Bright lights big city: New York Neon

Cover of New York Neon, by Thomas Rinaldi

Cover of New York Neon, by Thomas Rinaldi

“Neon lights were both…loved and hated like no other element of the built environment,” Thomas Rinaldi says in his new photo book New York Neon.  They are both modern and nostalgic.  They are ubiquitous, and yet often no one gives them a second thought.

What are the hallmarks of urban experience?  Concrete and neon. Neon is imbedded in our cultural psyche, especially as a defining visual element of the biggest, grittiest urban environment in America, New York City. Consider the Drifter’s lyric: “They say the neon lights are bright on Broadway.” Or Petula Clark’s “Downtown”: “Just listen to the music of the traffic in the city; Linger on the sidewalk where the neon signs are pretty.” Continue reading →

A Dollhouse for Grownups

Italian dining room, c. 1500. The objects in this room were inspired by both Italian sources (the Davanzetti Palace in Florence) and Viennese interiors. The chest in the corner is one of the few pieces carved by Mrs. Thorne herself.

Italian dining room, c. 1500. The objects in this room were inspired by both Italian sources (the Davanzetti Palace in Florence) and Viennese interiors. The chest in the corner is one of the few pieces carved by Mrs. Thorne herself.

If you want to research historic interiors, where do you turn?  You could buy a book like Mario Praz’s indispensible An Illustrated History of Interior Decoration; search the internet or a digital photo archive for specific dates and locations. Or, for an especially fun field trip, you could visit the Thorne Miniature Rooms.

French Louis XV Salon, 1715-1754. The reign of Louis XV was an age of feminine influences, as seen in the gentle, curving lines of the furniture and walls. Even the corners of this room are rounded! The parquet floor is made of oak and walnut, and laid in a Versailles pattern.

French Louis XV Salon, 1715-1754. The reign of Louis XV was an age of feminine influences, as seen in the gentle, curving lines of the furniture and walls. Even the corners of this room are rounded! The parquet floor is made of oak and walnut, and laid in a Versailles pattern.

The 1:12 scale Thorne Miniature Rooms cover European, American and Asian interiors ranging in date from the late 13th century to the 1930s. The models are the brainchild of Narcissa Ward Thorne of Chicago (daughter-in-law of Montgomery Ward co-founder Richard Thorne). She began by amassing a collection of miniature furniture from around the world. By the early 1930s she had decided to have the rooms painstakingly and perfectly executed by master craftsmen, work which continued over the next decade.  Some of them replicate actual rooms that Mrs. Thorne saw in her travels, while others are simply true to period. To give an example of the level of detailed execution, in some cases period rugs were woven in miniature scale specifically to fulfill her vision! Continue reading →

Material Translations: Japanese Fashion at the Art Institute of Chicago

Rei Kawakubo for Comme de Garcons, Dress, 1983. All images courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

Rei Kawakubo for Comme de Garcons, Dress, 1983. All images courtesy Art Institute of Chicago.

Ever since Japan was first opened to trade with the West in the mid-19th century, Japanese arts and crafts have had an enduring influence on those of the West. Fashion is perhaps the most public face of this influence. Designers such as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons led the wave that continues with younger designers such as Harajuku. Japan remains a nation whose rich textile and costume traditions have translated into cutting-edge innovation.

In Japan both courtly life and samurai culture were highly stylized. In the late 17th century the cultural focus shifted from military actions to bureaucratic ones. With this shift came the popularity of dark colors, especially black, which symbolized self-discipline. Even today the same phenomenon indicates urbane good taste. Continue reading →

Alicia Benoist: Black and White Maiolica

Currant bowl; black Maiolica. By Alicia Benoist, from the Facebook album “Pots”, September 2010. Photo by Russell Dian.

We recently met Alicia Benoist, a studio potter from New York City whose work stole our hearts! Her hand is expressive and robust, and the way she paints her glaze brought to mind the impasto strokes of Vincent Van Gogh and the stained glass of John LaFarge. But on second look we saw that she was fluent in two different glaze-painting styles: black and white maiolica. Her white pieces are subtly different. Fresh but subdued colors are stroked onto a white ground. They resemble watercolors, especially those of the Omega Group from England in the early 20th century.

Her inspiration comes from her garden: irises, lily of the valley, floppy poppies, fiddlehead ferns and an array of fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition to being a potter, Alicia is also a cellist and choral singer.  She draws a parallel between music and ceramics.  “You use the same vocabulary to discuss both, such as ‘color’ and ‘rhythm’.  One tends to describe both the same” she explains. Continue reading →

Playing with color

Looking for an amusement to brighten a drab winter day? How about a card game that is not only brainy, but sure to inspire.

Funnybone Toys color card games. All images courtesy Funnybone Toys.

The Denver-based company Funnybone Toys has come up with not one but three color card games that provide amusement for both kids and adults. And who knows? You just might find the perfect palette!

Train your brain while you excite your eye.  These games are as much art as they are entertainment; like a kaleidoscope, as you play the color patterns shift and excite the eye.  This is no accident.  Funnybone Toys is dedicated to stimulating creativity and improving cognitive function with good design. They work with bringing in experts on type and graphic design as well as childhood education. Continue reading →

Sourcebook of Scandinavian Furniture

Designs for the Twenty-First Century

Judith Gura’s definitive new sourcebook. All images courtesy W. W. Norton.

A compendium, with more than five hundred full-color illustrations, of the best modern furniture from the Nordic countries.

Scandinavian design brings to mind forms that are minimal and clearly functional out of beautiful, if not sumptuous materials. It is the kind of design that most of us “know when we see it” but we don’t often know what the pieces are actually called. Now, luckily for us, there is a “bible” for that kind of design.

Judith Gura is a decorative arts historian and professor at the New York School of Interior Design. She is an authority on the history of interiors, especially 20th century interiors, and their furnishings. Her 8th book includes a CD-ROM with easy-to-use screen resolution files of all the illustrations. Continue reading →