Esoteric Survey

  Eventually Everything Connects: Mid-Century Modern Design in the US Inspired by Charles Eames’s quote, “Eventually everything connects: people, ideas, objects,” the exhibition   included over 200 works by100 designers and artists.  It centers on the Cranbrook Academy's role in the evolution of modern design along with emphasizing the often-overlooked contributions of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and designers of color. The exhibition at  Cranbrook Art Museum  an d accompanying book were curated by Andrew Blauvelt and Bridget Bartal. Near the beginning of the exhibition is the Wartime Experiments section, with pieces from the 1941  Organic Design in Home Furnishings  competition, which was sponsored b MoMA. On the left is a chair design  Eero Saarinen and Charles Eames submitted to the competition. This example has original upholstery and was donated to Cranbrook by the Saarinen family. Ralph Rapson rocker. He studied at Cranbrook and then worked a...

If you aren't already aware of this project, you should be.  TOAD (textiles, objects & documents) was created by Alexander Wendl in collaboration with Vince Bravo . They describe it as a privately curated, digital archive that explores historical textiles, objects, and documents from the mid-century period.  Their goal is to make to make private collections public. In addition to their own incredible collections, they include pieces from fellow collectors.  Their most recent post was on a personal favorite, Laverne International .  The ephemera stacks are deep at TOAD, with a major emphasis on Herman Miller. I'm super jealous of those boxes.   Vince has one of the (if not the) best Alexander Girard collections around.  The La Fonda del Sol post includes items from the collections of Alexander, Vince and Will-Wade Gray . I don't know what's more impressive, the fact that a single restaurant had that many matchbook designs or that Will has amassed so m...

Landes Mfg. Company of California Smalls - Soleri bell and Robert Maxwell Ephemera stack Tony Hill  catalog 

Incantation textile panels, designed by Alvin Lustig, 1947. Produced by Laverne Originals Robert Maxwell and bookends