Esoteric Survey

This was my first visit to the Stahl House / Case Study House 22 by Pierre Koenig. As you most likely know, it's for sale. Unfortunately, I don't have a Rothko to sell, so I'm not a buyer. However, I thought it would be a good time to visit in case a new owner wouldn't be as generous with tours as the Stahl family has been. It was a beautiful day.  Buck and Carlotta Stahl did not set out to live in a modern architecture icon. As a young married couple, they were renting an apartment with a view of the Hollywood hills. In 1954, with the dream of building a home but not really having the money to do it, they ended up buying what many thought to be an unbuildable lot. The deal was made on a handshake from property owner George Beha, from La Jolla, who agreed to carry the $13,500 mortgage. During the four years it took them to pay off the mortgage, Buck collected discarded concrete material from construction sites around Los Angeles and built up a terrace around the edge of...

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...