CALIFORNIA DESIGN/ EIGHT
Thomas W. Leavitt (introduction) et al.
Pasadena: Pasadena Art Museum, 1962. First edition. Quarto. Printed paper covered boards. 96 pp. Fully illustrated in black and white and color. An Ex-Library copy with inkstamps to endpapers front and back as the only institutional markings. Boards rubbed with expected wear to spine junctures. Interior unmarked and clean. Out-of-print. Overall, a nearly very good copy.
9 x 10.25 hardcover book with 96 pages showcasing hundreds of examples of the best in Californian applied arts and crafts from the early sixties. Amazing selection of objects, from ceramics and jewelry to industrail design for household appliances, furniture, etc. Stellar reference volume that includes scarce manufacturing information. Need I say more?
California Design/Eight: March 25 through May 6, 1962—this book provides an unparalled snapshot of the modern California crafts movement at the time when it achieved its mid-century zenith.
Contents:
- california design/wood
- california design/clay
- california design/way of life
- california design/chairs
- california design/gold
- california design/craftsmanship
- california design/walls and furniture
- california design/landscape
- california design/manufacturers
- california design/designers
- california design/designer-craftsmen
Includes work by the following designers: Mark Adams, Affiliated Craftsmen Studio, Jean Ames, Bob Anderson, Laura Anderson, Charlotte Arnold, Michael Arntz, Richard Arpea, Carlton Ball, Philip Barkdull, Margaret Montgomery Barlow, Al Bennett, Steven Briggs, Laya Brostoff, Sherrill Broudy, Jackie Carl, Harlan Chinn, Wallace Coons Jr., David Cressey, Ivan William Culver, Bill Curry, Dora de Larios, Al Douglass, Charles Eames, Esperent, John Follis, Philip & Jean Freeman, Hal Fromhold, Walter Funk, Jerry Glaser, Kenneth Glenn, Rex Goode, Robert M. Hardy, Linda Hickey, Otto Heino, Betje Howell, Gerald Jerome, Jerry Johnson, Ellice Johnston, John A. Kapel, John J. Keal, Kenneth Kent, Albert J. Kramer, John Lautner, Mary Jane Leland, Wayne Long, Sam Maloof, John Marko, Gerald McCabe, Harrison McIntosh, Tom McMillan, C. McPhee, D. Moryl, B. Newkirk, John Nyquist, H. Painter, S. Pearson, P. Pillin, J. Police, M. Pollock, R.W. Ramsey, V. Ries, T. Scaccia, K. Sekimachi, K. Selzer, F. Stahly, C. Stewart, S. Kipp, J. Svenson, N. Teague, E. Traynor, R.G. Trout, P. Tuttle, B. Vallin, J.M. Waldron, H. Watson, K. Whitcomb, W.W. Williams, G. Wood, P. Yost, T. Ziegenfuss, and many others.
Features photos of many items in black and white and color, including Francois Stahly, teak doors; James Hubbell carved wood pillar; Espenet of Bolinas wooden music stand, domino set and writing chest; Robert Trout wood panel, boxes; Dextra Frankel, John Nyquist carved walnut panel; Paul Tuttle designs for The Tucker Shops; Norwood Teague salad servers, trays; Robert Stocksdale 2 b&w photos of bowls, and 2 bowls with cocobolo pestle in single color photo; John Nyquist pedestal table, chair; Jerry Glaser turned wood bowls; Charles Pechanec sideboard; Wes Williams hanging; Virgil Elsner’s perpendicular stereo cabinet prototype, color; Howard McNab & Dan Savage small table for Peter Pepper; Malcolm Leland matte white pots with walnut bases for Architectural Pottery; Marilyn Neuhart Lion Pillow for Herman Miller Tresures and Objects Shop; Sam Maloof chairs; Sheldon Kaganoff ceramic floor pot, color; Mary Jane Leland linen drapery; Trude Guermonprez wool rug; Harrison McIntosh vase; Laura Andreson vase; Carol McPhee Hanging ceramic slab stoneware planter; David Cressey stoneware sculpture; Henry Yamada pot; Otto Heino pot; Frank Matranga garden pot; F Carlton Ball garden pot; Helen Watson striped stoneware; Thomas Ferreira thorny vase; Ed Traynor chalices; Kenneth Starbird ceramic family; Herbert A Saalfield’s Sky Skootor; Cole Williams designed Desert Rat ATV; William Flannigan surfboard; Wes Williams teacart, chairs; Gordon Newell birdbath for Architectural Pottery; Douglas Deeds Beer Can Chair; Stanley Bitters ceramic birdhouses for Sumpf Co.; Danny Ho Fong furniture designs; George Kasparian chairs; Kip Stewart chairs; Hendrik Van Keppel tripod chair.; Victor Ries candlesticks. Kenneth Glenn bronze sculpture; Jackson & Ellamarie Woolley enamel copper mural; Frederick Lauritzen sterling silver coffee service; Walter Funk enamel bowls, plates; Marguerite Wildenhain ceramic relief key motif sculpture; Hall Bradley designed Alumicane garden furniture, color; Elsie Crawford designed planters for H D Cowan several photos; John Follis Fiberglass planters for Architectural Pottery, and so much more.
"California Design -- The furniture, jewelry, recreational objects, ceramics, fabric arts, and other designs that emerged from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s California would come to identify its outdoorsy, eccentric, sometimes entirely funky persona. And the best of these were exhibited, sometimes idolized, through a series of popular shows at the Pasadena Art Museum.
The first six exhibitions of California Design were held annually at the Pasadena Art Museum from 1955-1960, funded by grants from the County of Los Angeles. The shows featured contemporary design of home furnishings, accessories, and equipment from Southern California designers, manufacturers, and retailers. Two exhibitions with similar themes were organized by other California museums during the same period: "California Designed" (1955) was produced jointly by the Long Beach Municipal Art Museum and the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum in San Francisco, and "Contemporary California Designers," was held at the Oakland Exposition Building in 1955.