzman, Ellwood's friend and the contractor who built some of his early houses. Salzman sold the house after construction and the first actual owner lived in the house into the early 2000's.  Photo: Arts & Architecture Magazine Photo: Marv Rand via California Captured Yes, it's still there.  You know, for kids.  Photo: Marv Rand I wonder what happened to the blackboard? Source: LA Times, Sept. 1953 Finn Juhl is cool but I wish this was filled with California pieces. At least they had VKG in the backyard and the Malcolm Leland vases on the cabinet. Well, and this Craig Ellwood bed by Laguna Living (the company Dorothy Schindele was partners in, with John Nicholson and Glenn Petri). Here's a beautiful color photo of it in the house....

A friend was visiting from Mexico so I took him to see some good old fashioned California modern architecture.  First stop was Case Study House 23A in La Jolla by Edward Killingsworth.   The foggy morning was a good look. Bayfront Youth and Family Services by Edward Killingsworth, 1959 Killingsworth, Brady & Smith Office, 1957 Kelly Sutherlin McLeod , the architecture firm that now occupies the building, just finished some restoration work. It looks like they did a great job.

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) ...