ALAN ROSENBERG

2012-02-08T19:09:00.000-08:00

Dear friends: this blog is now closed, BUT please visit my new blog: http://www.alanrosenbergcurator.com/ . Thanks for taking a look! -Alan Rosenberg

WAVE HILL

2010-08-15T16:09:00.000-07:00

I had never been to Wave Hill before but finally went last week. Wave Hill is a public garden comprised of two, previously private, adjoining estates on high land overlooking the Hudson River in Riverdale, in the Bronx, New York. There are formal gardens and naturalistic landscapes and two historic houses, Wave Hill House and Glyndor House (the latter in my photos below). The very persistently hot summer has taken a toll on greenery everywhere this year, drying out and burning leaves and grass but Wave Hill is still refreshing and beautiful. The moderate scale of the landscape makes it easy to enjoy in an afternoon and it was incredibly easy to get there via the number 2 express bus which was an airconditioned adventure in itself, winding its way through Harlem, Washington Heights and the Bronx. Do visit.

BERGMAN APARTMENT, 1973

2010-07-21T16:24:00.000-07:00

The Chicago apartment of Lindy and Edward Bergman has always been fascinating to me and my recollection of seeing it in the January/February 1973 issue of Architectural Digest was refreshed when I pulled that issue off the shelf at my parents' apartment recently. The Bergman's collected an important assembly of surrealist art which has since been given to the Art Institute of Chicago. The collection includes very important examples by de Chirico, Tanguy, Dali, Magritte, Marisol, Delvaux and many other artists. The decoration of their apartment was remarkable because it appears fairly modest, but a close look at the photographs published in Architectural Digest shows extraordinary juxtapositions of modern, surrealist and African art, 17th and 18th century English furniture and luxurious wallcoverings and textiles. I've never seen any other interior quite like this one. It's incredibly rich but extremely subtle. I love the houseplants throughout. The interiors were designed by Virginia Phillips. Click on the photos to see more detail.

Library: wallcovering and curtains in pewter suede. Art by Marisol, Calder, Friedeberg, English furniture, African textiles, modern leather sofa.

Bedroom: art by Paul Delvaux, Claes Oldenburg, Joseph Cornell, Asian furniture, pre-Columbian jewelry mounted on wall; wallcovering is pink and bronze tone damask; chandelier is early 19th century gilt-bronze.

Living room: leather-covered Chesterfield sofa, hand-woven curtains by Maria Kipp, bronze table by Giacometti, sculptures by Arp, Bontecou, Cornell

Living room: batik velvet upholstery, African, South Pacific and pre-Columbian art, 18th century English secretary, paintings by Enrico Baj and Giorgio de Chirico; Picasso ceramics and coffee table made out of a Sicilian donkey cart.

Living room: art nouveau leaded glass fire screen, old English furniture, art by Picasso, Ernst, et al. Note houseplants.

Handwoven curtains by Maria Kipp, boxes by Joseph Cornell, Oceanic art, houseplants.

Foyer, wood paneling, Elizabethan wedding chest and Hamadan wedding rug, art by Miro, Marisol and Brauner.

Dining room: wood paneled walls, Liberty-style silk curtains, Georgian furniture, paintings by Magritte and Tanguy, sculptures by Miro and George Segal.

WRIGHT LUDINGTON

2010-07-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

When I visit my parents' apartment and stay overnight I sleep in the maid's room in which my mother keeps her collection of Architectural Digest magazines. I love it--it's so cozy and, of course, I could spend hours looking at the AD's which date back to 1971. My old bedroom is now my father's and my brother's old bedroom is now my father's office. The master bedroom is my mother's domain. Browsing through some of those early 1970s Architectural Digests I came across a feature on the Montecito, California, home of Wright Ludington in the January/February 1973 issue. Ludington is described as an "internationally known collector and arbiter of taste." I probably first became aware of Ludington and his collection when I visited, many years ago, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, to which he bequeathed many magnificent works of modern and ancient art. Those works of art are shown in the photographs of Ludington's villa, including paintings by Picasso, Braque, Redon, Roualt, ancient Roman, Mexican and Egyptian sculpture and 18th century European furniture. Ludington collaborated on the design of the house with architect Lutah Riggs and interior designer Leonard Stanley. I aspire to Ludington's level of connoisseurship.

SOFTLY, GENTLE SLUMBER COMES

2010-07-16T20:34:00.000-07:00

Found on a recent expedition: Softly, a "mood album" of musical recordings promoting sedative Placidyl (ethchlorovynol) still wrapped in its original plastic. "Placidyl . . .and softly gentle slumber comes. Rest assured." Songs selected by Jackie Gleason: "This new album for Abbott Laboratories brings us more of the now-famous Gleason sound. . . here is surely the best that good listening music has to offer. So if you prefer music for quiet reminiscing or just plain relaxing, sit back and enjoy yourself. Then you'll know . . . HOW SWEET IT IS."

METROPOLITAN MUSEUM, RIVERSIDE CALIFORNIA

2010-07-04T12:29:00.000-07:00

The photos below are not from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. I took these pictures at the Metropolitan Museum of Riverside California on my recent visit there (well, it wasn't so recent but, like tens of thousands of other bloggers, I'm way behind on my posts). The museum has an interesting exhibition on "Adornment" (on view until February 2011) which includes a charmingly surrealistic section on historic hairstyles, executed by the students at the Riverside Community College, Department of Cosmetology. It really was an extremely thoughtful exhibition and the research and execution undertaken by the cosmetology students warms my mind.

HUNTINGTON LIBRARY, GALLERIES, GARDENS

2010-05-23T19:02:00.000-07:00

I had not been to "the Huntington" in San Marino, California, since my first trip to Los Angeles, quite a while ago. I finally got back there on my recent trip. A renovation of the galleries was completed recently and it really shows, in a good way. The installations are stunningly subtle (an oxymoron, yes), refined, exalted. The elements--art, architecture, furniture, decorative arts-are European (magnificence) but the effect is American (unencumbered). The gardens--Japanese, Chinese, Desert, Australian, etc--are splendid individuallly and viewed consecutively acheive an effect of additive awe. Definitely devote a day.

House:

Chinese garden

Japanese house

Japanese garden

Bonsai collection:

Desert garden

Mausoleum:

VINTAGE POSTCARDS FROM SHINE GALLERY LA

2010-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

I bought these vintage postcards at Shine Gallery in the old farmer's market in Los Angeles, also the home of another favorite, Littlejohn's Candies. Shine gallery has the most amazing, extensive inventory of novelties, trinkets, little toys and gifts, all from the 1920's-1970's, the kinds of things you may have bought as a child with your allowance at a shop that sold penny candy, comic books, magazines, greeting cards and novelties and may have had a soda fountain and ice cream counter. Such places still existed when I was a child in the 1970's. These postcards show custom cars designed and built by Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, the leader of Kalifornia Kustom Kar Kulture. I love the 1960's beach party movies and I remember seeing some on television when I was a pre-teen that were truly surrealistic, with bizarre space-alien, sea monster and ghost subplots which were obviously influenced by or expressive of the kustom kulture.

LOS ANGELES COUNTY MUSEUM OF ART

2010-05-11T16:38:00.000-07:00

Some of the reinstalled galleries at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art are now open and some are still in progress. The groovy (literally) installation of the art of ancient America will probably need to be redesigned within a decade. The new galleries for German Expressionist art are smooth, dark and lovely (might make it past the decade mark). I'm praying to god (the board of directors) that the old master galleries will incorporate furniture and decorative arts. Installation in progress looks hopeful (my photos below).

GETTY VILLA

2010-05-02T19:03:00.000-07:00

We visited the Getty Villa in Malibu, California, my first time there (to the Getty Villa). The buildings, gardens and site are magnificent and there are remarkable things within. I am amazed, but not surprised, that some critics derided it as Disney-like kitsch when it opened. Of course, for me there is no such thing as kitsch, even Disney is deadly serious (seriously). The design was directed by Norman Neuerburg with a great deal of input by Mr. Getty himself . An extraordinary amount of handcraftsmanship was utilized in carrying out the design (coloful mosaics, intricate plasterwork, exquisite wall paintings, rich marble veneers). In a 1975 article, published in volume IV of Classical America, soon after the completion of the museum, Neuerburg recounted that "the initial reaction of the local critics, none capable of judging what had been done, was essentially negative, ranging from just unkind to downright vitriolic, and unfortunately their comments were picked up around the world and repeated by other equally unimaginative people." He also noted though, that "the public, fortunately, doesn't pay too much attention to what critics say and the Museum has become impressively popular with visitors."

DELMAN EXHIBITION AT FIT

2010-04-25T15:13:00.000-07:00

I'm afraid the Delman shoe exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology here in New York has closed but you can still check out the online exhibition. I just had to post this photo of these circa 1960 booties. The show was curated by students in the master's degree program at FIT, of which I am a graduate.

D. GETSON EASTERN EMBROIDERY, LOS ANGELES

2010-04-25T14:58:00.000-07:00

While in Los Angeles recently I was excited to see the sign of D. Getson Eastern Embroidery and insisted that we pull over to take a photo. The Getson atelier is known amongst fashion people as the creator of lavish beaded and sequined embroideries for James Galanos, like the incredible bodice below of a gown at vintage fashion source Decades. I bit more about Getson at the Kent State University Museum, which I visited in the past year.

COLONIAL KITCHEN, SAN MARINO, LOS ANGELES

2010-04-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

Before going to the Huntington Gardens in San Marino we had lunch at the Colonial Kitchen where I spotted this cute painting. The painting is actually a very "continental" note in a restaurant which is otherwise a timewarp of Americana circa 1960, the decor, the food and the patrons. You can see pictures of the menu and food at Biggest Menu. In a private dining room there was a large group of white- and blue-haired ladies playing cards. We loved it.

NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM, LOS ANGELES

2010-04-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

The Natural History Museum in Los Angeles has lots of interesting things to see including a fabulous gallery of gems and minerals and an insectarium that includes enormous, shocking, live insects. In the California history gallery I particularly like this positively Dali-esque cart. This is not a surrealist sculpture or a Hollywood movie prop but an actual wooden cart from the period of Spanish rule in California.

