crimes against interiors and greed is good
and spotted oak. hahaha Yes unfortunately that is the most lasting image of the 80s for many. Who can forget Nagel? (I would like to, believe me)
Seriously though Starline and keewee, I agree with you both on most of your points. Starline, that second interior is quite nice. But that rug, what the hell? Are those four blobs nest-like creatures, or piles of carefully spaced fur? Would one not trip on them in a dark room?
And I agree that Memphis (at it's best) does have staying power.
I agree with everybody, everywhere, at any given time, about certain aspects of just about everything. But contrarian rants are more fun.
(And Tick: Who will paint the "Happy Pope"?)
best possible pope-painter
Great call Aunt Mark!
Chicken George NEEDS to paint the pope next. If he can paint Marilyn so convincingly, he can do a GREAT pope for sure. I see it fitting in with his whole thing, and it would put his work on the "big stage" in a whole other way.
Maybe we can ask him. Or commission him?
Would it be kind of like the Marilyn? Thats what I am hoping.
Or would he "go monkey" on the pope? (I mean painting approach-wise, as in the way he painted the monkey. Certainly no disrespect to the pope intended.)
Mauro Pallotta's street art
Mauro Pallotta's street art
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/01/29/article-2547919-1B0A02E4000005...
http://www.thelocal.it/20140130/the-graffiti-artist-who-made-pope-franci...
And product design
The solar pope by Kikkerland...
And many others, Roling Stones, his football team chamipon after decades...and with some locals artist where everyboy meet them in person.haha. Lots of books.
Quite a lot to understand a peronist pope.
At least ask contemporary issues.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRU-OyjH1IM
yeah Heath, I forgot!
Starline's "Memphis" room comes with its own Tribbles. (A set of four, perfectly spaced on the rug at all times)
Yes lots of good stuff in the 80s. I still like the clear (or clear grey?) Apple I-Mac self-contained monitor, even though the intense blue ones were real eye catchers. Would love that first little macintosh computer with the tiny screen too.
I do have something I purchased from the early 80s: a round, black rubber edged 36" diameter mirror. Just can't let it go! I am embarrassed to admit that I got it at "Z" Gallery here in the USA. The store was so different then. Everything in it was black and white. Lots of skinny black metal. Now its anything goes, and everything is way to shiny.
.
Yeah the high tech furniture (not that any of it really was) will probably have its day again, an ad on the screen has some Italian lighting, so its already getting the interest.
http://www.formformsuche.de/artikel/licht/stehleuchte-monici-salvo-lumin...
@Starline-"Experimental" is...
@Starline-
"Experimental" is the key word here.
As I said, there were some interesting things, but they were often experimental/boutique/museum-y type things. You didn't see it in a lot of homes. For one thing, it wasn't especially liveable. Some of the chairs from that era look like they were designed by an executioner in his off hours. On the low end, you might have seen "the look" in a lot of homes-especially when Miami Vice became really popular. But often "the look" pastel chairs and chrome, was made in China and I can't imagine that anyone today is going to go into a store and buy no name made in China furniture just because it's from the 80's and pastel. The baby boomers that could afford the real thing-artist designed pieces-are wealthy enough to have redecorated many many times since. Around the same time they went through rehab for their addictions to white lines and came to their senses. They probably dumped that stuff 20 years ago at least. Even at the low end. Way different than their parents and grandparents who bought that Heywood and kept it until their 90's.
Thanks, but I'll stick with the metals from Italy manufactured in the 70's.
Anyone have an opinion of the...
Anyone have an opinion of the recent auction prices at a recent big auction house's mass modern sale? Not a small number of auction lots going for 1/3 to 1/2 of estimate. Shocking low prices imho.
An auction of Scandinavian pieces from the same house in the spring did not have the same sort of disappointing results though. Proof positive the market is bottoming out? Fluke? Bad auction?
I'm still guessing that
-after years of not paying attention to the mid century market and assuming DWR had that market, places like Crate and Barrel are picking up the slack and customers have gone to those retailers.
