Signs Of The Times

With the approach of spring and a flailing economy, it seems like more “for rent” signs than ever are popping up like large blooms.

Beauty Is Where You Find It

New York interior designer Jeff Wilcox was able to look beyond the bright orange velvet and ugly brown finish blighting this reproduction bergère he’d discovered at Desert Industries (the Mormon version of the Goodwill, also known as “the D.I.”).

Jeff has faced bigger horrors, but after determining that the shepherdess chair was a reasonably good copy, he toted it away from “the Lord’s charity” and made it over in his own image, with a whitewash finish and the loveliest green velvet he could find.

Now the bergère is the focus of a corner vignette in his Manhattan co-op, where spring reigns eternal. Vive la France!

The Long Goodbye

“To say goodbye is to die a little.”

— Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Raymond Chandler: March 26, 1959, 3:50 p.m., the Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, California.

Green With Envy

The Andrew Wilder Gallery at Swedish furniture resource Svenska Möbler wasn’t part of Saturday’s Miracle Mile Art Walk, but it should have been. The Swedish modern showroom is featuring fashion images by Mark Shaw, who attained fame as the Kennedy’s “unofficial” photographer and for his work in Life, Harper’s Bazaar and Mademoiselle.

Left: Shaw’s Walking at Palais Royale. This 1959 photo features Henrietta Tiarks, Duchess of Bereford, in a verdant suit by Jules Francois Crahay. (Crahay was best known for his work at Nina Ricci and the House of Lanvin.)

Numbered digital prints from Shaw’s original negatives, using archival paper and inks, are available from The Andrew Wilder Gallery at Svenska Möbler.

I want Walking at Palais Royale to be mine.

Svenska Möbler, 154 North La Brea Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90036

To view the entire series of Mark Shaw images, including Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot, click here.

To learn more about Mark Shaw, visit markshawphoto.com

Male Ego

Photorealist John Baeder displays his Male Ego at Thomas Paul Fine Art. (1979, C print on Kodak paper, 20" x 30")

Thomas Paul Fine Art, 7270 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

To see more of John Baeder’s work, visit john baeder.com or tpaulfineart.com

Lock & Load

While visiting the Stephen Cohen Gallery, I became sidetracked by Luke Batten and Jonathan Sadler’s New Catalogue. I don’t know which section was more gleefully engrossing: Big Ten Co-Eds with Ski Mask or Preppy Girls with BB Guns.

Stephen Cohen Gallery, 7358 Beverly Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

To see more Luke Batten, Jonathan Sadler, and New Catalogue, visit newcatalogue.net

They’re Creepy and They’re Kooky...

Julie Blackmon’s Domestic Vacations at Fahey/Klein was one of the high points of this past Saturday’s Miracle Mile Art Walk. Blackmon, American Photo’s Emerging Photographer of 2008, explores fantasy, reality, and family dynamics in a series that out-charms even the Addams family.

Julie Blackmon, Domestic Vacations, Fahey/Klein Gallery, 148 North La Brea Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

To see more of Blackmon’s work, visit julieblackmon.com

Chocolate Takes a Holiday

Thursday, March 19, is National Chocolate Caramel Day, which is as good of an excuse as any to indulge in Twix bars, rolls of Rolo, Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Caramel Squares, retro Zero bars, See’s Scotchmallows, hand-dipped turtles, Snickers Supreme milkshakes, Baskin-Robbins Gold Medal Ribbon ice cream, and last year’s forgotten box of Girl Scout Samoas...

Or you could wait for Fed Ex to show up in a pair of those perversely alluring shorts, bearing an order of Fran’s Sea Salt Caramels.

Rumor has it that the President and First Lady are big fans of Fran’s, the Seattle-based chocolatier. But if the Obamas happen to be celebrating National Chocolate Caramel Day, you can bet they’re not hiding out in the Lincoln bedroom eating Mrs. Richardson’s ice cream toppings right out of the jar while Sasha and Malia run wild through the White House, and neither should you. 

Take my advice and order Fran’s 40-piece Gray and Smoked Salt Caramels. (Milk and dark chocolate!) It’s good for you and it’s good for the economy.

It's Time To Ride the Holly Trolley Again

Volcano, Pink Eruption, 1935, by Edward Hagedorn. Couturier Gallery.

The next Miracle Mile Art Walk will take place this Saturday, March 21, starting at 1 p.m. Come for the opening reception and artist lecture at Couturier Gallery, 166 North La Brea at 2 p.m. Stay for the after-party at Voila!, 518 North La Brea, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. In between there will be free guided tours of Fahey/Klein and Thomas Paul Fine Art. Walk at your leisure or hop on the Holly Trolley wherever balloons are posted to explore more than 40 participating galleries. Free.

Green Day

Two ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day (besides the usual drinking, pinching, and then more drinking):

Bailey’s Irish chocolate cupcakes.

Green velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting.

Both from Sprinkles. 

Reunited and It Feels So Good

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has put up a wall of its own while the ongoing exhibition, Art of Two Germanys: Cold War Cultures, explores East and West German art from 1945 — 1990. Chain link and graphics surround the construction of the Lynda and Stewart Resnick Exhibition Pavilion, scheduled to open in 2010. 

Meanwhile, LACMA invites you to join the party in the BP Pavilion on April 4, 2009 for Late Night Art: Berlin 1945 — 2009. The event celebrates Two Germanys with art, video and music, and features Berlin’s DJ/VJ duo Safy Sniper and Christine Lang. 

