Those Zany Screwball Comedies of the 1960s

Growing up in the 1960s, for my family was a era of television.  Saturday mornings were dedicated to cartoons and the evenings were usually spent watching family sitcoms and those "zany screwball comedies" which often didn't require your full attention because they all had the same slapstick, simple plots, and a host of Hollywood's comedic actors.  You will always find Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra hiding other mens' wives in bedrooms, Doris Day running from Rock Hudson because her virtue is at stake, Elke Summers taking a bubble bath and Ann Margaret dancing for no apparent reason.
Very often these movies blended the same lame plots which positioned television not so much as something that required viewing as much as background noise while playing gin rummy or Monopoly, petting the dog or doing your homework.
The classics have sustained time because they were well written, directed and probably adapted from a Broadway play or novel - like the great films of Billy Wilder, Joseph Mankiewicz and Hitchcock - these films roped you in and got your undivided attention, even as kids, when the dialogue was more intelligent and the subject matter less, "adult."  But with the "Swinging Sixties" the movies seem to dummy down the dialogue and  pushed the envelope on the subject matter making it sexier and screwball.  And who can forget the beach movies with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello - which I cannot recall a single plot, just a string of scenes of teenagers doing the twist on the beach.
I remember when the technology of VHS and video stores became mainstream I was addicted to spending nights researching foreign and classic films that  I either haven't seen in decades- or ever- and thinking how fortunate to live in a era when you can go to a video store and for a few dollars rent a movie and watch it in the privacy of your own home.  And in time I seemed to absorb every film made by Lina Wertmuller, Luis Malle, Bertolluci, Cassavettes- even Woody Allen!  But in time it seemed I've seen it all and the only thing left to watch was new releases and more recently- Reality TV.  And while the Housewives of New Jersey and Jersey Shore and.. well anything New Jersey makes for good TV (I mean we all like to watch a train wreck) I don't share America's infatuation with vampires or forensic science stories).
Recently, I moved into a loft converted from a 110 year old church which although has been modernized for some reason or another I could not get a television cable connection into the family room.  Well, as necessity is the mother of invention, I was forced to install a wireless blue-ray DVD which includes Netflix and the "Instant Que" to retrieve a huge library of movies and television series which we haven't seen in video stores - some of them released for the first time in decades.  While many of them were not the classic family comedies that we've loved for our lifetime and never forgot those quotable lines... most are still enjoyable films that at least make for good background noise while cooking, petting the dog or surfing the ipod.
And in the genre of those screwball 1960s comedies, while the plots may be mundane, the saturated technicolor is mesmerizing, the corny dialogue is a language of it's own and the set design is... well inspirational!   I've always said that much of my inspiration in design came from these 1960s movies and the set decoration in some of these films still enliven my design senses.  All those crazy, zany movies at the press of a button... this may require an intervention!

Beating to a different DRUMM

An appropriate follow up to my blog post on brutalism is the works of Don Drumm, one of the great American 20th century artist who has contributed to the brutalist art genre with his whimsical and abstract metal works.
Drumm opened his gallery in Akron, Ohio in 1971 in a renovated residence off the beaten path and has to date followed the same philosophy of renovating residence as homes for his 8 galleries that serve both locals and an online store. Working primarily in pewter and cast aluminum, the Drumm Gallery sells art and gift items including jewelry, art glass, pottery and, most notably the original works of Donald Drumm.
His works are both decorative and functional serving as casserole dishes, bowls, plates, bells, planters and on the higher end of his price points, furniture. Pieces in the gallery can cost as little as $25 and have fetched thousands in auction houses such as Wright in Chicago.
Like many of contemporary artists in metal making that continue their trademark into the next century, the more collectible pieces are typically the abstract productions from the 1970s.
You can peruse the large contemporary collection at dondrummstudios.com or scout for more collectibles on ebay. Modlife has just uncovered several pieces at a recent buying trip including some rare outdoor hanging art objects featured on www.vandm.com and in our Chicago showroom.

The Brutal The Better

I have always been- and still am -a big fan of "Brutalist" art and architecture. The term is not commonly known as it originated in the late 1950s and continued into the mid-1970s, but has regained it's popularity in design the past few years - not so much in new design as it is in recovering it's origins.

Perhaps it's popularity today is mostly credited to Paul Evans whose hand made designs of metal sculpted furniture has made a huge comeback in home decor and mid century modern collecting.

But the origins or "Brutalism" date to over a decade before Evans introduced his sculpted bronze series of furniture.

The term; "Brutalism" was coined in 1953 by two architects - Alison and Peter Smithson and was spawned by the modernist architectural movement but relating to a phrase used by Le Corbusier translated from the French "beton brut" or "raw concrete." The material was used widely in post WW2 European, North and South American buildings, however the brutalist style was usually formed with striking repetitive angular geometries, creating sculptural characteristics and sometimes revealing texture of the wooden forms used for castings.

Typically as interior design follows the form and function of its habitat, brutalism found its way in furnishings, but as concrete is far too heavy the materials were substituted with bronze coated resins or metals. This is most evident in the Evans sculpted bronze series but we also see obvious attempts in the stunning copper chandeliers by Tom Greene for Feldman Co. and in Fantoni's abstract iron sculptures. (Pictured above).

