Esoteric Survey

Dave Hampton and the Mingei are at it again... C. CARL JENNINGS, CALIFORNIA ARTIST-BLACKSMITH Guest-curated by San Diego contemporary craft authority Dave Hampton, this exhibition will feature large forged works including gates, headboards, chandeliers, and the free-standing sculpture of California artist-blacksmith C. Carl Jennings (1910 – 2003). Works by Jennings were previously featured in the Craft in America and California Design 11 exhibitions. The exhibitions opens August 24th. More information can be found on the Mingei's website .  Source: Mingei Gate, which was shown in California Design 11, will be on display.   You don't want to miss this.  Source:  Mingei

Amy Donaldson, La Gardo Tackett, Soleri bell, and   Ernesto the owl.

Andrew Romano from Newsweek has written a sad tale of how people with more money than sense (and taste) are buying up Los Angeles mid-century modern architecture only to rip the structures down to build crap box mcmansions. Included, is this update on the  The Kingsley Jr. House by architect  Julius Ralph (J.R.)  Davidson. Read the article here .  See my post on the J.R. Davidson Kingsley house here , and the Greta Grossman Backus house here . Find out how you can help architectural preservation efforts at The Los Angeles Conservancy .

A memorial for Ruth Asawa will be held on Aug. 27 in San Francisco at  the  Music Concourse Band Shell  in Golden Gate Park from 11 a. m. to 1 p.m.

Today, August 15th, is the 66th anniversary of the end of British rule over  India. Ten years later, in 1957,  the Indian government asked the Ford Foundation to  invite Charles and Ray Eames to India. For three months Charles and Ray traveled the country and met with  artists, writers, craftspeople, architects and people from industry. What came of this, was The India Report . One of the key recommendations was to establish the National Institute of Design (NID). With help from the Ford foundation, the institute opened in 1961. The Eames would have a lifelong relationship with the institution. Source: NID   Eames photo taken on their 1958 trip to India. Source: Library of Congress Eames Office at NID, 1964 Source:  Design for India   (A great blog with a detailed account of the Eames's relationship with the NID) Charles back in India, 1978 Source: Design for India Charles in India, 1978.  He died later th...

La Gardo Tackett at his Topanga Canyon studio, 1949

Hurley Residence, Hollywood, 1958. Designed by Greta Grossman Source: Great Magunusson Grossman: A Car and Some Shorts According to LACurbed ,the house will be on the market soon --  for the first time ever.  The Hurleys called it home from 1958 until 2013, with the passing of Mrs. Hurley. Source:  LACurbed 1958, p hoto by John Hartley Source: Great Magunusson Grossman: A Car and Some Shorts The street view isn't the best side.  Source: Google Maps 1958, photo by John Hartley Source:  LACurbed Al though similar, these T.H. Robsjohn-Gibbings chairs are different from the chairs in the photo above. Hopefully someone good buys the house and they down't do one of these .  It will be listed at $1.795 million  Source:  LACurbed Related here