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Friday August 27, 2010 Our friend, architect and artist Herb Turner died August 16 of a stroke at Scripps Hospital in Encinitas. He was 84. Services will be at 4 p.m. Saturday (8/28) at one of his designs - South Fair at 2010 Jimmy Durante Blvd. in Del Mar. A reception immediately follows. Read his obituary HERE. Despite some effort by SOHO, and an absence of any effort by the City of San Diego, the 1936 downtown Ford dealership building by Walter Dorwin Teague, was razed by the Salvation Army. Widely recognized as a non-profit, the SA's property rights have distinct protection from community rebuttal as a religious organization. With only a handful of Teague designs in the County, including a few gas stations (which have been heartily modified) and the 1935 Ford Building in Balboa Park, it is hard to consider the hoilday bell-ringers as part of our community any longer. With the building gone, the SA plans to host .... drum roll please... a parking lot on the site. Cry into your coffee (and consider a boycott or something) by reading Showley's piece HERE. Two of Frank Lloyd Wright's four concrete textile block homes in Los Angeles remain for sale after 'languishing' on the market in search of new owners who 'take on the responsibility' by purchasing them. Pricing of La Miniatura, in Pasadena, in the last two years, has dropped from $7,733,000 to $4,995,000 while the Ennis House (in Los Feliz) went on the market last summer at $15 million. The price has since dropped to $7,495,000, not counting a projected $6 million the buyer should be ready to spend on maintenance. Read the LA Times cover story HERE.
Sunday August 22, 2010 The Los Angeles Times recently profiled the last living Case Study House architect - Beverley Thorne. His 1963 Case Study House No. 26 in San Rafael, CA still standing, Thorne continues to work at age 85. Read more HERE.
Monday August 16, 2010 While I have posted on the topic since last June, I am (still) earnestly trying to track down the whereabouts of the many adobe homes designed by Jack and Larry Weir (as Weir Bros.). If you know of one, please drop me a line so I can add it to the list HERE. If you’re planning a trip to Los Angeles, consider heading over to LACMA. Currently on view (through September 12) is “John Baldessari: Pure Beauty” a long overdue retrospective featuring 150 works spanning the artist's career from 1962 to the present day, and include works on canvas, photography, videos and artist's books. Learn more HERE. Los Angeles Modern Auctions has started posting some items from their forthcoming (in October) auction on their blog HERE. Mingei International Museum has decided to join a consortium of Southern California cultural institutions for a major initiative - "Pacific Standard Time'. The Mingei has launched a placeholder page HERE only stating "Pacific Standard Time, San Diego 1945-1980" will launch in October, 2011. Be sure to stay abreast of this topic --it's going to be the best exhibition to arrive in our town in many years. More information on the entire project's genesis can be found HERE.
Wednesday August 4, 2010 Did you know that after WWII Ramona's Lemurian Fellowship spread the gospel of modernism AND “…ancient wisdom they trace back to civilizations on the lost continents of Mu and Atlantis.” Learn about their vision for craft and MOMA's interest in their 'Good Design' in Dave Hampton's latest piece for Angela Carone's 'Culture Lust' blog HERE.
Saturday July 31, 2010 I will be moderating a forum, presented by AIA San Diego, to find out which of the city council candidates have the vision to ensure San Diego lives up to its self proclaimed status as “America’s Finest City” – in this case as it relates to the built environment. Please join me and District 6 candidates Howard Wayne and Lorie Zapf as well as District 8 candidates David Alvarez and Felipe Hueso on Tuesday, August 10. Come and find out where your future city council representatives stand on issues of planning and sustainability that may not be addressed in other campaign forums or advertising. The forum will be held between 6-8pm at the The Joan and Irwin Jacobs Theater at San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts. You must RSVP HERE.
Wednesday July 28, 2010 Please join Modern San Diego and Mercer York Real Estate for a sunset evening reception on Thursday July 29th between 5-7p.m. to see one of five Frederick Liebhardt designed private residences clustered together in a eucalpytus canyon high above the La Jolla Country Club. Drop by 7226 Romero Drive in the 92037 zip and say 'hello'. The home is for sale and we're earnestly trying to match this beautiful home with new owners understanding of its unique value.
