Monday, July 31, 2017

Florence Knoll Bassett: Happy 100

Florence Schust Knoll Basset


Florence Schust Knoll Basset



Florence Schust Knoll Basset



Florence Schust Knoll Basset


Florence Schust Knoll Basset turned 100 last May...

Born in 1917 in Saginaw, Michigan, to parents that died early in her life, Knoll Bassett was orphaned by age 12. It was by fate and chance that a foster guardian enrolled her to Kingswood School, a boarding school for girls that was part of the Cranbrook Educational Community -- the legendary art, education, and museum campus whose chief architect, the world-renowned Finnish designer Eliel Saarinen, was also a teacher and president.

Noting her talents and interest in the campus buildings, Saarinen and his wife, Loja, a textile designer, took Florence under their wing. She also grew close to their son, Eero, who was seven years her senior, and she frequently spent summers in Finland with the family. 

By age 14, Knoll Bassett designed her first concept for a house, demonstrating an early aptitude for architecture.

As an alumnus of some of the most progressive design schools -- she studied architecture at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago (IIT), and spent a few years at London’s Architectural AssociationKnoll Bassett’s social and intellectual orbits read like a who’s who of modern design. Her classmates at Cranbrook included Charles and Ray Eames, Harry Bertoia, and Eero Saarinen -- all went on to create prominent furniture designs, often in collaboration with one another. 

At IIT, she studied under German-American architect Mies van der Rohe, the last director of the Bauhaus school and whose name has become synonymous with the spare ethos of the International Style. She later worked a stint in Boston with Walter Gropius, founder of Bauhaus school, and Marcel Breuer, one of its master teachers.

With her multidisciplinary approach in design and architecture, Knoll Bassett practiced a philosophy of “total design” -- one that considered form and whole environments at every scale -- from the building structure, to its interiors, furnishings, colors, graphics, material, and textiles. She often presented designs in her signature and pioneering “paste-up” method of space planning.




Saturday, July 29, 2017

Harry Bertoia: Wire Chair Design








Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia












Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Harry Bertoia: Sonambient Sound Sculpture Recordings - The VintageVinyl LP Covers

Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia


Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia



Harry Bertoia


These are the original vinyl LP album titles. Harry Bertoia's work fascinates me. I had never heard of him until recently -- when I began learning about Mid-Century Modern design. He is such a creative artist that I put him on a par with Paul Klee. I don't recall learning about him at all in my art school years of the seventies. He's really something. 

You can hear some of his "Somambient" recordings for free on YouTube. I enjoy playing them at a low volume level right as I start to lay down to go to sleep.















Monday, July 24, 2017

Rod Serling

Rod Serling


My man, Rod Serling -- tops.

One of television's brightest, most literate pioneers and a true believer in the medium, Rod Serling was known as the "angry young man" of Hollywood early on in his career, clashing with studios and sponsors in his quest to loosen the corporate grip of censorship and write freely on controversial topics.

The man would maintain that outspokenness as an artist and a thinker throughout his career. Today, the acclaimed writer is most revered for having had the ability to produce works of drama that probe the human psyche in an imaginative and thoroughly unique way, many demonstrating a deep love for humanity and the belief in the possibility of a better tomorrow.

From "The Twilight Zone" to "Night Gallery" and everything before and after, here are some fascinating facts about Rod Serling.

HE FOUGHT IN WORLD WAR II.

Serling enlisted in the U.S. Army the morning after his high school graduation. He served with the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division. Sent to the Pacific Theatre, Serling fought on the Philippine island of Leyte, was part of the force that took Manila back from the Japanese and later was assigned to the occupation force in Japan. Among his military decorations are the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and the Philippine Liberation Medal.

HE WAS A BOXER.

Having always had an interest in sports, Serling became a boxer while training in the Army. Rising to the second round of the division finals before being knocked out, he competed as a flyweight and had 17 bouts. Serling suffered a broken nose in both his first and last bout.

HE PARTICIPATED IN INSANELY DANGEROUS AIR FORCE EXPERIMENTS.

While in college, Serling made extra money testing equipment for the United States Air Force. Some of the parachute jumps and other experimental tests were so hazardous that he would be paid anywhere from $500 to $1,000 per stunt, sometimes being paid half up front and promised the other half if he should survive.

HIS FIRST WRITING ACCOLADE CAME IN COLLEGE FOR A RADIO SCRIPT.

