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Ars Longa is a journal of fine arts, modernist design, and thrift shop archaeology. Nicely designed objects and beautiful artworks can be affordably attained by everyone, you just have to know where to look ... read more >
Precision and Presence — The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is currently hosting their 20th annual Modernism exhibition with a show entitled Swiss Graphic Design: Precision and Presence. Installed in the Wells Fargo center, this year's show features 20 important Swiss Modernist posters dating from 1955 to 1985. Switzerland was (and remains) a hotbed of Modernist graphic design, probably most notably for being the birthplace of the cornerstone of modern typography: Helvetica. With their preeminent position in the fields of design, typography, and printing, Swiss designers are renowned for their posters ... making this a "must see" show for anyone interested in modern graphics. But hurry, the exhibition ends on July 12th.
07.02.09 LINKNO COMMENTS
Living in an Icon — I often think about what it would be like to live in an iconic or historically important modernist home. When I lived in Minnesota, I would routinely drive past a Frank Lloyd Wright "Usonian" house not too far from my apartment just to daydream a bit. But for some people, these dreams are reality. Take for instance Bruce, Sharon and Mark Stahl, who grew up living in Pierre Koenig's Case Study House No. 22 in the Hollywood Hills. While I would be awestruck to even visit such a landmark of Modern architecture, the Stahl kids just thought of it as "home." And isn't that exactly what a house is supposed to be?
06.30.09LINKNO COMMENTS
Finding The Federalist — Yesterday I built a full wall of bookshelves in my office to help contain my family's burgeoning book collection. And while I am quite happy with some of the great titles we've been able to add to our collection (including several with great Alvin Lustig and E. McKnight Kauffer designed jackets among others), none of our finds has come even remotely close to one made by Nathan Harlan. About 20 years ago, as a high schooler with an interest in American History, Harlan paid $7 for the first of two volumes of The Federalist at a South Bend, Indiana, flea market. This tiny booklet from 1788 includes articles written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay calling for ratification of the United States Constitution. Now after being on display in his home, Harlan has sold his fantastic find through Heritage Auction Galleries. The gavel finally fell when the bidding hit $80,000.00 ... far exceeding the $8-12,000.00 pre-sale estimate. Just another reminder to keep digging!
06.24.09LINKNO COMMENTS
Collaborating With Emeco — Normally I'm skeptical when it comes to the re-design and re-imagination of vintage pieces, but when Emeco gave a handful of design greats free reign with their classic aluminum "Navy" chair the results were outstanding. From Ettore Sottsass' Nine-O series to Phillipe Starck's Kong line (which possibly recalls too closely his Louis Ghost Chair for Kartell), the entire Emeco line displays the fine midcentury craftsmanship and style for which the company is known. (As an aside, don't forget to watch the design process videos ... interesting stuff!)
06.19.09LINKNO COMMENTS
Framing Robert Kulicke — I talk about fine art, fine craft, and the decorative arts fairly incessantly here on Ars Longa, but rarely do these three somewhat related fields overlap more than with the work of Robert Kulicke Of course Kulicke was a painter (he studied under Leger), and much can be said about his modernist approach to the still life. But that's not really what this post is about. Kulicke's real claim to fame, in my eyes, were his breakthrough picture framing systems (pdf link). His philosophy that "True originality is always a byproduct of the search for a technical-esthetic solution to a technical-esthetic problem" remained at the very core of his work, and I think this is an important design tenet that we should continue to be mindful of. Sadly, he passed away in 2007 at the age of 83, but his legacy lives on in his breakthrough plexiglass box and welded aluminum frame designs that modernized the display of fine art. A style which continues to be prominent today.
06.17.09LINKNO COMMENTS
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