Critics of the Brutal period architecture found the buildings to be "Monstrous, cold-hearted and inhuman" but perhaps the biggest critic were the buildings themselves, some of which decayed, crumbled and stained if not easily vandalized by graffiti, this making alternative building styles more superior. By the mid-1980s the brutalist popularity was dead making way for Structural Expressionism and Deconstructivism. Newer buildings soften their angular lines and existing concrete facades were subjected to sandblast or stucco. Thankfully, the furnishing have remained intact and have made a comeback... however, in the day it was all about sets - today the last thing you want is a room full of brutal furniture. Ah, but the beauty of adding a piece here and there can bring an important moment of mid century modern architectural history alive in your contemporary setting. Check our online store for some examples of brutalist furnishings now available in home decor, furniture and lighting.

KRENIT BOWLS by Herbert Krenchel

KRENIT BOWLS OF FUN

Krenit Bowls are the invention of mid century designer Herbert Krenchel in 1953 and derived it's name from the combination of "Krenchel" and "eternit" (a fiber cement used for the coating of the exterior of the bowls). Manufactured in Denmark, the bowls were produced in an assortment of vibrant interior colors with a clear coat of enamel and matt black on the outside. They came in an assortment of serving and portion sizes and used for salads, fruit, etc.

In 1954, the design won a gold medal award in Milano, Italy. Production came to an end a decade later after over one million units were produced.

Like much of the great modern designs of the 20th century which have gained recently popularity in the collectors market, these have been recently reproduced for the contemporary consumer who does not want to scout for the originals. They are manufactured by Norman Copenhagen but they differ from the originals in that they typically have the same color inside and out and are limited in color scheme., i.e., white, black, green and blue and are more shallow in shape.

If you are a purist and covet the originals like me, you can find them online or contact Modlife @ modlife@comcast.net for pricing and sizes as shown in the image above.

A Tribute To Geoffrey Baxter

Like most drawn to my profession, before we became dealers we were collectors. My initial interest was in 20th century modern Italian art glass and Scandinavian pottery. For me, there was only Murano manufactured art glass and ceramics by Stig Lindberg or Gufstason that peaked my interest and soaked up my paypal account back in the days of buying impulsively from European dealers on ebay. Naturally, opening a showroom I found it necessary to segue that obsession into more functional objects, however in time I would come across an art glass designer whose amazing work in mid century modern design would force me to look at Britain's contribution to this genre. He is not a famous designer, at least not to the states which makes him a strong candidate for me to blog about.

Geoffrey Baxter was born in 1922 and worked for the leading handmade glass company, Whitefriars owned by the James Powell & Sons family of glass makers. Since 1834, the Powell family developed their glass manufacturing reputation as internationally important as Tiffany and Galle. When Baxter joined the company in 1954, he was the first glass designer hired outside the family to produce, "modern" glass which was monopolized at the time by Scandinavian manufacturers. While Baxter was himself influenced by the clean modern lines of Scandinavian art glass he definitely threw his own spin on his work that would make his designs stand out from that of Scandinavian and Italian modern art glass alike.

Not only was his strong point of view apparent in his designs but also his use of color and, I believe, a sense of humor and pop culture. His textures were produced by deep relief mouldings designed of organic and mimicking shapes of tree bark, musical instruments, tools, technology, and, my favorite; a layer of bricks piled by a drunk! His colors were bold and typically produced in tangerine, kingfisher blue, indigo, pewter, aubergine, cinnamon, willow and the rather rare - lilac.

You can visit the Whitefriars.com website to learn more about Baxter and his glass and the fair value of these pieces. Occasionally you can find them on ebay fetching anywhere from $100 pounds (not very common in the states - typically sold by British dealers) to over $700 pounds each.

This is where I would say "Or you can find them at Modlife for much less" but quite honestly, I sold out of much of them and what I have left I'm not ready to let go of. But I can always acquire them for the serious collector.

NEVER MET A NAGEL I DIDN'T LOVE

One of the coolest things about being a collector is uncovering variations of items that you covet the most. For example, the iconic mid-century modern chrome candle holders made by Nagel, Germany has a myriad of styles and metal finishes. You will find these candelholders sprinkled about the U.S. usually purchased from 20th century modern stores like Modlife or from dealers on ebay. Typically, you will find the classic chrome 3-footed candlestick which allows you to build various configurations by plugging them into one another like a jigsaw puzzle of your own design. You can build a tower or a centerpiece adding accessories such as the bowls. They hold thin danish style candles which aren't always easy to find in the states but the candlesticks are so decorative you needn't really dress them with candles anyway.

The candlesticks where designed by Fritz Nagel and Ceasar Stoffi and manufactured by BMF/Nagel, Germany (Beyerische Metall Fabrik) in the space age area of the 20th century. Since then variations have circulated including brass/gold metal, brutalist textures, bird-shapes, shooting stars, rosewood and metal candelabra (pictured above) to name a few. What they all share in common is how they are designed to stack and create a centerpiece or a sculpture to your own specifications depending on the size, variations and number of units you own. Typically the popular Nagel chrome unit sells anywhere from $10-$50 each depending on where and how many you buy - the most affordable naturally, being in Germany where they originate. You can still find dealers on ebay but unless you buy them in large quantities it may not be worth the cost of having them shipped internationally. As for this collector - I keep my eye out for the rarer less common variations - some of which are on sale at Modlife. For more information call the showroom at 773-425-8338

Thanks Apartment Therapy for the link - right back at you! (Click Here)