Things I like: Modern Design

I'm going to start a new series of posts about the things I like. Nothing necessarily deep, but rather an idea, a concept, a movie, an artist, whatever, that I like. One a day for as long as I can stand it. I'm not going to overthink them. I'll just pick something and riff on it for awhile. Too often I use my blog to complain about something ... and that's definitely necessary and not something I'm going to stop ... but it's important to talk about those things we have a positive view of also.

Of course this seems incredibly narcissistic. Why, you would rightly ask, would anyone really give a shit what I like? And I would answer ... wait, I don't really have a good answer to that. Ultimately, it's an exercise to encourage me to write more often. Through exploring what it is in daily life that I truly enjoy, I might better use my time.

First up is Modern Design

And by Modern Design, I mean that architecture, art, furniture, etc. that rejects tradition. I'm certainly not an expert in any of those but I know that I really like the modern architecture as demonstrated in the works of photographer Julius Schulman and the design of architects like Wright, Philip Johnson and Frank Gehry. I like the furniture designs of Eames. Of course, I can't afford either. My tract home with Ikea furniture is a far cry. But the names aren't the point. The aesthetic is the point.

Modern Design appeals to be because of the practicality and functionality, especially as it pertains to sustainability. It's the classic "form follows function". In my own life, I try to get to what is essential and get rid of the clutter. We spend every day wasting time and money with those things that are not really essential to us.

My interest probably started with my interest in Frank Lloyd Wright. Growing up, my family lived in Oregon for a time and some friends of the family were architects. And they designed very much in the Wright style. I was hooked and well into high school, I thought I'd go to college for architecture, but life and finances derailed me into the more generic engineering. But, my interest never waned. Some day, when money is no object, I'll have that modernist house and that Eames chair:






For the 2nd year in a row, I'll be going out to LA for the Dwell on Design show. We go out to LA a couple times of year anyway because of having relatives in Manhattan Beach but the show is a compelling reason for me to go out at that particular time. We're hopefully going to get to the Getty Museum as well.

I've subscribed to Dwell Magazine for several years and it is a great source for ideas on modernist design.

Next up, tomorrow: Chess

L.A. Architecture/Design

As visitors to my Facebook page already know, I had a really good time on our long weekend in L.A. a week or so ago.  I won't recap the boring details but I thought I'd share a few of the photos I took.  I've always been really interested in architecture and design (until my senior year in high school, I thought I was going to be an architect) and these photos show some of the iconic places that we visited.

Our first day there, we went to Hollywood Blvd:

- The First National Bank Building on the northeast corner of Hollywood and Highland was built in 1927 and until 1932 was the tallest building in Hollywood. It was designed by the architectural firm Meyer and Holler, who also designed Grauman's Chinese Theatre and the Egyptian Theatre.

- Built in 1926, the El Capitan hosted Citizen Kane's world premeire.

- The Roosevelt Hotel hosted the first Oscars in 1929 and many famous people, including Mariln Monroe and Frank Sinatra, have lived there.

Grauman's Chinese Theater

Our 2nd day at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art:

- Eames' designed furniture

- Frank Lloyd Wright designed lamp 

- the building housing the Japanese and Koren art exhibits
- looking up at the Variety building from the balcony outside of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum
- two pictures of the Page Museum (La Brea Tar Pits), which is right next to LACMA

From the last couple of days in California:

- Underneath the Manhattan Beach Pier - numerous film scenes made near this pier (Falling Down, Point Break, Tequila Sunrise)

- picked up Michelle's mom from the Union Station train depot in downtown L.A.  Blade Runner, Speed, Italian Job, Drag Me to Hell all used this station as a backdrop.  The interior of the station is fantastic with Art Deco lighting and decorations.

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Speaking of modernist architecture and design, I attended a screening of Visual Acoustics, a documentary of Julius Shulman, at the Phoenix Art Museum today.  Shulman is the preeminent architectural photographer and has documented all of the most famous modernist architects including Wright, Richard Neutra, Frank Gehry, etc.  This was a great film.  You would think it would have only attracted a few nerdy architecture students, but the film room was packed (probably 500 people).  His life and photographs do a great job of documenting 20th century architecture, especially in SoCal.