ALEXANDRA VON FURSTENBURG SHOP, LOS ANGELES

2010-04-25T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised by Alexandra von Furstenburg's home furnishings store/gallery in Los Angeles. One might wonder what she has going for her other than a name and lots of money, and her designs borrow heavily from 1970s style, riding a fashionable wave that may have crested--in my opinion, but she more than manages to pull off a look that is chic and oddly thoughtful at the same time. Perhaps it is just the white California light or perhaps she recognizes that sometimes you just need a neon-colored lucite desk or accessory to finish, or start, your room. Her furniture and furnishings have interesting contrasts of tone and density, with thick slabs of color playing against thin lines of light and a well considered combination of disco and conceptual art sensibilities. Despite the hard edges the whole look is surprisingly unpretentious. Again, maybe it was just the light but she really seems to get it right.

GARDENS IN BEVERLY HILLS

2010-04-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Greystone, in Beverly Hills, is a 1926 English late gothic/early renaissance style house surrounded by Italian renaissance/mannerist style gardens. Built by the Doheny family the property is now owned by the city of Beverly Hills and the gardens are a free public park. The house itself no longer has it's original furnishings and is rented out as a location for weddings, film shoots etc. On previous trips to Los Angeles I have visited the Virginia Robinson Gardens and the Hannah Carter Japanese Garden, both also in Beverly Hills--one could spend an entire day visiting these three sites and get a great idea of old (and beautiful and cultured) Los Angeles .

Easter

2010-04-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

I returned to New York from two weeks in Los Angeles recently and I have lots of stuff to post from the trip. Easter seems like a good day to start posting with pictures from the Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral, magnificent on the outside and inside.

REGENCY ARTS PRESS BOOK SWAP

2010-02-10T19:23:00.000-08:00

I went to the fun Art Book Swap organized by Regency Arts Press last week and held at the Museum of Modern Art. This is the third book swap that the organization, directed by Lauren Wittels, has produced. Here's how it worked: you bring any art books that you don't want or need anymore, hardcover or paperback (but no magazines or how-to books), present them at the check-in table where you get a receipt indicating the number of books you have donated, and then browse the tables full of books donated by other swappers and by publishers and dealers . There were more books filling the tables all day long as swappers arrived and donated. At the end of the day all remaining books are donated to prison libraries through local organizations: in New York the Prisoners' Reading Encouragement Project, and in Los Angeles the Bunche Center Prison Outreach Program. I walked out with some amazing books!

ART FROM 1st CENTURY BC INDIA

2010-02-08T10:30:00.000-08:00

I went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art on Friday to see the new exhibition "Playing with Pictures: The Art of Victorian Photocollage" which was fascinating but not quite as exciting as I thought it would be. The collages on view were all examples made for intimate viewing in a private album rather than the tours de force made for public display. Nevertheless I highly recommend checking it out. While at the museum I took a stroll through the Indian art galleries and discovered some incredible things. The first gallery displays the art of 1st century BC India and includes the remarkable pair of earrings and the relief sculpture shown below. The gold earrings are described as "the largest, finest and best preserved examples of early Indian jewelry." The plaque illustrates a royal family with their dog in incredible detail. Check out those fantastic hairdo's!

COOL ZINES

2010-01-29T19:17:00.000-08:00

As a young hipster and budding historian growing up in New York I acquired and saved a lot of magazines, newspapers and zines. As a result I now have a pretty extensive of publications like New York Rocker, SoHo News, The Face, i-D, Non-LP B Side, Short News, Mouth of the Rat, ZG and other titles that may be familiar to cool folks who hung out in the East Village and Soho circa 1979-1983. Back then the entire hip community seemed to consist of less than 1000 people--much less. While organizing my collection I discovered I had doubles of a few things and have put them up on eBay. Check out my listings for a rare copy of punk zine Mouth of the Rat and three early issues of The Face.

CUNEO MUSEUM AND GARDENS

2010-01-29T18:28:00.000-08:00

Via the Art Newspaper comes this item about the Cuneo Museum and gardens in Vernon Hills, Illinois:

Loyola University Chicago has received the largest gift in its 140-year history from John Cuneo Jr, his wife Herta, and the Cuneo Foundation. The $50m gift includes the family mansion, which opened to the public as the Cuneo Museum and Gardens in 1991. It brings the museum just $100m shy of its $500m capital campaign goal. The university has a longstanding relationship with the Cuneos, after whom the Stritch School of Medicine’s main building is named, after the couple gave $13m to the university in 2000 to support education.

This gift will be used to support student scholarships, a new academic building on the Lake Shore Campus to be named Cuneo Hall, and for operational support at the mansion and gardens. The mansion is currently used mainly for private events, such as wedding, but plans for future programming include art performances, lectures and classes and artist residencies. According to the family, it was John Cuneo’s Sr’s wish that his home, estate, and collections be used as an educational institution for the public.

The Cuneo Mansion houses the family collection of antiques, paintings, tapestries, sculptures, silver, and porcelain, as well as murals by Czech-born artist John Mallin, who painted the interiors of more than 100 Chicago churches. Constructed in 1918, the coral pink villa was designed in the Venetian style by architect Benjamin Marshall for Samuel Insull, the original founder of General Electric Company. The gardens were designed by landscaped architect, Jens Jensen, who was also responsible for Lincoln Memorial Park.

LIBRARY THING

2009-12-20T11:40:00.000-08:00

I ran into my friend Laren Stover, the author of the Bombshell Manual of Style, the other night at Sally Randall's fabulous and fun holiday party. I asked her if she was on facebook and she responded "no but I'm on LibraryThing!" She and a number of other friends of mine who embody style as well as substance. So I finally decided to join LibraryThing also. It's yet another internet timewaster but at least a highbrow one that also has some practical benefits. You enter the titles of the books in your collection into LibraryThing and it creates a catalogue of your personal library. A few of my favorite rarities from my collection are shown below and you can see the beginnings of my catalogue on the site (these books are in my permanent collection so none of them are for sale). Plus LibraryThing has social networking features: you can see the profiles and catalogues of people who have the same book that you do, etc. Check out Laren's profile.

I Am A Cliche, 1979:

Les Lalanne, 1975:

Improbable Memories by Sarah Moon, 1981:

Oscar Niemeyer: Works in Progress, 1956:

Bjorn Weckstrom, 1980

The World of Carmel Snow, 1962:

Your Home and You, 1963

BOOKSTORE

2009-12-05T18:11:00.000-08:00

Please visit my new online bookstore:
http://alanrosenbergsbooks.blogspot.com/ Some of my favorite books are shown below. Full descriptions and prices can be found at the bookstore.

Quant by Quant:

Glow of Candlelight:

La Decoration:

The Fountains of Rome:

Inside Design:

Charas: the Improbable Dome Builders:

House &; Garden's Complete Guide to Creative Entertaining:

Bureaux et Bibliotheques:

The Beautiful People:

My Years and Seasons:

PEDRO FRIEDEBERG

2009-11-20T19:54:00.000-08:00

I haven't seen it yet myself but just thought I'd spread the word that there is a Pedro Friedeberg exhibition here in New York at Henaine Fine Art (until 11 December) and, if you happen to be in Mexico City, another at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes (until 17 January). In 1966 Crafts Horizons magazine (precursor to American Craft) published an an exquisitely composed autobiographical poem/manifesto by the artist. An updated version is on his website and my transcription of the original is below, and a picture of his famous hand chair, shown above in situ in the home of fashion designer Arnold Scaasi, circa 1965. The hand chairs are just one motif in the artists extensive iconography.

I was born in Italy

during the era of Mussolini
who made all trains run on time.

Immediately thereafter

I moved to Mexico

where the trains are never on time,

but once they start moving

they pass pyramids.

My education was first entrusted

to a Zapotec governess

and later to such brilliant mentors as

Mathias Goeritz

who taught me murals,

Jose Gonzales who taught me carpentry,

and Gerry Morris

who taught me to play bridge.

I have invented several styles of architecture

as well as one new religion

and two salads.

I am particularly fond of social problems

and cloud formations.

I am an idealist.

I am certain that very soon now

humanity will arrive at a marvelous epoch

totally devoid of Knoll chairs

or Danish coffee tables,

and the obscenity of Japanese rock gardens

5,000 miles from Kyoto.

At present I work in a circus.

I live on the left bank

of the Paseo de la Reforma

where I pursue my deliciously futile

but absolutely useless existence.

FRIEND's DESIGN 2 - WALLPAPER BY ADRIENNE NEFF

2009-11-18T09:33:00.000-08:00

My friend, interior designer Adrienne Neff, has just debuted her sensitively designed line of wallpaper, available to the trade in New York at Holland and Sherry. The Uzu collection is "inspired by ancient decorative arts" and "the universal symbols of organic growth, rejuvenation and renewal: water, earth, clay, rock, and vegetation." Although the nature inspiration is evident there is a strong geometric component that makes the patterns look like mod for the new millenium. Depending on the colorway the patterns would look equally lovely on the walls of a quiet country retreat or a hip urban habitation. There are seven patterns with an almost infinite number of custom colors available. I'll let the designer describe the story of each pattern:
Uzu (spiral water in Japanese) pays
homage to 17th century Japanese ceramics
Jagged Agate is an abstract interpretation of the patterns formed by cut agate rock
Yamanoma (hillside in Japanese) evokes the spirit of 16th century Japanese screens
Renjyu (spiral repeat in Japanese) is inspired by Japanese Neolithic pottery designs circa 2,000 B.C.
Giant Onion is an abstract geometric celebration of the
humble onion.
Acoma This lively pattern is inspired by Pueblo Indian ceramic water jars circa 1,000 A.D.

The wallpapers are hand-block-printed in Brooklyn (where the blocks were hand carved) in water-based inks on recycled and renewable paper.
Adrienne collaborated with photographer Don Freeman and stylist Becky Hubbert on the images below for which they bound books with her new wallpapers (the bindings were done in a traditional Japanese technique).