When: Saturday, April 4, 8 pm to midnight

Where: BP Grand Entrance

How: Advance tickets until March 27: 323 857 6010; or purchase tickets from March 27 through April 4 at the LACMA box office; $10

Want to experience more of the Cold War?

*See Art of Two Germanys: Cold War Cultures at LACMA through April 19.

*Visit the Wende Museum, 5741 Buckingham Pkwy, Suite 3, Culver City.

*Attend films and lectures at the Goethe Institut, 5750 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 100, Los Angeles.

*Download the KCRW Politics of Culture podcast, Art of Two Germanys (January 27, 2009), featuring KCRW General Manager, Ruth Seymour; art critic Edward Goldman; and LACMA Senior Curator of Modern Art, Stephanie Barron.

*Rent the claustrophobic 1965 thriller of double-dealing and disillusionment, The Spy Who Came in From the Cold, starring Richard Burton.

Splendid Typography

Sometimes I drive by Splendid Cleaners just to look at the signage. 

Splendid Cleaners, 1226 S. Cochran Avenue (@ San Vicente), Los Angeles, CA 90019.

Belgian Forecast

Hunter Fischer Design guru Mike forwarded these examples of Belgian interiors. He says, “Belgian design, which is a bit of the latter ’70s earth movement with a brilliant and gorgeously elegant twist, is gaining popularity right now.”

He suggests that this aesthetic may have emerged from Belgium’s polarized class structure — with an extremely poor class, a small middle class, and a “super wealthy” class. In addition, the trend may also stem from a desire for illumination, especially during the months when natural light is precious. “Light is often brought into the home through surfaces painted crisp white: chairs, armoires, and tables...”

Contrasting textures also help to define this style, juxtaposing natural woods with velvet, rough-hewn concrete with crystal-clad fixtures... The Belgian aesthetic is also distinguished by quiet tones — blue and putty, punctuated with small punches of orange or burgundy.

Despite the strength of the ’70s influence, he believes that current economic conditions will prompt designers to explore other decades, too. “While I love the new look out of Belgium, I think we may jump over the ’80s and return to the hyper-eclecticism of the early ’90s far sooner than expected... with a bad economy, there is no time like the present for bringing back such 90s cues as mixing eras, stacking suitcases to use as night tables, and making home a safe haven from the brutalities of the outside world.”

While we applaud the return of the eclectic aesthetic, here’s hoping we’ll be safe from other ’90s brutalities, including the “Rachel” haircut, Brenda Walsh-style chunky heels and MC Hammer pants. 

Happy 50th Birthday, Barbie!

You’re never to old to have a Barbie cake. My sister and my niece Stephanie made this one for my last birthday. Barbie will be celebrating her 50th birthday on Monday with a makeover, a new wardrobe, and a happy chic, full-scale Malibu Beach house decorated by Jonathan Adler. 

My cake had no candles because they would have set Barbie’s hair on fire. I absolutely loved my cake (thanks, Sis! thanks, Steph!), but after hearing what Barbie is getting for her special day, maybe that wouldn’t have been so bad.

Angels and Insects

Magazines and newspapers may be dying on a daily basis, but publishing has never been easy. Success can turn to failure, and sometimes the beautiful are doomed. 

Case in point: Flair Magazine, published by Fleur Cowles from 1950 to 1951. This innovative design, decor and fashion magazine lasted just twelve issues because production costs far outweighed the cover price. Yet nearly 60 years later, its peephole covers and experimental layouts continue to inspire. 

The 1953 Flair Annual is a hard-bound compilation of some of the magazines’s best stories. Shown above: Salvador Dali’s Mimicry In Nature. It’s a surreal juxtaposition of art and biology. Die cuts illustrate the interaction of bird, butterfly and human with the natural world.

Now for a truly horrifying segue — if you want to interact with more than 30 species of butterflies and moths, The Natural History Museum’s Pavilion of Wings continues through September 31.

Flirting with Disaster

I’ve seen the apocalypse and it happens three blocks from where I live, in the 1988 low-budget, devastation drama, Miracle Mile.

Here’s a quick plot reminder: Musician Anthony Edwards meets waitress Mare Winningham at Johnnie’s, at Fairfax and Wilshire.

(Or is it Kevin Bacon and Ally Sheedy?)

Mare agrees to go out with Anthony after she gets off work.

He’s late. She’s gone. A pay phone rings.

Anthony answers it and learns that Los Angeles will soon be destroyed by a nuclear missile attack. He finds Mare. They run pell-mell up and down Wilshire trying to escape. They find hope in a helicopter, but it plummets into the La Brea Tar Pits as the city explodes into flames.

Some say the movie’s message is to enjoy the moment. It could also serve as a reminder to revisit the dinosaur bones, dire wolf skulls, and frolicking prehistoric mammals at the Page Museum before the Big One hits. First Tuesdays are free.

Sloth

Animal Rescue

Mike Fischer of Hunter Fischer Design found this late 19th century Louis XV fauteuil in a client’s attic. The chair had been abandoned by a previous homeowner. Mike adopted it, and now it’s in the corner of his bedroom. The frame retains its original finish; Mike hand-painted the zebra pattern on the back, seat and manchettes. Magnifique.