for someone sho rarely wears anything with a print on it (with the exception of stripes) i'm sure you might find it strange that i'm actually quite obsessed with textile design. one of my all time favorite textile designers is celia birtwell. celia was married to and collaborated with ossie clark and was david hockney's good friend and muse. for more on celia please go here and here.
(image from celia birtwell by celia birtwell)
you might have noticed that i don't post many black and white images. it's not that i have anything against black and white photography, it's just when it comes to 60s + 70s crafts + design i think a color photo really helps tell the story much better. it's probably just my frustration with not being able to see what the colors actually are and having to guess how magnficent something might look in full color. case in point is this shot of dorothy liebes from 1966. but i'm sure you'll agree that even without knowing what the colors are that's a pretty nice looking rug she made.
and speaking of dorothy liebes don't you dare miss the pacific standard time related show at LACMA. i've been to see california design 1930-1965: living in a modern way (thru june 3) twice now. one of the highlights of the show for me was the video of dorothy in her weaving studio in san francisco during the 40s.
(image via ebay)
i'm very excited to announce that i'll be speaking at the upcoming craftcation conference. for more details (list of speakers, how to register, etc.) please visit the craftcation conference website. hope to see you there!
today marks mary blair's 100th birthday. with all of the hoopla surrounding this special day i thought it might be a good time to reblog some images that i originally posted in 2006 and 2007. enjoy!
franciscan employed many studio potters and illustrators as designers. pictured here is a mural designed by mary blair that was installed at a children's hospital in los angeles.
(from the june 1967 "francisican terra-wall" catalog)
mary blair did alot of amazing work for disney. shown here is the tile mural she designed for tomorrowland in 1967. that's her (blond in the floral blouse) working on the drawings. mary worked with the interpace tile division of fransican ceramics to produce this masterpiece.
sadly this mural not longer exists. while it's not my place to judge their business decisions, it's too bad we can't visit this in person today and marvel at it's beauty.
(from a franciscan studio ceramics/interpace tile salesman's notebook insert, july 1967)
i have not been buying anything on ebay lately. but that has not stopped me from looking. it should not come as a surprise that gemma taccogna is one of my saved searches and that i always keep an eye (pun intended) on what's listed. judging by the prices her things go for i would say she has a small but loyal following. i am so glad that her talent continues to be recognized. (want to learn a little more about gemma? i profile her in my book)
pictured here are a couple of images from a recent auction. i just love it when sellers provide documentation and a little background about what they are selling - ebay can be very educational! this particular seller used an image of gemma wearing some of the very bracelets that were for sale.
i did not bid on the bracelets (and hair clip). as much as i idolize gemma the whole eyeball motif kind of turned me off. but now that i look at the photo of her wearing them once again i do have a little ting of regret that i did not make an attempt to score them. but i am sure they went to a good home.
(images via a recent ebay auction)
When I looked at the listing for Pacific Standard Time my head started to spin. How could I possibly see everything? The truth of the matter is there is no way I will be able to. I gave the exhibition schedule a good look over and here are the shows that I think are the ones not to be missed. I'm sure you will notice a theme here.
Common Ground: Ceramics in Southern California 1945-1975
American Museum of Ceramic Art (AMOCA)
11/12/2011 - 03/31/2012
Work from ceramicists such as Laura Andresen, Otto and Vivika Heino, Glen Lukens, William Manker, John Mason, Harrison McIntosh, Gertrud and Otto Natzler, Susan Peterson, Kenneth Price, Paul Soldner, and Peter Voulkos.
Related event 3/10/2012: Panel discussion including Harrison McIntosh, Raul Coronel
Please go here for more on this show
The Alchemy of June Schwarcz: Enamel Vessels
Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM)
09/25/2011 - 01/08/2012
Please go here for more on this show
The Golden State of Craft: California 1960 – 1985
Craft and Folk Art Museum (CAFAM)
09/25/2011 - 01/08/2012
This show pays tribute to two central figures in the blossoming of the craft field in California; Edith Wyle, founder of the Los Angeles Craft and Folk Art Museum and Eudorah Moore, director of the Pasadena Art Museum's California Design exhibition series.
Please go here for more on this show
The House That Sam Built: Sam Maloof and Art in the Pomona Valley, 1945 - 85
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens
9/24/2011 - 01/30/2012
The show will include works by Sam's friends and colleagues including Kay Sekimachi, Jean & Arthur Ames, The Natzlers and Harrison McIntosh. For some reason this is the show I am most looking forward to.
Related event on 11/19/2011: "The Arts Of Daily Living: SHowcasing an Alternative Modernism at the Los Angeles County Fair, 1954"
Please go here for more on this show
California Design, 1930-1965: 'Living in a Modern Way'
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
10/01/2011 - 03/25/2012
The first major study of California design will showcase more the 350 objects.
Please go here for more on this show
In Words and Wood: Sam Maloof, Bob Stocksdale, and Ed Moulthrop
Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation for Arts and Crafts
10/01/2011 - 01/28/2012
Going to this show will also give you the opportunity to see Sam Maloof's house.