DECLUTTERING

2009-11-13T19:52:00.000-08:00

I am decluttering again and editing my collection of books and magazines. I dropped off a donation of a big bag of books at the Zabar Art Library at Hunter College (I'm a Hunter alumnus) and then spent the rest of the afternoon at the Modernism show at the Armory. In the process of sorting through my books and magazines I decided to let go of the copies that I had accumulated of the "Tresors de la Rive Gauche," a lavish annual promo compiled by the art and antiques dealers of Paris' chic left bank. The annuals were filled with images of the fantastic treasures on display in the galleries but nothing was quite as splendid as this 23 inch wide block of amethyst mounted in gilt bronze offered by Babylone International. The mount was created in 1919 by Bachruch, a jeweler with workshops in Vienna and Budapest. Another reason to get myself over to Paris.

STAN HYWET in AKRON, OHIO

2009-11-08T13:16:00.000-08:00

Just came back from a trip to Ohio to see my 94 year old aunt Dolores. In Akron we visited Stan Hywet, which is not a person but a marvelous house surrounded by lovely gardens (stan hywet--pronounced STAN HEE-WIT--means "stone quarry" in Old English). Stan Hywet was built for the Seiberling family, of Goodyear Rubber fortune, in 1912-1915. The architect was Charles Sumner Schneider of the Cleveland offices of George B. Post. The Stan Hywet website credits the interiors to a long list of outstanding designers and craftspeople:

Interior Decorator ~ The H.F. Huber Co. of New York City
Woodwork & Paneling ~ The Hayden Co. of New York City
Plaster Ceilings ~ The Hayden Co. Of New York City & McNulty Brothers Company of Chicago
Leaded Glass ~ Heinigke & Bowen (later known as Heinigke & Smith)
Stained Glass ~ Thorton Smith & Otto Heinigke
Iron Work ~ Samuel Yellin
Rugs ~ Beloochistan Rug Weaving Company of India, Wilton Royal Factory of England
Tile Work ~ Mary Chase Stratton, Pewabic Pottery, Michigan & The American Encaustic Tile Company, Zanesville, Ohio General Contractor ~ The W.B. McAllister Co., Cleveland, Ohio

Tudor revival is not usually my thing, but the interiors were unusually lavish for that style with richly layered Chinoiserie and baroque undertones, more eclectic than strictly baronial. Much of the furniture was reproduction when it was installed but those pieces are antiques in themselves now and have acquired a fine old patina. Also lavish but refreshing were the large potted plants throughout the interiors that are carefully nurtured in the estate's own greenhouse--I have rarely seen such large and carefully tended potted plants. The estate originally comprised more than 1000 acres but is now reduced to 70, beautifully landscaped by Warren Manning with a walled garden by Ellen Biddle Shipman. Unfortunately I didn't take too many pictures and none inside and mysteriously there aren't too many on the estate's website. I did get a great picture of the brick-walled service court.

AMERICAN BEAUTY at FIT

2009-11-08T11:21:00.000-08:00

There is a fascinating new exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. American Beauty: Aesthetics and Innovation in Fashion examines "the relationship between the “philosophy of beauty” and the technical craft of dressmaking in the United States." Beauty as examined by curator Patricia Mears is expressed in line, cut, color and form. Ornament, embellishment and printed pattern are minimized. One treat in the exhibition is a two-piece evening dress by Mainbocher that was worn by the Duchess Windsor and in which she was photographed by Horst (see below). There are several amazing pieces by the late Pauline Trigere who, though legendary among the fashion-informed, never really was as appreciated as her masterful work warranted. To use a cliched fashion phrase, her work was "as good as Paris haute couture." That description is often applied to James Galanos (also represented in the show by a few magnificent pieces) but Trigere is definitely up there and her work has a recognizable signature (to the knowing eye) that is sometimes lacking in Galanos' diversity of design. Dare I say that Trigere was often as good as Balenciaga?

Mainbocher:

Duchess of Windsor
Three 1940s suits by Adrian:

Pauline Trigere:

Galanos, left; Trigere, right:

A fabulous lady at the opening at FIT:

FRIEND'S DESIGN 1 - NINA BOVASSO

2009-09-27T13:39:00.000-07:00

My friend Nina Bovasso is an artist and one of her watercolors is now a rug. Nina shows at BravinLee Programs and had an exhibition of her beautiful, demented, touching floral watercolors there back in March: http://bravinlee.com/artists/bovasso2/bovasso_elephant.html
Her 60 x 40 inch watercolor has been translated by Himalayan craftspeople into a 9 x 6 foot 100% wool rug in an edition of 15. The original painting, the rug in progress and the finished rug are shown below. I have known Nina since we were both about 16, growing up in 1980s Manhattan and in the downtown bars and nightclubs like the Holiday Cocktail Lounge, the Peppermint Lounge and Danceteria. She now lives and works in New York and Amsterdam where she also runs a small gallery. More on Nina Bovasso at http://www.ninabovasso.com. And on her gallery at http://www.1kprojectspace.com.

PURDO ARTICLE OUT NOW

2009-09-14T11:13:00.000-07:00

My article on 84 year old silversmith Dane Purdo is out now in the September/October 2009 issue of Silver Magazine: http://www.silvermag.com/. Some pictures of his work from the 1950s and an excerpt below. See my previous for more on Purdo.

In the 1950s and early 1960s, regional and national juried craft shows were an important and exciting aspect of the crafts scene. It was an honor to be invited to show one’s work and a further distinction to be recognized by an award or prize. Purdo exhibited in numerous competitive shows throughout his career and served as a juror at many as well. His display at the Wichita Art Association’s Decorative Arts and Ceramics exhibition received a special award for best group of works in metal three years in a row, from 1959 to 1961. Purdo participated in the Fiber, Clay, Metal biennial at the St. Paul Gallery in Minnesota in 1955, 1957, and 1959. From the 1959 biennial, one of his pieces was selected by the United States Information Agency to be exhibited abroad in a show of works by American craftspeople. His 1964 entry to the Annual Exhibition of Michigan Artist-Craftsmen at the Detroit Institute of Arts received the highest honor awarded, the Founder’s Society Purchase Prize. In all, Purdo exhibited in almost seventy shows over a period of nearly forty years.

After 1991, Purdo continued to make jewelry and now enjoys complete retirement in Appleton. In conjunction with the 1958 Fulbright exhibition, Edgar Kaufmann, Jr. wrote that “in design, as in other fields, we are learning that America’s advantages, while great, are not guaranteed; we can maintain them best by a friendly participation in world activity and in the accompanying criticism and progress.”7 E. Dane Purdo’s career was marked by participation in the crafts community on the regional, national, and international levels—as a student, teacher, exhibitor, colleague, and craftsman. The words he applied to the rim of a 1961 punch bowl, although written by Ben Johnson 400 years ago, would seem to be the message that Purdo has sent out to those who have had the pleasure to use and view his works in silver: “Let those who are learned, sophisticated, cheerful and honest gather around.”

THE BRICK HOUSE

2009-09-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

Aesthete's Lament recently had a fascinating post about , Mrs Paul Mellon's extraordinary garden library at Oak Spring, Upperville, Virginia:
http://aestheteslament.blogspot.com/2009/08/dream-house-mrs-mellons-garden-library.html

More about the library at its own website:
http://www.oakspring.org/

The library is one of several structures on the Mellon's extensive property. I had the opportunity to visit the Mellon's estate about 20 years ago. Although I did not visit the library I had the great privilege to spend an afternoon at the Brick House, a large house on the property that the Mellons used as a gallery for their collection of British sporting art and their large group of Degas waxes. The guests that day were myself, my brother Charles and our friend Kristin Leachman who is a neighbor of the Mellon's. There was no "tour guide" and in fact we had the house completely to ourselves. We were simply visiting as neighbors and art lovers (I am told, though, that the requests to visit submitted by many eminent art historians over the years were declined). The décor was reminiscent of an English country house with walls carefully painted with oil glaze over pale ground in a delicate striated effect. There were very large rooms (a large gallery with several sporting paintings by George Stubbs) and very small ones (a cozy den or reading room with little ivory ornaments displayed on the lamp table). The Degas gallery was pale pink and green with the waxes, including the Little Dancer, displayed on open pedestals (no plexi covers). Degas' fingerprints were easy to discern on the wax. After Mr. Mellon died in 1999 the collections were dispersed with the sporting art going to the Virginia Museum of Fine Art and the Yale Center for British Art and the Degas sculptures going to the National Gallery of Art. After the dispersal of the collection a little booklet was sent out as a reminiscence of the Brick House, to those who had enjoyed its pleasures (see scan of cover below). The booklet tells some of the history of the house:

The Brick House at Oak Spring, Upperville, Virginia was completed in 1941 as the residence of Paul and Mary Mellon. The architect, William Adams Delano of New York, had been persuaded by the Mellons to copy the principal exterior features of the Hammond-Harwood House in Annapolis Maryland . . . the house was occupied by the family until the death of Mary Mellon in October of 1946. . . . Paul Mellon and Bunny Lambert Lloyd were married in 1948 . . . they decided to turn the Brick House into a library and gallery . . .

The black-and-white photo below is from the Gottscho-Schleisner archive where there are many photos of the Brick House, however they were taken soon after the house was built and before it was remodeled by architect Page Cross in 1961. Nevertheless there are great pictures to be seen in the archive at the Library of Congress:
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/collections/gottscho/index.html

THE WARDROBE OF MARIE JOSE OF SAVOY AT THE MONA BISMARCK FOUNDATION

2009-08-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

If I make it to Paris in the next few months as I plan I will definitely go see the exhibition of the wardrobe of Marie Jose of Savoy (who was briefly the Queen of Italy) at the Mona Bismarck Foundation:

http://www.monabismarck.org/current.html

PALACES AND VILLAS IN BELARUS

2009-08-02T13:53:00.001-07:00

I'm planning a trip to Paris soon (I hope it's soon) but am also thinking of other places I'd like to go someday. I'd love to go to Eastern Europe--like seriously EASTern Europe: Belarus, Romania, Ukraine. I started peeking around the internet and was fascinated to discover that their are some great historic houses in Belarus--who knew they had palaces there? Highlights below; more details and more palaces and villas at:
http://www.eng.belarustourism.by/

Snov:

On an open terrace of the bank of the small river Snovka there rests a monument of classical architecture — the Rdultowski Family Residence. The palace-and-park ensemble was built in 1827 by architect Tychetski. The palace has a very impressive look — it was 140 metres long with 100 rooms and a spacious hall. There was an English park around the palace with a small artificial water pond. The park was cut into groves by a system of water channels. Today the Palace of Snov is recognized cultural and historical value in Belarus.

