In 1951, designer Greta Magnusson Grossman observed that California design was "not a superimposed style, but an answer to present conditions.... It has developed out of our own preferences for living in a modern way." California design influenced the material culture of the entire country, in everything from architecture to fashion. This generously illustrated book, which accompanies a major exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, is the first comprehensive examination of California's mid-century modern design. It begins by tracing the origins of a distinctively California modernism in the 1930s by such European émigrés as Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, and Kem Weber; it finds other specific design influences and innovations in solid-color commercial ceramics, inspirations from Mexico and Asia, new schools for design training, new concepts about leisure, and the conversion of wartime technologies to peacetime use (exemplified by Charles and Ray Eames's plywood and fiberglass furniture). The heart of California Design is the modern California home, famously characterized by open plans conducive to outdoor living. The layouts of modernist homes by Pierre Koenig, Craig Ellwood, and Raphael Soriano, for example, were intended to blur the distinction between indoors and out. Homes were furnished with products from Heath Ceramics, Van Keppel-Green, and Architectural Pottery as well as other, previously unheralded companies and designers. Many objects were designed to be multifunctional: pool and patio furniture that was equally suitable indoors, lighting that was both task and ambient, bookshelves that served as room dividers, and bathing suits that would turn into ensembles appropriate for indoor entertainment. California Design includes 350 images, most in color, of furniture, ceramics, metalwork, architecture, graphic and industrial design, film, textiles, and fashion, and ten incisive essays that trace the rise of the California design aesthetic.
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"This book beautifully documents how climate, immigration, and industryinfluenced California's modern design aesthetic." -- Publishers Weekly
"…[F]ascinating stuff, rich with detail and new discoveries." -- NZ House and Garden
About the Author
Wendy Kaplan is Department Head and Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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Bobbye Tigerman is Associate Curator of Decorative Arts and Design at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By Robin Benson
Format:Hardcover
This is the third book of an exhibition on Californian design and the second from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. They had a show in 2001 which looked at design from 1900 -2000, this latest title narrows it down to 1930 -1965. Orange County Museum of Art, in 2007, called their exhibition 'Birth of the Cool: design at mid-century'.
All three books are heavily illustrated and in the case of 'Birth of the Cool' and 'California Design' quite a lot of the text and images overlap though the MIT published one is a far better production (Cool was rather sloppily produced with missing captions, page numbers and a poor use of pictures).
The ten chapters in this book explore creativity in California, though that essentially means Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wendy Kaplan (the book's editor) sums it all up very succinctly in the Introduction: Living in a modern way. I enjoyed reading Nicholas Olsberg who makes home architecture come alive with his essay and Bill Stern suggests some good points regarding the spin-off from the wartime economy that was centered in California. Other essays look at furniture, ceramics, fabrics, fashion, jewelry and the personalities involved. The weakest essay I thought was from Jeremy Aynsley who looked at graphic design; it was more a name-check listing of graphic and publication designers rather than analysis.
'Living in a modern way' is a quite thorough overview of Golden State creativity and presented in a well-designed book. The exhibition checklist in the back pages lists 357 items and the book has 350 of them (with 250 in color) oddly there is no bibliography. The other two books I've mentioned: Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000, Birth of the Cool and this one cover all you'll need to know about the subject...in words and pictures.
>>>LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
All three books are heavily illustrated and in the case of 'Birth of the Cool' and 'California Design' quite a lot of the text and images overlap though the MIT published one is a far better production (Cool was rather sloppily produced with missing captions, page numbers and a poor use of pictures).
The ten chapters in this book explore creativity in California, though that essentially means Los Angeles and San Francisco. Wendy Kaplan (the book's editor) sums it all up very succinctly in the Introduction: Living in a modern way. I enjoyed reading Nicholas Olsberg who makes home architecture come alive with his essay and Bill Stern suggests some good points regarding the spin-off from the wartime economy that was centered in California. Other essays look at furniture, ceramics, fabrics, fashion, jewelry and the personalities involved. The weakest essay I thought was from Jeremy Aynsley who looked at graphic design; it was more a name-check listing of graphic and publication designers rather than analysis.
'Living in a modern way' is a quite thorough overview of Golden State creativity and presented in a well-designed book. The exhibition checklist in the back pages lists 357 items and the book has 350 of them (with 250 in color) oddly there is no bibliography. The other two books I've mentioned: Made in California: Art, Image, and Identity, 1900-2000, Birth of the Cool and this one cover all you'll need to know about the subject...in words and pictures.
>>>LOOK AT SOME INSIDE PAGES by clicking 'customer images' under the cover.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By eomalley9
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Large indepth book. I was unable to make it to the exhibit in CA, but I'm glad I have this at least.
6 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By S. T. Abang
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I went to the the exhibit and found it to be fascinating. To keep those wonderful memories I had to purchase the book, which has beautiful images and is well written. My favorite chapter in the book is about JOSEPH EICHLER and his homes!
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