There are probably three movie themes that say the 1960s for me -- Goldfinger is one. The other two belong to three-time Academy Award winner Maurice Jarre, who died last week at age 84. Those are Lawrence of Arabia (above) and Doctor Zhivago (below).
Saturday, April 4, 2009
R.I.P. Maurice Jarre
Monday, March 9, 2009
Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture at Midcentury
Midcentury aficionados, better book a room at the Hotel San Jose (or a friend's couch), because you've gotta see this show at Austin's Blanton Museum of Art.
The exhibit, which takes its name from a 1957 Miles Davis compilation album, features more than 200 objects, including: Eames furniture, films, and archival materials; Noguchi sculpture; Julius Shulman's Case Study House photos showcasing the architecture of Richard Neutra, Pierre Koenig and others; fantastic abstract paintings ... oh, just hit the link. The show continues through May 17.
above Julius Shulman photograph of Case Study House #22, (Pierre Koenig, architect, Los Angeles, 1959-60) right Karl Benjamin's Black Pillars,(1957) 48 x 24 inches, oil on canvas
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Design Within Reach
The rumor is that Design Within Reach is opening a store in Fort Worth, on West Seventh. Hey, DWR, what took ya so long?
Yates-Ottmann Building in Fort Worth
Fort Worth actually may be waking up to the realization that it needs to protect its midcentury architecture: The Yates-Ottman Building, 1020 Summit Ave. (north of the Hospital District and I-30) has been designated one of the city's historic and cultural landmarks. Historic Fort Worth, Inc. recently decided to try to educate the public about these local treasures, and getting the Landmarks Commission's seal of approval is a big step forward.
Thank you, HFW! But you've got your work cut out for you, having to outrun the bulldozers and the builders of faux-Tuscan McMansions. (We've lost so much history already.)
Monday, February 23, 2009
Craigslist Furniture Update
It's high time we indulged our sweet tooth with a dose of retro eye candy!
Suddenly, I have an overwhelming desire for a Haleukelani Cocktail ...
They're just begging for a fantastic Raymor lamp, maybe some Stig Lindberg ceramics. Hope they have more luck than I've had! 
Cool American beauty. Makes one feel downright patriotic.Wednesday, February 11, 2009
RIP - Blossom Dearie
Blossom Dearie, the great jazz vocalist with the little girl voice, died Saturday at age 82. New Yorker critic Whitney Balliett once said that her tiny wisp of a voice "would scarcely reach the second storey of a doll's house," but her phrasing was as sophisticated as anything the great Frank Sinatra crafted. Watch her above on The Jack Paar Show in the early '60s.
Monday, February 2, 2009
3900 Bellaire Drive, Fort Worth, Part Deux
Our inner Gladys Kravitz took over when, a few days after we wrote about our lust crush on this baby (scroll down a few posts), an "Open House" sign appeared! We had to see the inside, along with quite a few other gawkers, including a couple of architecture students.
The gate to the back entry. Every home should come with its own 2-foot-tall Egyptian-style guards. The only way I would've loved this more is if the little guys had hopped down and whipped me up a Rusty Nail.
Buttah. A gorgeous, gleaming terrazzo floor that (we heard) extends the length of the house, much of it under the carpet.
Life would be so much simpler with an intercom system like this.
"Nick, darling, could you bring more cracked ice to the rumpus room?"
Plant your rubber tree in this corner while belting out "High Hopes."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