Snov:

Loshitsa:

The Farmstead of Loshitsa is one of the most romantic places of the Belarusian capital. Visitors are equally attracted to the beauty of the park and the mystery of the place. Loshitsa was first mentioned in the chronicles in 1557 as the land of the Drutski Count Family. In 1582 they built a stone house at the juncture of the River Svisloch and the River Losha. In 1719 the place was bought by Jerzi Antoni Prushinski. The Pruzhinskis had been in ownership of the farmstead for over 150 years. Each proprietor would add something to the place to make it one of the most beautiful residences in the neighbourhoodThe last owner of the farmstead was Yevstafi Liubanski, who turned a provincial house into modern residence for his bride Jadwiga to enjoy. The life story of Yevstafi Liubanski is a sad one ― in 1905 Jadwiga drowned at the most beautiful place in the park. To commemorate his wife the inconsolable Yevstafi planted near the mansion a Manchurian apricot-tree ― the only such tree in Belarus. Legend has it that since then at night during the apricot blooming season in the park of Loshitsa one may come across the White Lady ― the ghost of the drowned beauty. They say she is keen on prophesying the fate of loving couples that happen to wander into the park at night.

Loshitsa:

Zhemyslav:

The Zhemyslavl farmstead on the left bank of the River Gavia, an 18-19th century architectural monument, looks very much like Lazenki — the residence of Poland’s last King Stanislaw August. Lazenki is also known as the Isle Palace. The palace-and-park ensemble was built by the Umestowski Count Family, who acquired ownership of the place in 1805. In 1828 the governor of Oshmyany District Kazimierz Umestowski got down to rebuilding the big wooden tiled roof baroque house he had bought along with the farmstead. He added two brick pavilions with pillar-resting porticos, a cellar, a hothouse, stabled and a manege. After Kazimierz died in 1863 his wife Yuzefa continued rebuilding the house. Mrs. Umestowski hired one popular architects of the time — a certain Marconi — to make a copy of the Lazenki Royal Residence, built in 1784-1795.
It was a classical two-storied building with arch windows and stained glass in them. There was one open loggia resting on four pillars above the central entrance. On both sides of the palace there were balconies. The inside of the building was also copied from the royal residence. The rooms were heated with marble wood-burning stoves, Paris style. The walls were decorated with oak panels and frescos. There was a small English park around the residence with a boat station. The park was set up on both sides of the river, so one has to make a boat trip to get to the warehouses, the stables, the family chapel, the winery or the cheese mill. During WWI in 1914 the Germans would convert the place into a rehabilitation centre for army officers. After the end of the civil war and the armed conflict between the Soviets and Poland the farmstead found itself on the territory of Western Belarus that had not become part of the USSR till 1939.
The last owner of the farmstead, Wladislaw Umestowski donated the place to the University of Vilnius to be used as a scientific base for land exploration and agriculture. The farmstead along practically all buildings have survived all through the wars and upheavals of the 20th century.

Zhemyslav:

DANE PURDO

2009-07-10T19:06:00.000-07:00

After a hiatus of several months I am blogging again! I just finished an article on silversmith E. Dane Purdo which will be published in the September issue of Silver Magazine. An excerpt and some pictures of his exquisite work below.

E. Dane Purdo's work in sterling silver displays the highest level of skill in both handcraftsmanship and design. His long career as a silversmith and teacher is highlighted by a distinguished list of exhibitions and a legacy of outstanding hollowware. . . . The sterling hollowware that Purdo created was characterized by carefully controlled contours, perfect balance between convex forms and concave outlines and mirror-smooth surfaces. The fitted lid and integral hinge on a 1957 teapot reveal perfection of technique and design. Occasional incidents of restrained ornament include little protuberances like a patch of mushrooms growing from the convex lid of pillbox and a "crown of thorns" disposed around the stem of a chalice which is visually balanced between prickly verisimilitude and gnarled abstraction. . . . In 1960 Purdo's hollowware was exhibited in a three-person exhibition, called "Dimensions 1960" at New Mexico Highlands University Art Gallery in Las Vegas, New Mexico. The other two exhibitors were weaver Lenore Tawney and ceramist Peter Voulkos, both renowned today for their pivotal positions in 20th century crafts. Writing in Craft Horizons magazine, Ray Drew acknowledged Purdo's "excellence of craftsmanship" and observed that the works shown were "quietly pleasing" but "not as unusual as the ceramics and weaving"

Shown below, works from 1955 to 1958:

THE DEATH OF JAMES LEE BYARS

2009-04-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

The magnficent Death of James Lee Byars (1982--below) is on view at the Guggenheim Museum in a moderately successful show full of great art. The exhibition, “The Third Mind: American Artists Contemplate Asia, 1860- 1989” includes an exquisite small section of Japonisme in 19th century painting and one sculpture (Augustus Saint Gaudens' Adams Memorial), some wiorks by Morris Graves and then right on to abstract expressionism. From there on, the greater part of the show, it really should have been called 'The Zen Buddhist Influence on the Avante Garde." There are wonderful pieces by Agnes Martin, Walter de Maria, Robert Irwin et al., but who really cares about the theme. Zen contemplation is destroyed by the crowds and the noise in the Guggenheim. In any case just go to see work by Byars and the other art, as always.

NEW ORLEANS 2009

2009-03-29T18:57:00.000-07:00

I was in New Orleans again, as well as Natchitoches and Baton Rouge Louisiana over the past few weeks. In New Orleans I had the wonderful opportunity to see the Mardi Gras Indians doing one of their occasional practice runs. As you may know the Indians are really Africans (or African-Americans, or African-French, or Afro-Creole or whatever). The men work all year on their hand beaded, sequined and feathered costumes. There was music, dancing in the street, grilled sausages and homemade pralines.

LECTURE IN LITTLE ROCK

2009-03-08T18:53:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to announce that I am giving a lecture on American mid-20th Century enamel art/craft/design at the Arkansas Arts Center on March 31st. If you happen to be in Little Rock I hope you will attend. The AAC has an outstanding collection of 20th century crafts. Check out their website and some images from my lecture below:
http://www.arkarts.com/

Edward Winter

Edward Winter
Karl Drerup

Karl Drerup
Karl Drerup
Jean Ames

REGO PARK, NY

2009-01-08T13:41:00.000-08:00

I visited Rego Park, Queens, New York, recently, to meet fellow crafter Fern Ellen Cohen (http://fernals.blogspot.com/). I LOVE Rego Park. Not sure that I'm ready to move there but it's a really nice, interesting place to spend an hour or two or three. There are beautiful places to live there, adorable little houses with lovely gardens and a small-scale 1950s tower-in-park development called Park City that is meticulously maintained and has all its original details, lobbies and modernistic entrances intact. There are amazing Russian groceries, an Uzbek pastry shop, Russian/Uzbek restaurants. Unfortunately many of the charming 1920s-30s houses have been altered and have lost some of their original details but many are still in original condition.

TCHELITCHEW AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF NEW YORK

2008-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

I was pleasantly shocked when I visited the Museum of the City of New York the other day to find Pavel Tchelitchew's Hide and Seek hanging there. The painting is in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art and, despite it being rumored to be the "most popular" painting in the museum, has not been on view there in many years. It is at the MCNY as part of the exhibition Paris/New York: Design Fashion Culture 1925-1940:
http://www.mcny.org/exhibitions/current/paris-new-york-design-fashion-culture-1925-1940.html
The exhibition is worth seeing in any case but the opportunity to see Hide and Seek requires a visit. Since I'm blogging about Tchelitchew I might as well add a photo (below) of his Sleeping Pinheads, which is in my top ten favorite paintings by any artist. If I had the resources I'd buy Sleeping Pinheads and hang it in my living or dining room. Since I'm blogging about people with microcephaly check out the Foundation for Children With Microcephaly:
http://www.childrenwithmicro.org

Hide and Seek:

Sleeping Pinheads:

PARIS - Last Pictures

2008-11-26T07:12:00.000-08:00

Inside the Romanian ambassador's residence:

ELIZABETH PEYTON

2008-11-18T18:43:00.000-08:00

Go see Elizabeth Peyton's exhibition at the New Museum. My portrait is not in the show but here's the study Peyton did of me and my brother Charles around 1995. Peyton's elegant and delicate sensibility is extremely well served by the survey. While you're at the New Museum also go see my good friend Mary Heilmann's wonderful retrospective. Her beautiful paintings are more complicated than they seem and easier to understand than you might be led to believe.
http://www.newmuseum.org/

JUDITH EISLER

2008-11-02T19:07:00.000-08:00

Judith Eisler's show show at Cohan and Leslie has closed before I was able to catch up with my blogging. Well, go to their website or go to the gallery and ask to see Judith's paintings. Her new painting, her portrait of me and my brain scans seem to fit together.

http://www.cohanandleslie.com/

FRANCE - NANCY

2008-11-02T13:49:00.000-08:00

Nancy was great--so many things to see: the Musee des Beaux Arts, the Musee de l'Ecole de Nancy (art nouveau museum), the Villa Majorelle, the Place Stanislas, the botanical garden, the Museum of Natural History, lots more, and we saw it all. Next time I think I'll try to slow down and do a bit less.
http://edn.nancy.fr/web/index.php/portail
http://www.ot-nancy.fr/uk/centre_historique/index.php

18th Century Gates of the Place Stanslas:

The aquarium pavillion at the Musee de l'Ecole de Nancy:

The Villa Majorelle:

PARIS VINTAGE HAUTE COUTURE

2008-10-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

Here I am looking in the window of the shop of a dealer in vintage fashion. The well-known dealer whose shop is in Palais Royale shall remain nameless since the staff was not too nice to us. Beautiful things though.

