los angeles modern auctions preview

maison21 just returned from visiting the preview of the latest los angeles modern auction at the pacific design center (sched. this sunday, feb. 10th). we went with a friend to see if there was anything we couldn't live without for his home (or maybe even for our own). tucked in amongst the usual charles eames/george nelson/mid-century stuff the lama auctions are known for, there were some great nakashima pieces, and a couple of really rare examples of rudolph schindler furniture, but actually we were more impressed by the art- lama seemed to have brought the level of art up a notch for this auction- including a series of insanely great alexander calder jute rugs/hangings like the one below:


Lot 120
Alexander Calder
Turquoise
Bon Art, 1974
Handwoven maguey jute fiber
#58 of 100
56 x 84
estimated at:
$3,000 - 5,000

maison21 was also drooling over a pair of shiro kuramata vases he has long admired, but doubts that his minuscule bid will win one:



Lot 153
Shiro Kuramata
Flower Vase #3
Ishimaru Ltd, 1989
12h x 3.75 x 10.5

$2,500 - 3,500

amongst the art maison21 recommended to his friend was this great sam francis litho (recommended in part because m21 loves the work of sam francis, but also, maison21 is ashamed to admit, because of the chic lucite shadow box framing (you can't see it in the following photo, but trust us it was chic. we know you aren't supposed to buy art for the frame, but whatever- we aren't eli broad here, just a decorator who filters his appreciation of art through the rooms it will beautify...):





Lot 99
Sam Francis
Untitled
1987
Color Lithograph
Signed lower right; edition lower left
#4 of 115
33 x 21

$1,000 - 2,000

though not usually the biggest fan of danish modern, maison21 also was quite taken with these fab bright red leather chairs by jens risom:




Lot 244
Jens Risom
Pair of red leather chairs
Jens Risom Design Inc., designed circa 1960
Retains Risom label
Each 39h x 28w x 24d

$4,000 - 6,000

also loving this whimsical george mulhauser desk chair:






Lot 270
George Mulhauser
Desk chair
Pycraft, designed circa 1965
Retains label Plycraft Inc. designed by George Mulhauser
27h x 22.5w x 24d

$1,000 - 1,500


maison21 was NOT loving this c. jeré light sculpture as it is missing the stamen-like spiky clusters that should normally crown the upright rods that compose the piece- shame on you lama! you should know better!





Lot 139
Curtis Jere
Floor light sculpture
1977
Signed C. Jere 1977
58"h

$2,000 - 3,000



the shonda of the c. jeré sculpture notwithstanding, you should definitely check out the catalog online, and see if there is anything that catches your fancy- you can bid online through ebay live auctions, or if you are in los angeles, head on over to the pdc this sunday as the auctions are lots of fun (and rather exciting) in person!

super-graphic super-tuesday (more pretty in 2008!)

maison21 the blog is not about political causes- the only position we will publicly take a stance on is that we are in favor of pretty things...

but with the primary here in california and it being "super-tuesday" across the nation, we were reminded of the following posters from the huffington post a friend sent us a while back. we loved them because of their crisp, bold, black and white graphics, and admired the fact that they didn't look like every campaign poster we've seen for the last 40 years. why must politcal advertising always be so ugly? the same old generic red, white and blue designs with sayings like "for change" and "for america". ugh- boring, and bland, and like most politicians themselves, they cater to the lowest common denominator.



so this political season, whether democrat or republican, conservative or liberal, maison21 is asking our candidates to make america a little more beautiful and give us cool and interesting graphics for our windows, lawns and automobiles! no more generic, red, white and blue- how about black and white like the posters shown, or go crazy with a little orange or aqua! maison21's campaign mantra is:

more pretty in 2008!

maison21 has come into an unexpected fortune (so don't expect new posts, because he's busy spending his monies...)

so maison21 recently came into an unexpected inheritance! via the following email:

THIS IS FOR YOUR ATTENTION.

We wish to notify you again that you were listed as a beneficiary to the total sum of £10,600,000.00GBP (Ten Million Six Hundred Thousand British Pounds) in the codicil and last testament of the deceased. (Name now withheld since this is our second letter to you). We contacted you because you bear the surname identity and therefore can present you as the beneficiary to the inheritance.

We therefore reckoned that you could receive these funds as you are qualified by your name identity. All the legal papers will be processed in your acceptance. In your acceptance of this deal, we request that you kindly forward to us your letter of acceptance; your current telephone and fax numbers and a forwarding address to enable us file necessary documents at our high court probate division for the release of this sum of money.

Please contact me via my private email: so that we can get this done immediately.