The budding writer submitted a script to the annual writing contest of radio program, "Dr. Christian." Of the thousands submitted, Serling's script was one of the few selected for broadcast. He won a trip to New York City and $500 for "To Live a Dream." Another winner was Earl Hamner, Jr., who would go on to write scripts for "The Twilight Zone."

HIS FIRST BIG HIT WAS A LIVE TELEVISION PROGRAM CALLED "PATTERNS."

Serling's big break came in 1955 when the freelance writer's 72nd script was chosen for a live television broadcast on the nationwide "Kraft Television Theatre." The episode was called "Patterns" and dramatized the power struggle between a veteran corporate boss and a bright young executive. While Serling didn't think the script was anything special, after the program's broadcast his life would never be the same.

HE WAS A STAUNCH OPPONENT OF CENSORSHIP.

The early years of television were beset by stifling corporate censorship. Looking to circumvent the watering down of his social and political commentary, Serling devised the plan of creating his own show that would employ a science-fiction format, a format that would allow the exploration of ideas thought too controversial for reality-based drama. This, of course, was the genesis of "The Twilight Zone."

THE FIRST "TWILIGHT ZONE" EPISODE WENT TO "DESILU PLAYHOUSE."

When Serling submitted a script to CBS as the pilot pitch for "The Twilight Zone," the network gave it to "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse." The 1958 episode, "The Time Element," featuring a man plagued by vivid nightmares and a quintessentially "Twilight Zone" twist-ending, was such a hit that CBS green-lit the writer's proposed science-fiction series.

HIS FAVORITE "TWILIGHT ZONE" EPISODE WAS "TIME ENOUGH AT LAST."

Of the many "Twilight Zone" episodes that he penned, Serling's favorite was "Time Enough at Last." Adapted from a short story, the episode tells the tragic tale of a myopic bank teller with a love for literature who falls victim to a classic twist ending. Serling's favorite episode written by someone other than himself was "The Invaders," penned by Richard Matheson.

"THE TWILIGHT ZONE" WAS CANCELLED TWICE.

Despite its many awards, critical acclaim and loyal fan base, "The Twilight Zone" drew only modest ratings and was cancelled and revived twice during its five years and 156 episodes (92 of which were penned by Serling). A weary Serling did not oppose the third an final cancellation of the series in 1964.

HE MADE "A CHRISTMAS CAROL" POLITICAL.

Serling brought a political spin to Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" in 1964 with television film "A Carol for Another Christmas," in which Serling uses the classic story to make a plea for world peace. Telecast only once, the apocalyptic Christmas special features Peter Sellers as a demagogue ruling the wreckage of a ruined world during the "Ghost of Christmas Future" sequence.

HE WAS UNHAPPY WITH "NIGHT GALLERY."

Steeped more in horror than science fiction, Serling hosted "Night Gallery" and would write more than a third of its episodes -- however, he rejected an offer to retain creative control, a decision he would come to regret. By season three many of his contributions were being rejected or heavily altered, leaving him disgruntled and, reportedly, hotly dismissing the show as "Mannix in a cemetery."

HE WROTE A WESTERN AND STARRED IN AN ESSAY SERIES.

After the cancelation of "The Twilight Zone," Serling wrote the Western television series "The Loner," which aired from Fall of 1965 to Spring of 1966. When he refused CBS' request for more action and less focus on characters, the show was doomed. Years later in 1970, "Rod Serling's Wonderful World of…" debuted on KNXT in Los Angeles. The show served as Serling's soapbox to deliver stylized essays on any number of social ills. The series lasted 13 weeks.

HE RETURNED TO RADIO IN THE 1970s.

In 1973, Serling returned to radio with "The Zero Hour," a drama anthology series that featured tales of mystery, adventure and suspense. His final radio performance, recorded just a few weeks before his death, was "Fantasy Park." The program was a fictitious 48-hour-long rock concert that aired over Labor Day weekend. The imaginary concert, hosted by Serling, was achieved using live-in-concert recordings, crowd noise and other effects.

HE WAS A TEACHER.

Always busy with writing or producing his work, Serling somehow found time to teach. From the early 1960s until the time of his death, he taught college courses on subjects including film criticism, writing, and drama.

HE DIED TOO SOON, AT AGE 50.

Having survived the daily threat of death in the Pacific during Word War II, it was ultimately a series of heart attacks, perhaps due in part to his heavy smoking, that resulted in the untimely end of Serling's life in 1975. Sadly, he was only 50 years old.