AMIENS

2008-10-27T18:51:00.000-07:00

We went to Amiens which is famous for its cathedral. The cathedral is huge but everything else in Amiens is charmingly small-scale: narrow little canals snaking through the old town, itty-bitty houses and a tiny, lovely, botanical garden. The excellent museum (photos below) is not so small; in fact it's a rather large small-museum but does not seem to have its own website. One of my favorite things in Amiens was an interesting small garden-housing development called Square Darlington that must have been built around 1950--like Stuyvesant Town but with just 5 or 6 buildings; you can see one of its brick "towers" (3 stories) just beyond the beds of the botanical garden, below.

MONTFORT L'AMAURY

2008-10-27T18:32:00.000-07:00

Monfort l'Amaury is the charming village near the Chateau de Groussay. It is a wealthy area, so wandering around reminded me a bit of browsing around someplace like Old Roslyn, with cute, expensive little boutiques and restaurants and lovely historic architecture. Below is the cloister of the cemetery.
http://www.ville-montfort-l-amaury.fr/

MORE GROUSSAY

2008-10-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

More photographs from the Chateau de Groussay including Charles and me in the Chinese pavillion:

CHATEAU DE GROUSSAY

2008-10-10T18:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a very gracious invitation from Jean-Louis Remilleux, the owner of the Château de Groussay, we visited the chateau and toured the rooms with Mr. Remilleux himself. As you may know Groussay was the home of Charles de Beistegui from 1938 until his death in 1970. Throughout that period Beistegui remodeleled the 1815 house, adding rooms in various historic styles and building a series of follies in the park. Beistegui's heirs sold his meticulously chosen furnishings at auction several years ago, however Mr. Remilleux has done a splendid job of reconstituting Beistegui's fantastic vision.

http://www.chateaudegroussay.com/

FRANCE - NORMANDIE

2008-10-05T14:40:00.000-07:00

I'm back from France and still recovering from my state of exhaustion. I will be posting pictures from the trip in installaments. After arriving in Paris we commenced our whirlwind itinerary with a visit to the Musee Jacquemart Andre, http://www.musee-jacquemart-andre.com/fr/jacquemart/, followed by dinner with Liz O'Brien (http://www.lizobrien.com/) who was in Paris for the Biennale des Antiquaires.

Musee Jacquemart-Andre:

The next morning we left Paris to spend a few days in Normandie with my friend artist River Dillon, aka Denis Angus, aka Denis Dandurand, in his beautiful beachfront home at Grandcamp-Maisy were we joined a delightful, international group of friends:

http://www.riverdillon.com/

http://riverdillon.blogspot.com/

http://riverdillonlife.blogspot.com/

Denis and me:

Lunch on the lawn:

Beach in the background:

The house:

More coming soon . . .

Off to Paris

2008-09-10T10:16:00.000-07:00

I leave tommorow for two weeks in France! I'll be attending, and reporting on, the Biennale des Antiquaires (http://www.bdafrance.eu/) and visiting River Dillon in Normandy (http://riverdillon.blogspot.com/), the Chateau de Groussay (http://www.chateaudegroussay.com/), the Musee de l'Ecole de Nancy (http://edn.nancy.fr/web/index.php/portail) and a hundred other wonderful places (I'm exhausted already). Gorgeous photos of the 1966 Biennale below.

ALIX PEARLSTEIN AT THE KITCHEN

2008-09-10T09:24:00.000-07:00

A vintage Yves Saint laurent gold lamé blouse and a wild mink coat by J. Mendel make star appearances in Alix Pearlstein's bold, ambitious and strikingly successful video/installation After the Fall, now on view at The Kitchen. In the piece, which surrounds the viewer with projections on four sides, a cast of eight is divided into two "teams"--red and gold--suggesting opposing social groups. According to the artist (in an exclusive interview with me) the glittering metallic blouse "was the inception for developing a group identity that is flashy/trashy/glamorous/Hollywood-Vegas, in opposition to the other group that is utilitarian/sporty/abstract/bright--night and day: two different logics that are detailed and specific but can't be precisely identified in terms of time and place." The piece is absolutly mesmerizing: you are surrounded by moving figures on four sides--you move, they move, and the black box that you/they inhabit extends without limit in time and horizon. This major work is complemented by two smaller pendant pieces making this a spectacular presence in the Fall art scene. In Goldrush "a seemingly invaluable object - a white rectangular panel - is placed in the middle of a black box theater. A group of nine, each wearing an article of metallic gold clothing set upon the task of ripping it apart. They tear it to shreds, taunting, fighting and climbing all over each other to greedily gather every last shard of it for themselves." Two Women suggests a runway fashion show and, as with all the artist's work, is a hypnotic study of performance and relationship.

http://www.alixpearlstein.com/

http://www.thekitchen.org/

LAWRENCE COPELAND IN SILVER MAGAZINE

2008-09-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

My article on silversmith Lawrence Copeland is now out in the September/October issue of Silver magazine (http://www.silvermag.com/). Some examples of Copeland's work from the early 1950s are shown below. Lawrence Copeland is one of the least well-known mid-20th century American silversmiths but as a student, craftsman, designer and teacher he interacted with some of the most important personalities of the mid-century crafts scene and contributed to some of the most prominent crafts institutions and enterprises. He studied silversmithing at Cranbrook and in Sweden with Baron Erik Fleming. Copeland's work was exhibited at America House, Shop One and the 1958 Brussels Worlds Fair. Now 86 years old, Copeland lives in retirement in Colorado.

NEW DESIGN AT PARSONS

2008-08-22T09:03:00.000-07:00

Wow, a show of contemporary design that I REALLY liked, and I really liked almost everything in it. The winning entries in the ID Magazine (ID--as in Industrial Design, not "ID" the London fashion magazine) Annual Design Review are now on view in the new Sheila C. Johnson Design Center galleries at Parsons--The New School For Design. ID has conducted their Annual Design Review since 1954 and the 2008 review is a tightly edited selection, despite the choices having been made by a jury of more than 20 design "experts." The installation is beautiful, with most of the 131 objects set on one huge white table (much more sophisticated and visually complex than it sounds). The Babyfaces wall panel by Badham/Norris is shown below in a colorfully lit photo but they are actually, and very succesfully, flat, pure white. In form and content they are a brilliant combination of eerieness and purity. I'm not an advocate of bottled water but the YWater bottles are designed (by Fuseproject) to be reused to create interlocking toys, sculptures or structures: great for kids, as is the fabulous YWater website. The Blossa Glogg bottle acheives a contemporary look without abandoning traditional design elements. The exhibition runs until 28 September at 66 Fifth Avenue at 13th Street in Manhattan.

http://www.newschool.edu/johnsondesigncenter/subpage.aspx?id=14434

Babyfaces wall panels by Badham/Norris

http://www.badhamnorris.com/

YWater http://www.ywater.us/, designed by Fuseproject, http://www.fuseproject.com/:

Blossa Glogg, www.blossa.se, designed by BVD, http://www.bvd.se/index.html

Decorative Arts Society

2008-08-11T21:30:00.000-07:00

The Decorative Arts Society now has a website: http://www.decartssociety.org/. The Society is a not-for-profit organization devoted to the encouragement of interest in, appreciation of, and exchange of information about the decorative arts. The Society sponsors meetings, programs, seminars, and a newsletter on the decorative arts. The newsletter includes information about all the major, and many minor, decorative arts exhibitions at museums throughout the US. Well, no exhibition is minor, in my opinion, but you know what I mean

Margo Grant Walsh

2008-07-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

My article on modern silver collector Margo Grant Walsh appears in the August/September 2008 issue of American Craft, which is out now. An excerpt is below. If you are in Houston you can see a large selection from her collection until 10 August at the Museum of Fine Arts: http://www.mfah.org/. Check out some of the other contents of the magazine at: http://www.americancraftmag.org.

Margo Grant Walsh spent decades in a career designing sleek corporate interiors in executive positions at Skidmore Owings and Merrill and Gensler, two of the biggest and most prestigious global architecture firms. Visitors to the New York apartment of this distinguished interior architect might expect to find furniture by Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe, but instead of the shine of chrome and glass they will discover the warm glow of hammered copper and the cool gleam of hand-made silver. All around, on shelves, in bookcases and on tabletops is the magnificent clutter of one of the most important collections, anywhere, of silver and metalwork from the late 19th century to the present. The emphasis in her décor is on comfort rather than cachet and Margo Grant Walsh herself and her splendid collection provide the latter in abundance. . . . In a recent conversation Grant Walsh discussed how her collection began, how it evolved and where it is going. Her guiding principles have always been design, form and function, not surprising for an interior architect: "I collect for design and everything I have you can use: I don't collect anything that could be called table sculpture." . . .

Margo Grant Walsh:

Muffineer by Charles Robert Ashbee, 1905:

Coffee, Chocolate and Tea Service by Charles Boyton, 1947:

Pietre Dure at the Metropolitan Museum

2008-07-13T14:32:00.000-07:00

RUSH to the Metropolitan Museum as soon as possible to see "Art of the Royal Court: Treasures in Pietre Dure from the Palaces of Europe." Actually you have until September 21st to see this spectacular exhibition, but time flies and the next thing you know this once-in-our-lifetime assemblage will be dispersed. The show includes examples of hardstone carving and inlay from the early Renaissance to the neo-classical, from massive, wildly ornamented cabinets to exquisitely delicate and refined miniatures. Pietre dure craftsmanship has never dissapeared but the curators have, perhaps wisely, left out the mid- to late-nineteenth century when, as I wrote elsewhere about certain examples in the Gilbert Collection, technique exceeded taste. As much as I love all things nineteenth-century some of the pictorial hardstone inlays circa 1890 are pretty atrocious. Unfortunately it is that type of thing that turns off some people who, even more unfortunately, are inherently lacking in discernment . . . like James Gardner, an alleged art critic for the reactionary New York Sun newspaper who opened his review of the pietre dure exhibition with the statement that "there is nothing quite like those two little words, 'decorative arts,' to send all but the most committed museumgoers heading for the exit . . . any attempt to entice viewers with largely anonymous heirlooms from the ancien regime is probably a fool's errand. To date, the Metropolitan Museum has had only one notable popular success in this regard, the gorgeous two-part tapestry show that occupied its galleries this past autumn." I guess he didn't see the Herter Brothers exhibition and hasn't heard of the Wrightsman galleries, etc. Although his review is favorable he inexplicably calls the exhibition "oddly charming" as if it was a show of tiny, tacky bibelots rather than a collection of many of the greatest masterpieces of design and craftsmanship of all time and place.