Please send the details and call me to discuss more.
Yours Faithfully,
John Max.
102 Donegal Place
Belfast, Ulster
WR1 1HZ
Telephone +44-70457 59907
Fax number +44-700-5976560

yippee! maison21 gots all the monies now- he can finally pay his amex bill!

seriously, do they think anyone will ever respond to this bullsh*t? maison21 is quite over this crap. he doesn't want his "inheritance", nor does he wish to "grow his member" or buy an "officine replica watch".

just stop the spam already, ok? nobody is stupid enough to answer back, so what's the point?

(image from tracy o., via flickr)

tippi, i'm scared! (unsettling urban phenomenon)

there are dozens and dozens of crows outside the windows of the maison21 atelier this morning, making a god awful racket. they are agitated and obviously quite angry about something. maison21 has seen "the birds", thank you, and he and mona are not going outside anytime soon...
maison21 grew up in southern california, and the mornings used to be quite peaceful- the cooing of mourning doves and the songs of robins were the sounds one awoke to, not the raucous cawing of an army of angry crows. i haven't seen a mourning dove or a robin in years. we don't even seem to have pigeons (another urban blight) around anymore- the crows seem to have driven them away, too. we do have a big flock of brilliant green wild parrots in the 'hood, that seem to holding their own (they are just as loud as the crows, btw), and luckily, the adorable lil hummingbirds are still abundant. maybe they don't compete with the crows for food, so are left alone. maison21 wishes he was a hummingbird right now, so he could leave the house unnoticed by the vicious gang of crows waiting to attack him the moment he sets foot outside...

is this crow monopoly restricted to maison21's urban los angeles neighborhood? or are they taking over everywhere in north america? tell me, tippi, is m21 just paranoid? or is maison21 scared with good cause?

ps- to the city of los angeles and the local utility companies, to whom maison21 writes large checks every month: it's 2008, already! can we please get rid of the urban blight of unsightly poles and wires strung everywhere? it's so last century...

palm springs modernism extravaganza alert!

the palm springs modernism weekend has crept up upon maison21 faster than he realized- it's only two weeks away! and this year, it's not just a weekend- it's billed as modernism week- a nine day long orgy of 20th century design and architecture events from friday 2/15 to sunday 2/24! if you want a winter getaway in the desert sun, this is the time to do it...

now if you have no idea what the heck maison21 is talking about, modernism week (formerly weekend) is an annual event in palm springs, california centered on the Palm Springs Modernism Show & Sale, described as "80 premier national and international decorative and fine arts dealers presenting all design movements of the 20th Century" (from their website)- which means the best dealers schlep their best things out to the desert for you to drool over (and buy, if you have the $$$$). really, the caliber of furnishings and art exhibited is quite amazing, and the crowd is fun and festive- always a good time! (and no, this is not a shameless plug for maison21's own wares- we aren't quite ready to exhibit there... yet).

over the years, the event has grown from just a simple decorative arts show to a true destination event for design and architecture aficionados, with lectures, tours and parties, and as mentioned, this year's schedule has expanded into a whole weeks worth of activities! - too many to list on this humble blog, but go to the modernism week website and check out the entire dizzying array of events!

if he can get away, maison21 is thinking he might have to be out in the desert for both the first and second weekends of the event: the first weekend (2/15-17) for the modernism show itself, of course, as well as the friday night opening reception benefiting the palm springs preservation foundation, and a cocktail party saturday night for the palm springs modern comittee- both organizations do great work to preserve the threatened architectural heritage of palm springs (check out their websites to see some of the buildings lost forever to ill-thought out development- so sad). saturday's benefit promises to be particularly fun as it's held in the below private home- maison21 is a huge voyeur and loves to peek inside the houses of strangers! the talented superstar d.j. (and maison21's good friend) victor rodriguez will be spinning at the party, and he always serves it up, so a good time is virtually guaranteed! victor also regularly spins at the kelley wearstler designed viceroy palm springs on sundays, so you can check him out there if you can't make modernism weekend. maybe someday if we're lucky, victor will give the readers of this blog a peek inside his own home- like the title of this post, it too, is a palm springs extravaganza...
the second weekend of the modernism extravaganza has the opening of julius shulman: palm springs, a retrospective of the master photographers' work in the desert, including the below photo of a palm springs home designed by john lautner (credits at museum link). the exhibition opens at the palm springs art museum with a lecture on saturday 2/23 at 5:30, by the authors of the rizzoli book with the same title as the exhibition.

and finally, on the last day of modernism week, there is a day long tour sponsored by the museum entitled "The Desert's First Exclusive Enclaves: From Marrakesh to Smoke Tree" which should be fab opportunity to get a peek inside several architecturally significant members-only developments that are normally closed to the likes of maison21- yay! we like to to look!

so, will maison21 see you in the desert?