The Ruins of Detroit
I’m very excited to be visiting Detroit for the first time, so I went back to look at the incredible photos taken by Yves Marchand and Romain Meffre for their book The Ruins of Detroit. It’s hard to believe that they could exist in 21st century America, although if you’ve seen The Omega Man, with Charlton Heston cruising a trash-strewn deserted downtown Los Angeles in a convertible, it doesn’t seem so farfetched. Along with Soylent Green and Planet of the Apes, a great triple-bill of Heston starring late sixties/early seventies cheesy (in a good way) post-apocalyptic sci-fi.
On a more positive note, there is a lot of exciting urban renewal and creative activity going on in Detroit that I’m looking forward to checking out, such as the Russell Industrial Center, a massive former factory complex that has been converted into a hub for artists, craftsmen, designers and small manufacturers.
Doors of Perception
At the Frieze New York Art Fair, doors made of statuary marble by Chinese artist Ai Weiwei (according to Art Review magazine, the most powerful figure in the art world). I’ve no doubt there’s a deeper cultural and artistic significance, but in purely aesthetic terms, those are some awesome doors.
On the right is an inverted fiberglass sun by Anish Kapoor. Don’t stare at it too long, I hear it can fry your retinas.
Brazilian Greenhouse
Here’s another fresh take on indoor/outdoor living, Brazilian style. In the high-ceiling open plan interior, massive succulents are living sculptures that define areas and introduce color and texture to the bright white space. Comfortable seating, cool lighting, loads of books and great speakers – other than a caipirinha, what more do you need?
Design Exchange
Housed in the former Toronto Stock Exchange building, the Design Exchange is Canada’s National Design Museum and Centre. A non-profit educational organization committed to promoting greater awareness of design as well as the indispensible role it plays in fostering economic growth and cultural vitality. Through their programs, exhibits, lectures and workshops they build bridges by improving communication between various design disciplines, educators, businesses and the general public. Right on!
Browsing through their extensive program guide, two that stood out were the Canadian High School Design Competition and Design Camp for kids. How cool is that?
On a recent visit I picked up a mortar and pestle from the shop and checked out the Stephen Burks: Man Made exhibit. Unfortunately, the main exhibit hall was closed for installation, but the staff was kind enough to give me a private viewing of the library, which houses the permanent collection of Canadian design. I especially liked the Clairtone G2 Stereo from 1966 (top center). Having admired it in the book The Art of Clairtone: The Making of a Design Icon, 1958-1971, it did not disappoint in person. It’s gorgeous, and those globe speakers on each side are the bomb.
Mario Dal Fabbro at Maison Gerard
Maison Gerard in New York is exhibiting the sculpture of Mario Dal Fabbro from February 22nd to March 30th. I wasn’t familiar with his work (or so I thought) when I came across it on Mondo Blogo last week, but there was something about it that I felt an affinity with.
So I did a bit of research. It turns out he was born in Italy in 1913 to a family of furniture making craftsmen. He studied art and design and worked in the family business before immigrating to New York in 1948. An accomplished woodworker and furniture designer, he went on to work for Knoll, J.G. Furniture and Paul McCobb Design Associates, and wrote several books on furniture making. If you frequent vintage bookshops as I do, you may have come across “Modern Furniture: It’s Design and Construction” or “How to Build Modern Furniture”, two of his more popular books.
He dedicated himself full time to sculpture in 1968 until his death in 1990. As a woodworker and furniture designer, I find it impressive and inspiring how he adapted his craftsmanship and design skills from functional objects to sculptural works of art with such seamless grace.
End to End Bookends
It’s end to end here at JLD (you soccer/futbol lovers will get that). The shape of books and buildings were an inspiration for our TIMBER! Bookends, so we thought we’d do some ‘studies’ to see how they look when grouped together. Wow, it sure does emphasize their architectural quality. I like how the light and character changes from the flush to the stepped face. The beauty and variety of the wood colors and grain patterns really stands out too. It turns out you can do a lot with up-cycled pieces of wood.
OK in SF
OK, one of my favorite stores in Los Angeles (or anywhere) is having a pop-up shop for the holidays inside MAAS & Stacks, the stylish men’s shop in San Francisco. OK sells an artfully curated selection of home accessories, decorative arts, jewelry, and books on art, photography and design. Eschewing the trendy in favor of timeless and functional design, they sell modern classics such as Akari Light Sculptures and Iittala barware, as well as unusual and harder to find items, with a strong emphasis on Scandinavian and Japanese design. I know where I’ll be starting my Christmas shopping this year.
OK @ MAAS & Stacks
2128 Market Street, between Church and Sanchez
Thru December 31st
Tauba Auerbach
I’ve been a big fan of the art of San Francisco native and New York resident Tauba Auerbach since I picked up her book How to Spell the Alphabet a few years ago. A former sign painter, she plays with language, typography and graphic design to create images that are beautiful and thought provoking.
I believe this photo was taken in the home of Paper Magazine editor and publisher Kim Hastreiter. A Mies van der Rohe daybed, Noguchi floor lamp, African stool, interesting knick-knacks and Auerbach’s “A” drawing leaning against the wall . . . Uh Huh!
BucherBogen Bookshop in Berlin
Wandering around Savignyplatz, a lovely tree lined plaza with nice shops and restaurants, I stumbled into the wonderful BucherBogen bookshop.
Located under an S-Bahn railway bridge inside five 
connecting archways, it’s a great example of adaptive reuse. The vaulted brick ceilings lend it a monastic feel – which seemed appropriate since I do worship books! The gentle rumble of trains passing over every few minutes somehow add to the ambience.
Specializing in books on the arts and design, it has an outstanding selection, including titles on architecture, interiors, industrial design, graphics, photography, film, fashion, textiles, art and antiques.
I picked up this great book on fifty years of Braun product design. Braun’s former head of design, Dieter Rams, has an excellent show currently on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (until Feb. 20, 2012) titled Less and More: The Design Ethos of Dieter Rams. His design work and philosophy are hugely influential, particularly on the design of Apple products. Apple design chief Jonathan Ive sung his praises in the introduction to the recently published Dieter Rams: As Little Design as Possible.