The fabulous tabletops shown below depict allegories of air and water, made in 1761 in the Grand Ducal Workshops in Florence. Okay, so they are more elegant than imposing but, believe me, this show does not lack for imposing, authentic masterpieces.

Carlton Hobbs

2008-07-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

Carlton Hobbs always had the most magnificent booth at the International Fine Art and Antique Dealers Show (in October at the 7th Regiment Armory). He hasn't shown there in a number of years but he now exhibits all year-round in his own townhouse in Carnegie Hill: http://www.carltonhobbs.com. In 1999 at the Armory he showed this outrageous Venetian mirror, 71 x 70 inches, circa 1720. I scanned it from the catalogue of the show, which is now going in the garbage along with a ton of other stuff that I decided I can live without--I had to save this image though.

Bela Borsodi

2008-06-27T19:57:00.000-07:00

As part of my big decluttering project I went through my file cabinets and threw out tons of old paper--some really interesting information but all now easily available on the internet. I had clipped and saved lots of articles about trees, housplants, museums, places, food, etc. I also examined stuff I haven't seen in years, lots of which I am keeping, including invitations to parties and weddings I attended, old photographs, files on friends . . . I found a cache of portraits of me and Charles including these of me by Bela Borsodi, circa 1992 (?--I think?). Sorry for the self indulgence--will try to get back to posting about design soon. Please visit Bela's website: http://www.belaborsodi.com/

Cherry Picking in Los Angeles

2008-06-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Read all about my brother Charles' cherry picking expedition at EatingLA:
http://eatingla.com/

YSL

2008-06-19T19:12:00.000-07:00

Check out this early portrait of Yves Saint Laurent by Mark Shaw. Shaw's estate is managed by my good friends David Shaw (son of the late photographer) and his wife Juliet Cuming. Don't miss their gorgeous Mark Shaw site:
http://markshawphoto.com/
http://markshawphoto.com/celebrities_yves_stlaurent.htm

Yves Saint Laurent, Tommy Nutter, etc.

2008-06-19T17:50:00.000-07:00

Following the death of Yves Saint Laurent I've seen this photo of Mick and Bianca Jagger on their wedding day on a couple of blogs that have erroneously stated that Bianca's suit was made by YSL (more on YSL on the next post). As far as I know both of their suits were designed and made by TOMMY NUTTER. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. If you don't know about the late Nutter get a copy of Savile Row: an Illustrated History, by Richard Walker (see pic) in which he gives a detailed history of the House of Nutter aka Nutters (sic) at 35A Savile Row. On Bianca specifically he writes: "Nutters was an integhral part of the 'London Scene', providing finery for the likes of Mick Jagger, the Beatles (three Nutter suits adorn the 'Abbey Road' album cover), Eric Clapton and adventursome aristocrats like the Duke of Bedford. Girls too, after Bianca Jagger walked in and demanded a suit just like Mick's. 'He wasn't very pleased, because he treated me as his tailor,' Nutter recalls. 'He was slightly old-fashioned like that.' Bianca was not happy with the first effort, which she considered too feminine--'she took my jacket and put it on and said that's the way I want it, so we cut her a man's jacket and that whole look started with her . . ."

Cooper Hewitt Museum Garden Party

2008-06-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

A few shots from the Cooper-Hewitt Museum garden party. Note the pretty lady in the beautiful yellow dress. I wish I could have gotten her to pose a few blocks away in front of the Dutch Girl buggy.

Carnegie Hill Cleaners

2008-06-19T17:07:00.000-07:00

As the say these days, how adorable is this?! This is the delivery buggy of Dutch Girl Cleaners in Carnegie Hill on Park Avenue at 88th Street, seen on the way to the Cooper-Hewitt Museum garden party (see next post for the party with an attendee dressed to match the buggy)

Education Through Severity

2008-06-18T06:53:00.000-07:00

In my decluttering campaign I threw out a pile of art and antique fair catalogues but I had to scan and save this image before it went in the trash. This is a 1712 allegorical group of putti by Dresden sculptor Paul Heermann (1673-1732) titled Education Through Severity: Corporal Punishment, offered by Galerie Neuse in Bremen Germany. It is one of a series of four Virtues and Vices including Subduing of Untamed Nature, Love of Neighbour, and Crowning of the Hero of Virtue. The last is in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

Last Day For Shibata Zeshin

2008-06-14T17:48:00.000-07:00

Tommorow (Sunday 15 June) is the last day to see "The Genius of Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin" at the Japan Society. Don't miss this gorgeous exhibition:http://www.japansociety.org/event_detail?eid=6ed0fa8d
"Shibata Zeshin (1807–1891) is history’s greatest lacquer artist, recognized worldwide for his exquisitely detailed lacquered boxes, panels, sword mounts, and other objects, as well as scrolls painted in both ink and lacquer. In addition to his mastery of traditional techniques, Zeshin developed a range of daring new lacquer textures and finishes imitating rusty iron, rough seas, patinated bronze, and even the delicate grain of Chinese rosewood. With The Genius of Japanese Lacquer: Masterworks by Shibata Zeshin, Japan Society presents the finest collection of the artist’s works ever assembled outside of Japan."

ID

2008-06-11T19:03:00.000-07:00

A rarity from my library--issue number 4 of ID magazine, June/July 1981. If anyone has, and wants to sell, issues 1, 2, 3 and 7, please contact me. I have all the others through issue number 30.

Bookshelves

2008-06-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

My new bookshelves:

Organizing My Library

2008-06-08T18:46:00.000-07:00

I'm in the middle of an enormous project organizing and editing my library. I just installed a whole wall of shelves and as a result hundreds of books and magazines are going from piles on the floor onto the shelves. I'm sorting through the magazines and finding lots to let go of (I'm filling several bags to donate to the library at FIT) and rediscovering lots of treasures (design and decorating magazines from the 1930s-1970s). I'll be posting scans of some of the cool stuff. From a pile of 1980s Lei magazines that I'm letting go of is the one below, December 1983, starring my good friend and web designer Alison Cohn, photographed by Paolo Roversi. Alison's website is http://www.semidivine.com/

Art Smith at the Brooklyn Museum (oh, and Murakami too)

2008-06-02T10:41:00.000-07:00

You must go see the Takashi Murakami exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum but when you go don't miss the small show of silver jewelry by Art Smith. See picture and blurb below for more info. My favorite aspect of the Murakami work is that you can actually see the fine, smooth, brush-strokes.

This exhibition honors the gift of twenty-one pieces of silver and gold jewelry created by the Brooklyn-reared modernist jeweler Arthur Smith (1917–1982), primarily from Charles Russell, Smith’s companion and heir. The presentation of Art Smith jewelry is enhanced by archival material from the artist’s estate, such as sketches, the original shop sign, Smith’s tools, and period photographs of models wearing the jewelry, along with thirty pieces of modernist jewelry from the permanent collection by such artists as Elsa Freund, Claire Falkenstein, Ed Weiner, and Frank Rebajes. Inspired by surrealism, biomorphicism, and primitivism, Art Smith’s jewelry is dynamic in its size and form. Although sometimes massive in scale, his jewelry remains lightweight and wearable. The jewelry dates from the late 1940s to the 1970s and includes his most famous pieces, such as a “Patina” necklace inspired by the mobiles of Alexander Calder; a “Lava” bracelet, or cuff, that extends over the entire lower arm in undulating and overlapping forms; and a massive ring with three semi-precious stones that stretches over three fingers. Trained at Cooper Union, Art Smith, an African American, opened his first shop on Cornelia Street in Greenwich Village in 1946. One of the leading modernist jewelers of the mid-twentieth century, Smith was also an active supporter of black and gay civil rights, an avid jazz enthusiast, and a supporter of early black modern dance groups.

Update on Dali in New Orleans

2008-05-28T13:37:00.000-07:00

I received the email below earlier today regarding the photo of Dali in New Orleans I posted recently:

Just thought you’d might like to know who lives in that house – my husband, Myron, myself, Sharon, Myron’s son, and 4 dogs. I was searching around for stuff on the Alan Rosenberg I grew up with, the president of the Screen Actor’s Guild, married to Marg Helgenberger of the TV show, CSI, and found your blog --- with a photograph of my house on it!!!

You also might like to know that my husband is an energy consultant and we have one of the most energy efficient homes in town, complete with a ground source heat pump, ductless cooling & heating, and a tornado resistant roof.

Kamal Dali is a really neat guy – Greek, who’s been very successful in the Aububon Park/University area as a painter. Nice man.

It’s taking forever to paint our house, though. It truly needs a lot of work other than just painting but we’re getting there. We’ll be painting the inside next (it has a lot of Craftman type details with extensive woodwork & 4 types of molding) and I’m having a great time thinking about color selection. I’m just about to take a class at the NO Institute of Fine Arts in Color Theory. I share this with you because you are an art specialist.