Wednesday July 14, 2010 A new documentary, “The Visual Language of Herbert Matter” is nearing completion and should be screening across the country soon. Directed by Reto Caduff ("Charlie Haden - Rambling Boy", "A Crude Awakening"), the film invites Robert Frank, Massimo Vignelli, Alvin Eisenmann, Steven Heller, Elaine Lustig Cohen and others to share their understanding of Matters’ oeuvre. Go HERE for more information. Let’s work together to bring this film to San Diego. Friend of Modern San Diego, Gerard O'Brien, and owner of Reform Gallery, is having an unprecedented sale beginning this Thursday, July 15 and ending Saturday, July 17. Modernist treasures will be discounted between 40% and 80% including 50% off works designed by Evelyn Ackerman. Read more HERE. Mercer York Real Estate has been on fire! Today we close on a Bill Krisel designed home on Soledad Mountain Road, secure a listing of Homer Delawie's own home in Point Loma, all as we continue to engage buyers on the James Bernard designed Ruja Residence in La Mesa. Drop us a line or click on the ad below if you want to know more about living-in or selling architecture.
Monday July 12, 2010 Last Friday's open house at the Ruja Residence was fantastic. Thanks to everyone who showed up. The owners of another Bernard design, The Krauss Residence, stopped by to show off renderings of their house (and other works). One of the original concepts is pictured above. I am still looking, in earnest, for any information on this architect. Beyond the Ruja and Krauss homes, is an addition to C.M. Cavenee's home in 1954. Bernard died in 1965 -- only here for a decade, he worked from home and possibly the Design Center. Also thanks to everyone for showing up to the Jonathan Segal event on Thursday night and last week's AIA Design Awards -- it has been a busy week representing 'the little modern web site that could'! Video of the Segal event will be posted to the San Diego Architectural Foundation's website soon. In the meantime please join the Foundation HERE and attend some of the great events we have planned. Speaking of events, the Sim Bruce Richards lecture at the San Diego History Center was sold out! Thanks to everyone who came out. Widow Janet Richards, homeowners, historians and a whole bunch of people expressed their interest in Richards' work by attending. James Hubbell even came up to me afterwards to share some thoughts. Vivian Blackstone videotaped the lecture as part of her documentary on Richards. "Eero Saarinen" author Jayne Merkel poses some interesting questions in her piece "When Less Was More". Connecting Levittown to Mies to Ralph Rapson, she certainly upset a bunch of readers. I reccomend reading her piece and closing your brower - skip the public's comments to the article! On July 31st at 2pm , SCI-Arc is hosting a screening of Bette Cohen’s film "The Spirit in Architecture: John Lautner" followed by a panel discussion including Cohen and author Alan Hess. More information is HERE.
Wednesday June 8, 2010 I am presenting a lecture/presentation on local architect Sim Bruce Richards at the San Diego History Center. Serving as an additional installment of their ‘Historic Places’ series (I gave a similar presentation months ago on Homer Delawie), the lecture will explore his work as a WPA artist, Taliesin Fellow and his San Diego area projects. Please join me on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 between 5:30pm - 7:30pm at the Thornton Theatre at San Diego History Center in Casa de Balboa, Balboa Park RSVP by calling 619-232-6203, ext. 129, or send an email to gabe.selak@sandiegohistory.org to register. Additional information can be found HERE. If you're not already checking out this site, the Southern California Architectural History blog has posted a great overview of Harwell Hamilton Harris' early career HERE. While the retrospective of Greta Grossman's career at Stockholm's Arkitekturmuseet has come down (read more HERE) and the new book, 'Greta Magnusson Grossman: A Car and Some Shorts' is available for purchase HERE. Her San Diego work seems to be glossed over...