Please go here for more on this show
San Diego, California San Diego's Craft Revolution – From Post-War Modern to California Design
Mingei International Museum, San Diego
10/16/2011 - 04/15/2012
This show will highlight the artists and craftspeople who were associated with San Diego State College and the Allied Craftsmen.
Please go here for more on this show
Beatrice Wood: Career Woman-Drawings, Paintings, Vessels and Objects
09/10/2011 - 03/03/2012
Please go here for more on this show
Clay's Tectonic Shift: John Mason, Ken Price and Peter Voulkos, 1956-1968
Scripps College, Ruth Chandler Williamson Gallery
01/21/2012 - 04/08/2012
Please go here for more on this show
(Images via The Pacific Standard Time website)
i love the work of marcus oakley - especially his 3D stuff. for the show royal wedding de martin parr at le bon marche in paris marcus created objects that he "wanted to look like 1960's pottery".
in looking at the work of one of my favorite potters - lucie rie (examples below) i'd say he was more than successful!
(marcus oakley images via gallery hanahou, lucie rie image via fyms)
i don't know about you but i always totallly stress out over what to wear to a job interview. and since i freelance i meet with potential clients quite often. since i work in fashion it's always such a hard decision whether or not to just dress like i always dress or to somehow customize my outfit to try to fit in with the look of the company that i am meeting with.
sheila hicks wore the suit you see picture above for her interview with florence knoll. you have to love that she made the suit using fabric that she wove herself. sheila did in fact get the job and the pattern from her suit went on to become the basis for her designs for knoll. inca (below) was inspired by sheila's travels in south america.
(images from sheila hicks - 50 years and knoll textiles nineteenhundredfortyfive - towthousandten)
in new york last june we also checked out the knoll textiles 1945 - 2010 show at the bard graduate center. i knew i was going to love it and was excited to see some of the work of eszter haraszty (pictured above) who i have long admired.
on the left that's eszter circa early 50s wearing a killer alexander calder necklace and to the right that's her in the early 70s at her home in malibu, california (or coldwater canyon as my research also placed her as having a home there too). she's holding a copy of one of her embroidery books (more on that later). how much do i love that a woman in her 50s is so confidently rocking knee socks.
at the show i was especially drawn to her designs that were inspired by the heddles on a weaving loom. even though the fibra pattern was originally designed in 1953 (an example from 1965 shown below) i think it still looks totally fresh today and there is no hint that it was designed close to 60 years ago. it does not "vintage" or "retro" at all.
eszter, a native of hungary (she was jewish and had to escape the german occupation during world war 2), lived in new york and was employed by knoll from 1949 - 1956. during the majority of that time she served as design director. that in and of itself is quite an achievement but it's her "second act" that totally fascinates me.
in 1960 she moved to los angeles to "indulge in her passion for gardening". she wrote about gardening for mc call's magazine and was very passionate about poppies - icelandic poppies to be exact. she became an avid stitcher and some of her designs were sold as kits. as you could imagine she did not shy away from bold and often large scale work (as you can see below). she even embellished modern furniture (examples also below) much in the same style as erica wilson. (as you may know i profile erica in my book and oh how i wish i had known more about eszter while i was writing it so that i could have included her too)
as you might expect upon learning about ezter's crafty side i immediately headed to ebay to find some of her books and kits. the books are very easy and inexpensive to track down but her kits are expensive and hard to come by (but i continue to look). i am now the proud owner of her 1974 book needlepainting a garden of stitches.
i got really excited when i saw who wrote the blurbs on the back cover - none other than mary tyler moore AND rudi gernreich!!! here's what rudi had to say:
"i can hardly wait to 'walk into your book' when it is finished - and if it conveys only a tiny fraction of what it is to walk into your dreamflowernatureartenchantedgardenhouseworld - it will embroider itself into people's hearts and their lives will be better for it"
that's right he said "dreamflowernatureartenchantedgardenhouseworld". of course that leads me to believe that they were good pals and wonder how much crazy fun was had at their cocktail parties.
i'll just shut up now and let you check out some of these highlights from the book:
"poppy-appliqued skylight shades the solarium protects plants, embroidery, and gros point rug from the midday sun" (i'm thinking that this is part of the "dreamflowernatureartenchantedgardenhouseworld" that rudi was referring to)
eszter's first commission in california that reflected her "wonderment at the profuse, bright flowers i saw blanketing the coutryside"
"the original corbusier lounge was covered with black pony skin. we, especially the dogs and cats, prefer it this way"
"does embroidery mix with contemporary? to find out i needlepainted these classic chairs designed by marcel breuer" (eszter lived with the breuer family after she first escaped from hungary)
as a matter of fact i do think that embroidery mixes with contemporary. thanks to eszter!
(images from knoll textiles - nineteenhundresfourtyfive - twothousandten published by the bard graduate center and yale, 2011 and needlepainting a garden of stitches by eszter haraszty and bruce david colen, 1974)