Anyway, this is probably more than you wanted to know about the picture – kind of spoils the mystery, My husband and I were very amused when we stumbled across a photo of our humble home on your blog, but, hey, we were recently looking up his name and found out that some professors in France and Australia thought his PhD thesis research very important work and were building on it – we contacted them and they wanted us to come to France and give a conference in his honor! Amazing, huh? Take care, Sharon

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

My mother, circa 1963:

Jazz Fest

2008-05-10T09:53:00.000-07:00

Charles at Jazz Fest, New Orleans (we saw Archie Bell and the Drells, Carol Fran, Eddie Bo and a few other legends):

More New Orleans

2008-05-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

My grandfather's cousin's house (Fortune Jaubert, Jr.), designed by Favrot and Livaudais in 1904, on St. Charles Avenue at Valence Street:

Albert Ledner, New Orleans Architect

2008-05-01T17:28:00.000-07:00

On my trip to New Orleans I discovered that one of my favorite buildings is for sale. Designed by Albert Ledner for the National Maritime Union, the building served in recent years as a church. It's about a 15 minute walk from my parent's house, about 5 minutes from the Garden District, so I walked over and took the pictures below. In New York Ledner designed two buildings for the Union: one is now the Maritime Hotel and the other is part of St Vincent's hospital and currently known as the O'Toole building. St Vincent's wants to demolish O'Toole along with all its other buildings so a developer can build luxury high-rises and a new hospital. For more on Ledner and the fight to save O'Toole go to DOCOMOMO's website and download their excellent PDF:

http://www.docomomo-us.org/news/threatened/threatened_otoole_building_national_maritime_union

Dali in New Orleans

2008-04-23T20:12:00.001-07:00

More photos from my visit to New Orleans coming soon.

Wearable Expressions

2008-04-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

If you are in Los Angeles go see "Wearable Expressions," the sixth biennial international juried wearable art exhibition, at the Palos Verdes Art Center through 20 April. Pictures from the opening (taken by my brother Charles) are below. “Art-to-wear is the unique creation of an artist seeking a fresh alternative to the conventional media of painting and sculpture,” states Gabrielle, curator. “Each exhibition brings works made with new technology as well as pieces created with unexpected materials used in unusual ways. Yet many are also very serious conceptual works of fiber or jewelry art expressing the concerns and viewpoints of our time.”
http://www.pvartcenter.org/exhibitions.html#WE08

Charles and Gabrielle:

Susan McGehee:

Pat Congleton: Millet Ruff:

Dora and Chuck Meyer from Torrance wearing their art:

Pat Congleton coat:

Margarete Palz, from Zweibruecken Germany:

Valerie Steele

2008-03-30T19:27:00.000-07:00

Valerie Steele now has a website!
http://www.valeriesteelefashion.com/

More Paris 1900

2008-03-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

Another echo across the centuries from the Paris Exhibition of 1900 to today is the Manoir a l'Envers (Upside-Down Manor House), illustrated and described by Philippe Jullian, in which "the furniture was suspended from the ceiling" and "in the drawing-room people could walk round a chandelier whose lamps illuminated their feet."--which, of course, is the same concept at the recently opened Viktor and Rolf boutique in Milan:

Manoir a l'Envers:

Viktor & Rolf

Paris 1900

2008-03-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

I just finished reading The Triumph of Art Nouveau: Paris Exhibition 1900 by Philippe Jullian, published in 1974, which is only in small part about art nouveau and is really a spectacular panorama of the entire scope of the exhibition and the dizzying array of styles and ideologies on display. The book includes scores of photographs of the famous monuments constructed for the exhibition (the Grand and Petit Palais) as well as many of the more obscure pavillions (Bosnia-Herzogovina, Siberia, the Palais des Mirages . . .). Amongst the latter was the Palais des Extases designed by a Swiss architect named Traschel. Jullian doesn't give any further information about this Palais; it does look remarkably like Takashi Murakami's "Mr. Pointy."

Palais des Extases:

Mr. Pointy:

Earl Krentzin Cover Story

2008-03-14T07:42:00.000-07:00

The March/April of Silver magazine is now out with my article on Earl Krentzin as the cover story. Cover and some unpublished images of Krentzin's work from the 1950s-1960s below. If you would like a pdf of the article please contact me.

Rococo at Cooper-Hewitt

2008-03-09T13:58:00.000-07:00

The nice folks at the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, invited me to the opening of "Rococo: the Continuing Curve, 1730-2008" (http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/rococo/). The ground floor is devoted to rococo in the 18th century while the upstairs galleries explore rococo revivals and influences in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. There are magnificent things on the ground floor, beautifully installed and the ceramics, silver, furniture, bookbindings, etc. (LOTS of wonderful etc.) are brilliantly integrated. Same goes for upstairs however it seems a bit of a stretch to include some of the choices under the umbrella of rococo, such as molded chairs by Charles and Ray Eames and Frank Ghery's Easy Edges. Some fun pics of the crowd below, but I couldn't get too many of the exhibition itself as photos were prohibited: you must go see it yourself in any case! Seen at the opening were David Barquist of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Stephen Harrison of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Joan K. Davidson, Zang Toi with Ling (see below), Craig Kellogg, lots more. When you go to the Cooper-Hewitt don't miss the small but beautifully packed exhibition "Multiple Choice," of sample and swatch books from the 16th century to the 20th century: http://www.cooperhewitt.org/EXHIBITIONS/multiple_choice/site/

Stephen Jones

2008-01-30T18:20:00.000-08:00

Went to the fabulous Stephen Jones party last night, hosted by Bumble and Bumble (pics below). For those who don't know Stephen is the great London hat designer, the greatest milliner of the late 20th century and going very strong in the early 21st. I've known Stephen since 1985 (!) when we were introduced by Roberta Wagner. A Stephen Jones gold lame fez that I purchased from Susanne Bartsch in 1983 when she had her shop on Thompson Street is currently on view at the Museum at FIT in the Exoticism theme permanent collection installation. I donated the hat along with several other Stephen Jones hats including a rare group that he designed for Commes des Garcons. Will try to get a photo of the fez tommorow night when I am at FIT for the opening of the Madame Gres exhibition. Visit Stephen's website:
http://www.stephenjonesmillinery.com/

Scene:

Lynne Yeager interviewing Tziporah Salamon (http://www.tziporahsalamon.com):

Stephen Jones:

Tableau Vivante:

Erica and Annie of Au Revoir Simone (http://aurevoirsimone.com):

Tableau Vivante:

Tableau vivante:

Robert Warner

2008-01-17T14:31:00.000-08:00

More art-design synergy in the exhibition of assemblage works by Robert Warner at Pavel Zoubok (link below). Warner combines late 19th century gilt-embossed book covers, typographical fragments and glass lenses in works that are nostalgiac and futuristic (in a Jules Verne science fiction sense) at the same time. Max Ernst and Joseph Cornell are in the air here too. One hopes that Warner is not breaking up old books in order to re-use their covers. Warner's day job is Master Printer at Bowne and Co. at the South Street Seaport Museum, the still-operating 19th century letterpress printshop (link below) so one assumes that he has a decent respect for the book arts. The gilt embossed book cover was indeed a real artform in the late 19th century and is the subject of a MUST-SEE upcoming exhibition at the Grolier Club, of the work of Alice C. Morse (1863-1961), a prolific designer of such book covers (link below)

http://www.pavelzoubok.com/

http://www.southstseaport.org/index1.aspx?BD=9147

http://www.grolierclub.org/ExMorse.htm

Alice Morse and her work:

http://www.grolierclub.org/ExMorse.htm

Michael Salter at Jeff Bailey

2008-01-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Saw some good contemporary art last week. Michael Salter's exhibition at Jeff Bailey looked like a group show, a trend that seems to be in the air in the past year or so. Each piece or group of pieces (pictures and sculptures) was good and the strange/charming blobject porcelain figures (that each come in their own canister) capture the very current art/design zeitgeist. More at: http://www.baileygallery.com/
http://www.copyrightsalter.com/

James Lee Byars

2008-01-11T18:07:00.000-08:00

I was doing some research at the New York Public Library today and came across this image (below--sorry for the lousy scan-of-a-photocopy) of a "silk 'plural' dress for use by several people simultaneously" by James Lee Byars, in a 1968 issue of Craft Horizons. Byars was one of the great artists of the second half of the 20th century but is oddly underappreciated. That may be just as well because his works is really best appreciated by true cognoscenti. It may be too theatrical or decorative for much of the contemporary art crowd. Interesting stuff about Byars here:

http://www.jointadventures.org/byars/jameslee.htm

In the same article ("Clothing: Theater of the Self") was this image from William Klein's film Qui Etes Vous Polly Maggoo, of the aluminum dresses by Francois and Bernard Baschet. See their VERY interesting site:

http://francois.baschet.free.fr/

Christmas

2007-12-23T12:01:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends: The Christmas message below was written many decades ago by our grandfather Vene P. Stokes, a native and lifelong resident of New Orleans. We share it with you with gratitude and humility.
Love, -Alan and Charles Rosenberg.

Vene P. Stokes
Born--1907, Born Again--1949, Died--1995

Lawrence Copeland

2007-12-17T08:19:00.000-08:00

My next article in Silver magazine (after the March/April 2008 article on Earl Krentzin, see below) will be on silversmith/designer Lawrence Copeland who was associated with Shop One and designed for Oneida in the 1950s. Check out the excellent website about Shop One, which was one of the most important craft/design venues of the 1950s: http://youllputyoureyeout.com/shopone.html.
Vessels by Copeland shown below. Will let you know when I have a publication date.

Silver by Lawrence Copeland, circa 1955

Fontana Arte

2007-12-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

Just came from drinks and viewing of Design (with a capital D) at Phillips de Pury. Loved this bronze table mirror by Fontana Arte. Lots of other beautiful things as well. http://www.phillipsdepury.com/auctions.aspx

Michelle Segre

2007-11-30T12:01:00.000-08:00

Michelle Segre's new show at Derek Eller Gallery (www.derekeller.com, 615 West 27 Street, New York, NY) is filled with large, beautiful, outrageous, corporeal sculptures. The work is influenced by several varieties of surrealism--Pavel Tchelitchew (http://www.artnet.com/magazine_pre2000/features/mmendelsohn/mendelsohn8-27-98.asp)
Enrico Donati (http://www.weinstein.com/donati/sculpture.html) et al., as well as classic medical illustrations (Dr. Frank Netter, the Michelangelo of Medicine, http://www.netterimages.com/artist/netter.htm) and wax medical models but mainly represents the individual vision of the artist herself, who defiantly serves up something that is going to be unpalatable to some observers. Some critics will inevitably deride these sculptures as horror movie/sci-fi "surrealist kitsch" (the New York Times, in particular, seems unable to use the words surrealist and surrealism without using the word kitsch in the same paragraph)--some will love them for all the same factors . Astute observers will delight in the work's virtuoso craftsmanship, anatomical fantasy and perfect balance between haunting narrative and magnificent objectness. The artist (who I've known since 1982!) and her work shown below.