Tuesday June 8, 2010 Dave Hampton / Objects USA and Priscilla Spitler of the Paula Hocks Archive, announced a weekend-long sale of approximately one hundred works on paper by Fred Hocks (1886-1981). A large body of work, including paintings on paper, watercolors, drawings and monoprints, all from the collection of Hocks' late ex-wife, artist Paula Rohrer, will be available for sale and viewing for the first time in decades. After years in storage out of state, the entire collection returns to San Diego for one weekend only. No artist embodies San Diego's early avant-garde more than Fred (Ferdinand) Hocks, a German-born painter who settled in San Diego in the 1930s after studies at the California School of Fine Art in San Francisco and the Art Students League in New York. Fellow painter Dan Dickey credited Hock's in 1947 with "opening up pathways for future, more enlightened generations (of artists)," and predicted that Hocks would be "esteemed a master." During the post-war years Hocks was assistant director of the San Diego School of Arts and Crafts, a private art school in La Jolla, and was instrumental in keeping affordable artist's studios in Spanish Village. Along with modern architect Lloyd Ruocco, Hocks co-founded the dynamic Allied Artists Council with Belle Baranceanu, Everett Gee Jackson, Dan Dickey and John Olson. The event will take place at Ronis Fine Art on Saturday, June 19th and Sunday, June 20th from 10am to 4pm.
Monday June 7, 2010 For the first time in 55 years, Philip Johnson's first commissioned residential home is up for sale. The Booth House’s (circa 1946) floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the surrounding woodlands was a precursor to Mr. Johnson's iconic Glass House in New Canaan, Conn., built in 1949. The home belongs to former architect Sirkka Damora and her late husband, Robert. The couple rented the home before purchasing it in 1955 for $23,500. "We were intrigued by it because it was a modern house and we were both in architecture," Ms. Damora said. "We knew it was Philip Johnson's house but the name didn't mean much at the time." Mr. Damora, an architect and architectural photographer, renovated the basement of the three-bedroom home to include more living space and added an entire wall of glass. He also completed the home's kitchen and bathroom, which Mr. Johnson never finished. Ms. Damora is moving to Boston to be closer to her two children. The home was listed in April with William Raveis Real Estate for $2 million. Part of the money from the sale will go toward archiving a portion of Mr. Damora's photographs, which captured the development of mid-century modern architecture. See the slideshow HERE.
Friday May 14, 2010 Join Mercer York Real Estate for an exclusive pre-MLS reception at
the Liebhardt Residence The guide to campus architecture "University of California San Diego: Campus Guides" will be released on June 2nd by Princeton Architectural Press with a street price of $29.95. Amazon has it available for pre-order at a discounted price of $19.77 HERE. Dion Neutra Presents: “The Amazing Neutras in Orange County
AKA Can we Save Such Icons?” The exhibition, reception and panel
discuss will be presented at OBJCT Gallery in the historic Claremont
Packing House on Saturday May 22, 2010 - 6 - 9 PM
Friday May 7, 2010 On Tuesday night, Christie's New York sold Pablo Picasso's bold 1932 portrait of his lover Marie-Thérèse Walter, "Nude, Green Leaves and Bust," for $106.5 million, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Read more HERE. While the super-rich were bidding on Picasso, I gave my "Julius Shulman's San Diego Projects" presentation (again) at The Pearl. For those that stayed and witnessed the audio problems handicapping the viewing of "Visual Acoustics", The San Diego Architectural Foundation and The Pearl will try again on June 1st to present the film free to the public. Please consider joining us. The DVD goes on sale to the public on May 25th. You can order it HERE. Did you attend the screening of "William Krisel, Architect" at MCASD last night? Or the after-party? We had to run home to the babysitter following the film and Krisel's Q&A session with MCASD (and Krisel owner) Deputy Director Charles Castle. Thanks to you all for filling the seats - demonstrating the appetite for this material. The good guys at Objects USA are hosting another of their quarterly gallery openings. Click HERE for more info and save your money for the weekend of 5/28. That is if you don't blow it all at the forthcoming (May 23rd) Los Angeles Modern Auction. La Jolla's RB Stevenson Gallery is opening a new show "Richard Allen Morris, Patch and Paint (New Work)" with an opening reception on Friday, June 11th. Learn more HERE. I started blogging about Greg Strangman's historic designation process for his Loch Crane home. Check out the first installment in the series HERE. Burlington, Vermont is offering a tour of local modernist homes on June 26. If you're going to be in the area, click HERE. For those steeped in Craig Ellwood history, one of his key clients Max Palevsky died this week. Read the obituary HERE and wonder aloud with a blogger what may happen to his home in Palm Springs HERE. Thomas Hines’ new book 'Architecture of the Sun, Los Angeles Modernism 1900-1970' is being released by Rizzoli on May 25th with a street price of $95. Hines starts his look at modernism and regionalism through contrasting the turn-of-the-century Craftsman work of Charles and Henry Greene with the rationalist modernism of their contemporary Irving Gill and the expressionist modernism of Frank Lloyd Wright and his son Lloyd Wright. From there he tackles the myths of Rudolph Schindler and his contemporary Richard Neutra, as well as their devotees: Gregory Ain, Raphael Soriano, and Harwell Harris. Hines explores John Entenza’s Case Study House program before moving on to John Lautner, William Pereira and Welton Becket. Pre-order it HERE.