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Harry Bertoia: Sonambiant Sound Sculpture Recordings - The CD Reissues

Harry Bertoia



After nearly 40 years of silence,sHarry Bertoia's "Sonambient" label has been resurrected in order to release the best of Bertoia's unheard recordings from his recently preserved archive of 1/4" tapes. "Clear Sounds" b/w "Perfetta" was cut straight from the original reels and is a true analog pressing. 

These two pieces were selected for their minimal, meditative and lush harmonic qualities; lacking in the abundance of dynamics and contrasts found on the original "Sonambient" records, these pieces show another approach to performance. Slow washes of shimmering metallic sculpture rustle thickly like the leaves of a white birch or tall grass in the summer sun. Gorgeous harmonics hover overhead, making audible measurements of the length and purity of Bertoia's metal rod sculptures. 

Both Harry Bertoia and his brother Oreste composed extensively in the Sonambient barn deep in the woods of rural Pennsylvania where Harry kept over 100 Sonambient sculptures and gongs. The first "Sonambient" LP "Bellissima Bellissima Bellissima / Nova," released in 1970, contains a Harry Bertoia composition on side A and an Oreste Bertoia composition on side B. As an homage to the original "Sonambient" LP, "Clear Sounds" is a Harry Bertoia piece from June 30, 1973 and "Perfetta" is an Oreste Bertoia piece from June 28, 1971

Harry Bertoia first came into artistic prominence in the late 1930s and his sculptural, ergomonic chairs were soon Modernist furniture classics. Inspired by the resonant sounds emanating from metals as he worked them and encouraged by his brother Oreste, whose passion was music, Harry restored a fieldstone "Pennsylvania Dutch" barn as the home for this experiment in sounding sculptures which he had begun in the 1950s. Bertoia was an obsessive composer and relentless experimenter, often working late into the night and accumulating hundreds of tapes of his best performances -- Oreste, too, would explore and record the sculptures's sounds during his annual visits to his brother's home in rural Pennsylvania. 

Over nearly twenty years, adding, culling and rearranging, Bertoia carefully selected nearly 100 harmonious pieces ranging in height from under a foot to more than fifteen feet. Learning by experimentation was common for Bertoia and he mastered the art of tape recording, turning the Sonambient barn into a sound studio with four overhead microphones hanging from the rafters in a square formation. He would experiment with overdubbing by performing along to previous recordings, constantly improving his methods while also honing his performance skills.

Lucio Fontana







Lucio Fontana



Lucio Fontana



Lucio Fontana



Lucio Fontana


Following his return to Italy in 1948 Lucio Fontana exhibited his first "Ambiente spaziale a luce ner" (Spatial Environment) at the Galleria del Naviglio in Milan -- a temporary installation consisting of a giant amoeba-like shape suspended in the void in a darkened room, and lit by neon light. 

From 1949 on he started his so-called "Spatial Concept" (or slash series), consisting of holes or slashes on the surface of monochrome paintings, drawing a sign of what he named "an art for the Space Age."

He devised the generic title "Concetto spaziale" (spatial concept) for these works and used it for almost all his later paintings. These can be divided into broad categories -- the "Buchi" (holes), beginning in 1949, and the "Tagli" (slashes), which he instituted in the mid-1950s.





Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Eames Studio: Six-Panel Maple Folding Screen

Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames and Ray Eames


Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames and Ray Eames



Charles Eames 








Monday, July 17, 2017

RIP Laurence Scholder, Printmaker and Mentor

Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder




Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder



Larry Scholder


Farewell to my fine printmaking instructor at SMU, Larry Scholder. He mentored me 1975-1981. Thanks for all you did for me, Larry. My condolences to Larry's family, many students, and friends.

Laurence (Larry) Ted Scholder (1942-2017)

Born in 1942 in Brooklyn, New York to Arthur and Kate Scholder, Larry grew up in New York and attended Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) where he met and married his wife Carole

He graduated in 1965 with a BFA and pursued graduate studies in printmaking at the University of Iowa, graduating in1967 with an MA. During this time daughters Erica and Alix were born.

After graduation, the family moved to Texas where Larry was a Professor in the Department of Art at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. He taught at SMU for 44 years, retiring in 2012. 

In addition to teaching, Larry exhibited his artwork extensively throughout Texas and the United States. His prints are in the collections of numerous museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum in Ft. Worth, as well as in many private collections.

Survived by wife Carole, daughters Erica Scholder and Alix Perritt, son-in-law John Perritt, granddaughters Shelby and Darcy Perritt, sister Janet Scholder, and numerous cousins, including Joel and Marsha Selden.