California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way"

Resnick Pavilion
October 1, 2011–June 3, 2012
Image

This exhibition is the first major study of California midcentury modern design. With more than 300 objects—furniture, ceramics, metalwork, fashion and textiles, and industrial and graphic design—the exhibition examines the state’s role in shaping the material culture of the entire country. Organized into four thematic areas, the exhibition aims to elucidate the 1951 quote from émigré Greta Magnusson Grossman that is incorporated into the exhibition’s title: California design “is not a superimposed style, but an answer to present conditions…It has developed out of our own preferences for living in a modern way."

Pacific Standard Time is an unprecedented collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, coming together to tell the story of the birth of the LA art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time will take place for six months beginning October 2011. Sponsors

The exhibition was organized by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and funded through a lead grant from 
Corporate sponsorship was provided by
Additional funding was provided by the Henry Luce Foundation, Debbie and Mark Attanasio, Martha and Bruce Karsh, and LACMA's Decorative Arts and Design Council.
Image: Julius Shulman (1910–2009), photographer, Pierre Koenig, architect, Stahl House (Case Study House #22), Los Angeles, 1960 © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive, Research Library, Getty Research Institute (2004.R.10).
DCW (dining chair wood)
Charles & Ray Eames
1946–49
DCW (dining chair wood)
Charles & Ray Eames
1946–49

Molded Plywood Division, Evans Products Company (Venice, 1943–47)
Herman Miller Furniture Company (Zeeland, Michigan, 1923–present), distributor
Rosewood, rubber, steel
29 x 19 1/2 x 22 in. (73.7 x 49.5 x 55.9 cm)
LACMA, Decorative Arts and Design Council Fund, M.2008.290.3
© 2011 Eames Office LLC (eamesoffice.com), Photo © 2011 Museum Associates/LACMA

California Lobster two-piece swimsuit, swim trunks, and man’s shirt
Mary Ann DeWeese
1949
California Lobster two-piece swimsuit, swim trunks, and man’s shirt
Mary Ann DeWeese
1949

Catalina Sportswear (Los Angeles, 1907–93)
Lastex, cotton
Two-piece swimsuit, center-back length: 14 in. (35.6 cm); swim trunks, center-back length: 15 in. (38.1 cm); shirt, center-back length: 27 1/2 in. (69.9 cm)
Collection of Esther Ginsberg/Golyester Antiques
Photo © 2011 Museum Associates/LACMA

Desk (with storage unit)
Greta Magnusson Grossman
1952
Desk (with storage unit)
Greta Magnusson Grossman
1952

Glenn of California (Arcadia, 1948–92)
Desk (with storage unit), 1952; manufactured 1952–c. 1954
Walnut, iron, Formica
47 5/8 x 23 3/4 x 40 in. (121 x 60.3 x 101.6 cm)
LACMA, Decorative Arts Deaccession Fund, M.2007.37
© Greta Magnusson Grossman Estate
Photo © 2011 Museum Associates/LACMA

Bowl
Gertrud & Otto Natzler
1943
Bowl
Gertrud & Otto Natzler
1943

Earthenware
Height: 3 1/2 in. (8.8 cm); diameter: 8 1/2 in. (21.5 cm)
LACMA, Gift of Rose A. Sperry 1972 Revocable Trust, M.72.105.5

Deborah Sussman

Deborah Sussman, whose work is included in the exhibition, talks about her early history with Charles and Ray Eames and her long career as an influential designer.

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What Is It About Chairs?

December 22, 2011

I once drove past a garage sale in San Francisco and caught a glimpse of a chair. I pulled over and begged the price down to $80. That same chair design, by Luther Conover, is in our California Design exhibition. Last year while doing interviews for our California Design show, I asked designer John Kapel why chairs have such allure. He gave a thoroughly compelling explanation of why chairs are particularly expressive opportunities for a designer...

Barbie Doll: An Icon of California Design

November 15, 2011

Some of the objects in California Design, 1930–1965: “Living in a Modern Way” were available for purchase for as little as $3 when they were new, including an original 1959 Barbie doll and her boyfriend, Ken, introduced in 1961. A popular icon and a lightning bolt of cultural relevance, Barbie was marketed as a “Teenage Fashion Model” doll and an aspirational toy with clothes for any occasion...

Video

Talk
California Design Symposium
10:00AM Friday, February 24
Talk
California Design Symposium
9:30AM Saturday, February 25