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010 According to one of our intrepid reporters, San Diego's Historic Resources Board (H.R.B.) cleared our only Skidmore, Owings Merrill building - Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (ca. 1956) - at 2901 Fifth Avenue for demolition. The Cityof San Diego staff's position is that this stucture is not significant. This is a reversal from two years ago, when City staff under Mike Tudury held the position that it was significant. Five voted against staff and in favor of designation (including Ann Jarmusch) while two votes supported staff. Six votes in favor are required to designate. The motion to save a valuable work of 20th Century modernist architecture, a cultural asset visible to the public, failed by one vote.
Sunday, April 18th, 2010 The Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD) will present a freel screening of Design Onscreen’s latest documentary film, 'William Krisel, Architect' on Thursday, May 6 at 7PM. Directed by Jake Gorst, William Krisel, Architect explores architect William Krisel\'s life and work, including his roots in 1930s China, his ground-breaking designs for modern living, and interviews with scholars, his contemporaries and family. Admission to this event is free, but a reservation is required. To make a reservation, please e-mail info@mcasd.org. If you haven't yet, sign up for the MercerYork newsletter -- and learn more about regular events and happenings HERE.
Thursday, April 15th, 2010 On Sunday, April 25th, be sure and stop by Mod Swap. Mid-century collectors with too much stuff will bring their vintage modern furniture, art and objects to sell and trade in an open market Please join us to shop for fantastic deals on great stuff in the parking lot at the intersection of Kettner and W Kalmia (in front of Klassik and Jett in Little Italy) from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm. Visit the events page for more information:http://objectsusa.com/events.htm Whether your live in the College Area, Alvarado Estates or not, there's some great info on the mid-century housing boom in the area on this local site: College Neighborhoods. Two reasons to drive up to Los Angeles this weekend -- Korean contemporary art and a Case Study (open) House by Pierre Koenig. Two reasons, one venue (and it's free). Learn more HERE. For those among you wondering how to spend that $5 million in your checking account, consider looking at THIS LISTING in Laguna Beach. William Alexander Levy's 'Hangover House' (ca. 1937) was well ahead of its time. Some folks in Olympia, WA have organized their first examination of their local mid-century architecture. For more information on the series of events, click HERE.
Friday, April 2nd, 2010 For those that missed the "Inside the Studio" with architect Robert Mosher, please join the good folks at the San Diego Architecture Foundation (and the folks over at YouTube) to see it HERE. I am on a quest to learn a bit more about local ('60s era) building designer Dean Vickery. Thus far I have only located the following two homes: Daluiso Residence (1967) at 4946 New Ranch Rd. in El Cajon and the Bill Merritt Residence (1965) at 6467 Elmhurst in Del Cerro. If you have any leads or details on his career, please drop me a line HERE. Though architect Edward Fickett died 11 years ago, he is back in the news. His widow Joycie Ficket, 83, just donated his archive to USC. Hopefully his San Diego projects will be available for researchers examining his use of floor-to-ceiling windows, vaulted ceilings, open kitchens connected to dining rooms, sliding closet doors, landscaping that went all around the house -- not to mention how he would mix colors -- peach, pink, turquoise or light green -- into concrete, providing a cheery exterior without the cost of painting. Read more HERE. Thanks to gracious hosts, I had the opportunity to tour Richard Neutra's Oxley Residence last week. While it has been moved to the eastern portion of its original site, remodeled some, and the water features and 'spider legs' removed, it was certainly a memorable afternoon.
Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 John Crosse has published a great piece on William Krisel's "Imperial 400 Motel" chain. If you ever wondered who designed the Imperial Motel (great street facade, conservative rooms) at 6624 El Cajon Blvd (in the College Area), the answer is HERE. "Being There," a new exhibition of work by Italian photographer Luisa Lambri is composed of images that Lambri took in 2007 inside two Los Angeles homes: Richard Neutra's Sten-Frenke house in Santa Monica and the Sheats-Goldstein residence in Beverly Hills by John Lautner. Check out the show at the Hammer Museum through June 13, or learn more HERE. As an owner of a Craig Ellwood designed home, I keep an eye out for the rare occasion that a similarly designed home appears on the real estate market. And in this case the seemingly impossible confluence of variable – not one but three Ellwood designs are currently on the market in Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area. You can see Ellwood’s firm as it evolves through the Broughton Residence (1949) HERE; his 1952 Johnson Residence utilizing the ideas as his Case Study Houses HERE; as well as the epic (and Farnsworth-like) 1961 Rosen House in Burlingame HERE. "Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future," a retrospective of
Saarinen's work, spans two buildings at his alma mater, the Yale University
Art Gallery and the Yale School of Architecture. In addition to previously
unseen drawings, models, photographs, notes and letters from the Saarinen
archive at the university, "Shaping the Future" —previously
exhibited internationally — is closing its run on May 2nd at
a campus that also has a few of his distinctive buildings. Learn more
HERE. According to the New York Times, the archives of the architecture firm Yamasaki Associates, in Troy, Mich. have been rescued from shredding at the 11th hour. The firm, Ywas founded in the 1950s by the modernist architect Minoru Yamasaki, who in addition to the Twin Towers designed the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles. Mr. Yamasaki died in 1986, and his office was closed in January. The alert, of the threatened archive, assembled a crew to drive a truck to Troy, with one day’s notice, to save the archive from being shredded. Bruce Graham, the hard-driving architect of the Willis (originally Sears) Tower, once the world’s tallest building, and the John Hancock Center, the X-braced giant that became a symbol of Chicago’s industrial might, died Saturday at his home in Hobe Sound, Fla. He was 84 years old. At the peak of his influence, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Graham was the top man at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
Wednesday, February 24th, 2010 The San Diego Museum of Art just launched the exhibition Joaquín Torres-García: Constructing Abstraction with Wood. Torres-García celebrated as a modernist painter, teacher and author exhibited with the most famous artists of his time including Antonio Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg and Marcel Duchamp. Visiting the show, you will witness 80 wooden constructions (small-scale boxes, abstract male and female figures, masks and assemblages), as well as oil paintings and drawings that demonstrate the connections between his experiments in two- and three-dimensional forms. The show runs through May 30th. Sculptor Henry Moore is being portrayed as a radical who explored a dark world of sex, war and death, in a new show that challenges his modern image as the creator of gentle figures that adorn wind-swept plazas around the world. London's Tate Britain gallery has brought together more than 150 of the artist's sculptures and paintings in what has been billed as the biggest exhibition of his work in a generation. From claustrophobic drawings of skeletal figures sheltering from air raids to primitive stone masks and vast, erotic wooden female figures, it traces Moore's work over more than 40 years.