-Vintage stock is harder to get and people don't have the time to compete for it.
-Too many games on CL (at least in my area) have turned people off to trying to acquire the real thing.
I did notice that which was...
I did notice that which was a bit unusual.
I would have thought some pieces would be passed in but maybe a vendor was clearing out and had no reserves.
Sure was some bargains and that's one of the reasons there is no excuse to buy copies and say because the real thing is too pricey.
I'm disappointed I didn't bid...
I'm disappointed I didn't bid on some of those items!
There are people trying to sell the Bramin rocker on CL for 900$ in my area and it's only going for $300?
The danish sale in the spring did not have prices go that low.
I've talked to a number of dealers lately and sales are down. Some of the dealers in my area have really bad merchandise lately. I think they aren't able to get a hold of things like they used to and sales are lower because they don't have things that are as good.
More information on this thre...
More information on this thread...you can tell I've been thinking about it a lot.
First, I talked to a friend a few months back who really wanted some mid century pieces. She was looking at a DWR sofa I was selling and started looking at the vintage pieces I had and got excited.
We talked about it. Looked at books. I told her what magazines and web sites to peruse to solidify her choices. My advice to her (as it is to most novices) was to buy a new mid century looking sofa but look for vintage case pieces and coffee tables which she liked. I usually give people that advice because for most people reupholstery is daunting and prohibitive, mid century coffee tables are easy to come by so they are a good place to start, and case pieces were made so much better back in the day that there are many good examples at prices much cheaper than anything new from a store.
Long story short...I went on vacation for a month, came back and bumped into her. Asked her how it was going and she was excited because she'd ordered some stuff from Joybird. Moral of the story-she fell in love with "the look", but small vintage retailers didn't come close to wooing her dollars-even with someone to really help her navigate vintage waters.
Second, noticing that even mid century modern auction houses aren't doing the time period the service they once were in terms of promoting it. They're moving more towards "design" and art and away from furniture-especially american pieces. They do seem to be importing lots of things from Europe to auction though. In my mind, that's not a real auction but rather moving things between stores. They're just hoping that the stuff the Europeans can't sell over there because it's too common will look exciting and new to us.
So yes...the mid century furniture market is slowing down. VINTAGE mid century furniture buying is not going to expand at a retail level. NEW looking mid century furniture is expanding for retailers. Once in a while I see those interior design competition shows and even when they are in places like Palm Springs doing a real vintage house, all they go for is "the look". They aren't working at all to educate the public about mid century designers and the real pieces. They don't go shopping in any of the cool vintage stores-even in a town like Palm Springs. They just sit there and teach people how to order things on-line. They are more interested in promoting disposable design in our useless consumer society than they are about teaching anyone about mid century modernism. They aren't PBS. It's zero education and 100% new buying.
Mid century modernism is firmly "a look" in the public's mind now. It was built and expanded and promoted by small vintage retailers. But now that retailers like Crate and Barrel and JOY BIRD have taken over the look, it isn't forcing consumers who want it to look at the second hand market now.
The people who are really...
The people who are really into it are going to continue to collect and buy the high end stuff. But the smaller and cheaper bits that most resellers are able to get their hands on now are going by the way side.
I think some hypermodern 70's stuff has still got to a market, but I think Danish and 50's stuff is going to continue to slow down. It could just be that all the best stuff is already out there for the most part and people got bored with competing for more and more junk.
Another book would help the market. It helps when those Atomic Ranch books come out and show people how to design their home around MCM pieces. People seem to have no idea how to do it on their own.
And more design shows showing people how to shop vintage rather than just look for chinese copies on line.
Our own attitudes. Thinking everyone is going to have to work harder to help people love it. The days when you could throw it out there and it would fly out the doors are gone. We are going to have to educate people and teach them why it's better to have a vintage piece with intrinsic value rather than a new copy made in china that is going to be worthless in three years.
Bottom line: stay in anything too long and you'll get burned.
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