Esoteric Survey

Farnsworth Skalar Modern Weinberg Modern It's good to see some old school Douglas Fir DIY modern on 1stdibs. The lack of the usual grasping for designer names through attributions is also refreshing.  Some things are just great no matter who made them. In the manner of honest design.

Bob Mantheny , artist, educator and all around cool guy, recently told me how he camped out at the Aspen Design Conferences in the 1950's, took a field trip to the Eames House back in the day and even did some industrial design. I of course knew of Matheny's artwork and history in the art scene (including Southwestern College and the Art Disposal Service ), but this aspect of his career was something I hadn't heard about before. Bob was nice enough to indulge me with a guest post... Long Beach City College in the late nineteen forties and early fifties provided me the first introduction to the aesthetic we now call "Mid-Century Modern." The art department faculty at that time was young and enthusiastic about teaching art majors a contemporary approach to art, quite a revolution when you compare American art at the time with European art. Pedro Miller was the department chair and ceramics instructor. Norma Matlin was in charge of design, Joe Donat drawing, Fr...

La Gardo Tackett wheel-thrown studio pot Doyle Lane Doyle Lane handles Susan Peterson

 Greta Magnusson Grossman - A Car and Some Shorts May 2, 2013 - June 29, 2013 at R Gallery Image: Covenger & Kester  - This is a tumblr you should be following. Andrew digs up some great stuff!  He took this photo on a recent visit to R Gallery.  Grossman prototype lamp from her  Claircrest Drive house . (See photo below).  Image:  Covenger & Kester Source: Domus

Last week, the folks from Cosanti were given a plaque designed by Frank Henry,  Taliesin West Architect and faculty member, to honor Paolo Soleri's contrib ution to the architecture field . The drawing on the plaque is this bridge that Paolo  worked on during his time at Taliesin West in 1947. Source: Arcosatnti Related posts here and here .  More about Soleri here .

LAMA  preview for the May 18th Auction Ken Price Ed Ruscha Claire Falkenstein Claire Falkenstein Harry Bertoia George Nelson Isamu Noguchi Radio Nurse Did you know that the Noguchi Radio Nurse had something to do with Charles Lindbergh’s son being kidnapped? It's true. Here's the story . Source: ArtInfo J.R. Davidosn table for his Kingsley Jr. House Read LAMA Director of 20th Century Decorative Art & Design, Dan Tolson's post on this table here . He even get's a shout out from LACMA Curator Wendy Kaplan in the comments section.  No food or drinks on the Nakashima! Marcel Breuer Long Chair Roy McMakin Wright/ Knoll / Wright Frank Lloyd Wright / Petroglyph logo The big money painting is behind the desk... This super early and rare Vija Clemins knife and dish painting is estimated at $300,000 TO $500,000 The still life with the Mouille lamp under the Clemins is interes...

IBM fabric designed by Angelo Testa, with Paul Rand's logo Source and more info: Cooper-Hewit National Design Museum