Remodeled Beyond All Recognition: 3615 Dorothy Way (AKA Lloyd Ruocco's
Bauman Monday, February 22nd, 2010 Easily one of the most often asked questions of Modern San Diego is "How do I find out who the architect of my home is?" There are a number of answers to such a query, and none really better than the other. It always seems that we learn about history serendipitously. When I hear this question a number of scenarios (rather than straight answers) come to mind: Are the blueprints in the home? Was the last seller of the house the original commissioning client, architect, or someone aware of the history of the home? Does the real estate agent who specializes in the area know who designed it... or how about a long-time neighbor? Outside of these and additional ideas I can come up with at a moment's notice, one has to do some searching of publications available via the public library, the San Diego Historical Society (or your own local historical society), the local newspaper and old telephone books as well as City or County tax assessor's records. While a chain of title doesn't always reveal the answer, there are always clues. In some cases you can look up previous owners of your home in the phone book and give them a call. Someone will know the answer. You may be wondering why I bring this up today... ...Easily the driving force behind this website is the "Eureka!" moments, and those shared with other devotees of modernism are easily the best. Going back 10 years, when I purchased my home, one of my neighbors mentioned that a house down the street was by an architect and was published in Sunset Magazine as "A House for a Young Couple" or something along those lines. I kept a watchful eye on the home and witnessed, prior to learning who designed it, a slumlord cut the house up into four tiny bedrooms, move the garage, cover up clerestory windows and actually change the roof line and front facade into something much less dramatic. I gave up on wondering aloud who the house was designed by. Yesterday Todd came over with an old Sunset Magazine with an article on a Lloyd Ruocco home he was dying to learn where it was -- the article failed to mention a neighborhood or a street name. Easily identifiable in one photo was that the house was perched on the rim of a canyon. The rendering of the home looked familiar to me but I failed to connect the dots. After our visit, and a conversation about looking up the client's name in old phone books, Todd called to say the house that I can see from my own backyard, on the rim of the same canyon, was by Lloyd Ruocco. And better yet, it is currently in escrow. While I wish I had better news, as the house is remodeled beyond recognition, we toured the house today and looked earnestly for the long-lost blueprints (that would make possible a restoration effort), we came up empty. When the new owner of 3615 Dorothy Way checks their mail they will find a note from me telling them they have just purchased Ruocco's Bauman Residence and a copy of the Sunset magazine article detailing the original luster of the home -- and why it has a huge redwood sliding wall of glass... San Diego architect Tom Tucker died of lung cancer last week at his Escondido home. Mr. Tucker was 86. Read his obituary HERE. Sacramento has mid-century fever! On January 26th some folks are hosting the first tour of its kind in the area. On the tour are Eichler homes by Jones + Emmons as well as local architects like Carl Sparks. Read more HERE. In a recent post I asked for any information on the Mira Mar Motor Inn & Restaurant/Ship Room at 815 N. Coast Hwy. in Oceanside. Thanks to one reader, there is a ton of information at the Tiki Central site. Check it out HERE. Granada Hills' 108 Eichler homes in the Balboa Highlands area was recently investigated as becoming a historic preservation overlay zone. Meet a homeowner and learn more HERE. Shortly after the article was published by the Daily News, THIS ARTICLE confirmed that the L.A. City Council named the tract in Granada Hills as a preservation zone. Apparently Richard Neutra’s Mariners Medical Arts Building in Newport Beach is once again being threatened. from the wrecking ball. The medical offices at 1901 Westcliff Drive in Newport Beach were deemed by city officials as “one of the best examples of Neutra’s medical building typology, and as one of the few remaining intact examples, the Mariners’ Medical Arts building is highly significant, and is an exemplary execution of Neutra’s approach to designing architectural environments in a holistic manner for the medical profession.” Yet the building is threatened again. Read more HERE. On February 29th the Cleveland Museum of Art celebrate the reopening of Gartner Auditorium, the museum's assembly space designed by architect Marcel Breuer in 1971. Read more HERE.