Earl Krentzin

2007-11-28T18:06:00.000-08:00

My article on Earl Krentzin will be appearing in the March/April issue of Silver magazine. A preview is below, plus images of three pill boxes and two chests, all from 1970-71.

Much has been made in the design press of late about the blurring of boundaries between design and art. The New York Times recently declared that "design is the new art," suggesting that the decorative arts are just now getting the respect that painting has received for centuries. A recent article in Vogue Living noted that "design was once considered a shabby cousin to the art world and was kept at a disdainful distance, but now the two are becoming increasingly linked." Much of the buzz is about the affinity between the design and art of our time (meaning the last 15 minutes) and the embrace of 20th and 21st century design by collectors of contemporary art. But is it all really so new? Creators as diverse as ceramist/sculptor Peter Voulkos and painter/textile-designer Vera Neumann were obliterating the boundaries half a century ago. Earl Krentzin has been doing it with sterling silver since the mid-1950's. Krentzin's work defies the either/or categorization of art versus design and demands to be analyzed as both (although to defy and demand are not actions that one would associate with this humble and gracious artist). His functional-sculptural objects echo the relational forms and expressionistic surface of so-called "primitive" art but also carry on the tradition of virtuoso craftsmanship with precious materials conveyed in the exquisite objects of Cellini or Faberge. Krentzin's boxes, bowls, canisters and goblets are also sculptures, comprised of adorably grotesque humanoid or animalesque forms, single or grouped to tell odd little stories. The functional and material characteristics of his objects are traditionally attributed to crafts while their narrative quality is associated with the pictorial tradition of fine art. In 1968 Frank Getlein acknowledged the merging of these traditions in Krentzin's works by stating that they appeared "as if they were created by Peter Carl Faberge after designs by Hieronymous Bosch."

Leslie Winer says I'm "Incredibly Good Looking"

2007-11-17T14:10:00.000-08:00

I'm trying not to be too self-indulgent here with my posts but I am pleasantly stunned to report that Leslie Winer remembers me and my brother Charles from the 1980s downtown/art/fashion/nightclub scene as "those incredibly good looking twins." She and Charles corresponded recently via her blog where she made that statement. You may know that Leslie Winer was one of the most important models in the 1980s, a profound beauty and a great provocatrice. A picture of her by Pierre and Gilles is below, as well as a link to her blog, plus pictures of me and Charles by Jimmy de Sana from 1989 and Amy Arbus from 1988, perhaps as Leslie Winer remembers us. Maybe I'll self-indulge some more and post my portraits by Horst, Mario Testino, David Armstrong, Timothy Greenfield Sanders, et al.
http://lavachequilit.typepad.com/la_vache_qui_lit/2007/05/post_8.html

Leslie Winer by Pierre and Gilles

Amy Arbus:

Jimmy DeSana:

Billy Erb's CHANDLER/CHANDELIER

2007-11-09T19:17:00.000-08:00

In further Metropolitan Opera House art-news Billy Erb's photo/multimedia exhibition "Chandler/Chandelier" features images of the beautiful Chandler Moss AND the spectacular crystal chandeliers in the opera house. Some of the other images in the show include Lady Kier in magnificent profile and the giant diamond-light-sculptures that adorn the exterior of the New York State Theater, across the plaza from the opera house at Lincoln Center (image below). The opera house chandeliers were designed by Hans Harald Rath and made by Lobmeyr of Austria. They were described in the 1966 opera house guide (see also my 1 November post):

As far as is known, crystal has never been used in such quantity for the purpose of illumination as may be seen in the radiant chandeliers of the auditorium and Grand Lobby. Suspended from the white dome of the auditorium are a central chandelier nearly seventeen feet in diameter and eight other starbursts of various sizes. On the circumference of the ceiling are twelve satellite clusters, . . . Each chandelier contains a black core from which golden beams cast their glow: some of these bear lamps, others are embellished by massive pieces of crystal and scores of crystal pearls.

Info on Billy Erb and his exhibition at:

http://www.billyerb.com/

http://billybeyond.blog-city.com/

http://www.youtube.com/BILLYBEYONDTV2000

from "Chandler/Chandelier" by Billy Erb

Installation view, Billy Erb

Last Day For LUXURY

2007-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Tommorow, Saturday 10 November, is the last day to see LUXURY, the permanent collection installation at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A new selection of pieces from the permanent collection, organized around the theme of EXOTICISM will open on 27 November. If you can't make it tommorow you can still see an online version of LUXURY at:

http://www3.fitnyc.edu/museum/luxury/

Also currently on view at the Museum at FIT is "Chic Chicago" a magnificent display of fashion from the collection of the Chicago History Museum, until 5 January 2008:

http://www.fitnyc.edu/museum

Two ensembles by Norman Norell, in "Luxury," at the Museum at FIT

Metropolitan Opera

2007-11-01T16:32:00.000-07:00

There's a really outstanding contemporary art exhibition in the gallery at the Metropolitan Opera house here in New York. On view are works on paper, collage and mixed media by Guillermo Kuitca: http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/schwartzgallery/kuitca.aspx
The works display a perfect balance between aesthetics and concept. Coincidentally I just came across a copy of the "Official Guide Book" to the opera house that was published when the building was completed in 1966-67. The descriptions of the design and lavish materials used are really interesting: bianco de nieve, travertine and cremo marble; 23K gold leaf; silk velvet handrails supported by posts of crystal balls on polished bronze; book-matched teak paneling, etc. There is a photograph (below) of the Eleanor Belmont Room, a sort-of VIP lounge, named after the founder of the Opera Guild. The room was designed by Billy Baldwin and has glazed pearwood walls, a portrait of Mrs. Belmont by Simon Elwes and . . . well the picture says it all. The guide book describes, but does not illustrate the Opera Club (a private dining room) designed by Angelo Donghia and the executive offices designed by Mario Buatta. Maybe someone out there can let me know whether these (now historic) interiors are still intact. On a personal note, my uncle, Philip Rosenberg, the well-known film production designer, began his career as an assistant to Eugene Berman designing sets at the Met. Berman also got him a job assisting Marcel Vertes on his murals at the Cafe Carlyle. On another personal note, I spent alot of time at Lincoln Center as a child attending the Little People's concerts. I'm not sure that the music had such a big influence on me but the modern architecture and luxurious ambiance had a very strong impact on my sensibility.

Eleanor Belmont Room, Metropolitan Opera House, New York

Allison Malinsky

2007-11-01T05:42:00.000-07:00

Take a look at the delightful paintings by Allison Malinsky. She has been loitering in the lobbies of hotels like the Carlyle and the Pierre here in New York and her observations are reflected in these oil on linen interpretations. Opening 6 November, 6:00-8:00pm, 80 Washington Square East, http://allisonmalinsky.com/

Samuel Marx

2007-10-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

The long-awaited book on architect/designer Samuel Marx is now available. In Ultramodern Samuel Marx: Architect, Designer, Art Collector Liz O'Brien has combined extraordinary archival photographs with a thoughtful and exhaustively researched text. The result is a magnificently produced book that is both lavish and scholarly. Marx's first major building was the 1909 New Orleans Museum of Art (http://www.noma.org/) and his most visible project was the 1940 May Company department store building, now part of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (http://www.lacma.org). Marx was equally adept at furniture and interior design and the book documents all of his output into the 1950s including his collaborations with textile designer Dorothy Liebes and interiors designed for great art collectors such as Mary and Leigh Block. You can purchase the book directly from Liz O'Brien (http://www.lizobrien.com/): stop in to her gallery, see furniture designed by Marx and have Liz sign your copy of her book.

Ultramodern: Samuel Marx by Liz O'Brien

May Company Building

Liz O'Brien's gallery, Marx cabinet in background

Bad Design

2007-10-26T18:54:00.000-07:00

My nominations for the worst designs of all time:

CD Jewel Case:
The case cracks and the hinges break on your first attempt to open it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewel_case#Jewel_case

Ear Buds:
"fit comfortably in your ears and sound great"???--they don't sound too great to everyone within 20 feet of you on the subway or bus!
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=3CAB62F7&fnode=home/shop_ipod/ipod_accessories/headphones&nplm=MA662G/B

Miss Blanche by Shiro Kuramata:
Only because it is totally overrated; I was around in 1988 when it appeared and at that time it was trivial and irrelevant: somehow it has become an "icon of design"?? (apologies to Agnes Gund and Patricia Cisneros, two great ladies and true "icons" of art)
http://www.moma.org/collection/printable_view.php?object_id=2630

More LA

2007-10-18T14:27:00.000-07:00

Coverage in Los Angeles Magazine of their Style issue party, hosted by the fabulous Laurie Pike, LAMag Style Director. Photo bottom center shows me, right, Laurie, center and my twin brother Charles, left.

Is Hicks All there Is?

2007-10-11T19:41:00.000-07:00

I find it really tiresome that so many design bloggers, interior designers, design editors and design "gurus" cite David Hicks as their favorite interior designer and greatest influence. I love David Hicks' work--he was one of the most brilliant and important interior designers of the 20th century--but at this point proclaiming David Hicks as your primary inspiration is not exactly the most original citation. I wonder if any of these people know anything about some of the other 20th century decorating greats. My favorites?:

Serge Royaux:

Georges Geoffroy:

Michael Greer:

Ward Bennett:

. . . more coming soon.

Museum of California Design

2007-09-19T18:55:00.000-07:00

Please visit the site of the wonderful Museum of California Design:

http://www.mocad.org/events/index.html

MOCAD just just hosted their annual award benefit event at the Los Angeles home of architect Steve Erlich, with honors going to the legendary Heath Ceramics . Check out the pics of the cool crowd of MOCAD supporters below:

Sexy Gerard O'Brien of Reform (http://www.reform-modern.com) and brilliant Bill Stern of Mocad:

Wendy Kaplan, Curator of Decorative Arts Los Angeles County Museum of Art (http://www.lacma.org):