Saturday February 6th, 2010 San Diego's first mid-century modern theater, The Capri, became an unlikely outpost of San Diego modernism. In fact, the Capri became a showcase for some of San Diego’s most progressive artists of the era. Beyond the building’s facade appearing to be a Mondrian painting; and Miró-inspired mosaics in the bathrooms, the lobby became a curated gallery, displaying work by important local artists. Read more HERE. Pablo Picasso’s 1963 painting “Tete de Femme (Jacqueline)” fetched 8.1 million pounds ($12.9 million), twice the presale top estimate, at Christie’s International in London as telephone bidding from Russian buyers boosted the market for 20th-century European art. The head-and-shoulders portrait of the artist’s second wife, Jacqueline Roque, had been estimated at 3 million pounds to 4 million pounds. Read more HERE. The Palm Springs City Council voted to designate the 1962 Royal Hawaiian Estates condominium complex, designed by Donald Wexler and Richard Harrison, a historic district. Read more HERE. Below is the schedule for Palm Springs Modernism Week. Apparently two hotels have already been booked to capacity; all days, except Monday, are sold out for the double-decker bus tour; and tickets to the event's annual gala also are selling at a brisk pace. Attendance is expected to top 10,000! Learn more HERE. Feb. 12 London’s Tate Modern is currently hosting a new show "Van Doesburg and the International Avant-Garde: Constructing a New World." This is the first major exhibition in the U.K. dedicated to the Dutch artist Theo van Doesburg (1883-1931), who beyond his own art was, the founder of De Stijl magazine (as well as the ‘movement’). The show includes Doesburg’s stained glass, Bauhaus designs, De Stijl furniture including works by Gerrit Thomas Rietveld. Additionally, the visitor will experience examples of commercial and popular art, as well as excursions into Dada, Constructivism, film and musical composition and much more.
Saturday January 30th, 2010 Attention shutterbugs! Can you all help me out by roaming the county and surveying/photographing some buildings for me? Sometime around 1960, the "Architects of San Diego AIA" published a little tri-fold brochure titled "Buildings of Interest in San Diego California". Many of the addresses and architects are unfamiliar to Modern San Diego and we would like your help gaining a better understanding of what is at these sites today. Please e-mail me any information you gather and photos (at least 600 pixels wide and 72 dpi) and I will update the masses. If anyone has a copy of the brochure I would love to get a photocopy of it. Chula Vista City Heights College Area Downtown/Midtown Escondido La Jolla La Mesa Linda Vista Mission Hils National City North Park Oceanside Pacific Beach Point Loma
Saturday January 16th, 2010 Apologies for being absent from posting much lately -- between quitting a job, taking the holidays to re-group, starting a new job and juggling MercerYork and my family, ModernSanDiego took a bit of a backseat these last weeks. But... I am back. We heard late in the week that Clare Crane was not able to give her Frank Lloyd Wrigth lecture at the Point Loma Branch Library. Let's hope she gets well soon and reschedules. It may not be a surprise, but my wife and I have been good friends of Huell Howser's for years now (he served as our secular wedding officiant). He is selling one of his homes -- and this one is spectacular. Check out the photos HERE. Through April 8th, The Drawing Center in New York City is hosting “Iannis Xenakis: Composer, Architect, Visionary.” Read more about his connection to Le Corbusier, and his efforts to realize the Phillips Pavillion for the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair HERE. Keep tabs on the San Diego Museum of Art, they're new show "Art in the 20th Century" featuring works by Frank Stella, Robert Delaunay, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Diego Rivera opens in mid-February. On Sunday, January 24th Modern San Diego will be discussed on "Inside Art" at 6 p.m. on KSDS/ Jazz88.Host Dave Drexler will also be chatting about Palm Springs Modernism (coming in February).
Thursday January 7th, 2010 The first post of 2010. There has certainly been a lot of activity lately -- most notably our slide show of Julius Shulman's San Diego images following the Ken Cinema's presentation of the film "Visual Acoustics" on the 1st. It was wonderful to see so many folks we have met through Modern San Diego present in the theater. Mercer York is off to a great start -- we already are representing three significant projects by Russell Forester, William Lewis and Homer Delawie. Check out the site HERE and tell a friend. If you have time on Wednesday January 13, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. Please join me (and others) for what should be an interesting lecture by our friend (and architect Loch Crane's wife) Dr. Clare Crane. Her lecture, "Frank Lloyd Wright and the Taliesin Fellowship by Clare Crane"will "include memories and slides of Dr. Crane's two summers living at Taliesin and studying art, music and architecture." The lecture will be held at Hervey Point Loma Branch Library, 3701 Voltaire Street, San Diego, 92106. The evening is presented by Peninsual Arts. |
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