Three weeks ago today, I visited the Don Shoemaker temporary exhibit in Mexico City.
Two weeks ago tomorrow, I coincidentally bought a Shoemaker Sling Swinger chair at an estate sale near my house in Chicago.
So I figured today, I'd start a dedicated Don Shoemaker thread on DA.
Almost all of the information I have comes from a very good blog, run by a woman whose family was friends with Shoemaker when she was a kid. So rather than repeat everything, it makes more sense to simply link the blog here:
For a very brief Shoemaker bio:
- from Nebraska
- studied at the Art Institute of Chicago
- honeymooned in Mexico, fell in love with the country, and decided to move there in the late 1940's
- started a furniture factory, Senal S.A., in the late 1950's
- designed and produced modern interpretations of traditional Mexican furniture and furnishings.
- exported to US showrooms in Los Angeles, Houston, and Chicago (which probably explains how I found mine at a local estate sale).
Here are some images of his signature designs:
Sling Sloucher chair: F-2
Sling Swinger chair: F-23
Suspension stool: F-3
Coffee table: F-1
Multi-wood tray: (not sure of model number)
<img class="wpforoimg" src=" http://d1t1u890k7d3ys.cloudfront.net/cdn/farfuture/GdKGzeMtu-YpjOZq
The exhibit at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City runs through March of this year. When I was there, my photos were focused on catalog pages and chair details for future comparison back in the US (little did I expect to use them one week later). However, I did find a nice set of overall exhibit photos online.
The Shoemaker blog is very critical of this exhibit, and the people behind it. Here are the links to two recent posts on the subject:
http://donshoemaker.com/museo-de-arte-moderno-1975-vs-museo-de-arte-mode...
http://donshoemaker.com/the-false-don-s-shoemaker-biography-exposed/
Indeed, many of the exhibited items were pieces made (or even designed/made) by others after his death. I may be wrong on this, but I believe there were no original examples of his two signature designs: the Sling Sloucher and Sling Swinger.
Nevertheless, the exhibit was still very enjoyable for me.
A favorite part of the exhibit for me, which shows four of the feature woods used by Shoemaker in his designs. There are even similar salt/pepper shakers that incorporate the layered wood construction.
While I initially thought my chair was cocobolo, both leif and Karin confirmed it is cueramo (bocote) wood.
And finally, a note about the pin connection joints:
Many of Shoemaker's pieces can be disassembled into small frame segments via the pin joints.
The original pin design used a tapered shaft with a slot cut into the head. A semicircular disk would be tapped into place after insertion to help keep the pin in place. It appears that this design resulted in the disks being frequently lost. Later pin designs incorporated a one-piece pin with a cylinder head.
The disks on my chair were all gone, but I found a closeup online (not sure if this disk is a replica or original)
Eventually, I plan on making new disks for my chair, as well as replacing a few broken pins in the foot joints.
Just acquired my 3rd Shoemaker design, after the salt/pepper shakers and the Sling Swinger chair. In general, I prefer the smooth wood Shoemaker items over the rough cut items, but the rough cut works for me in this candlestick for some reason. Nice simple design of two cruciform shapes, connected by a dowel which allows the candle holder portion to be rotated in multiple configurations.
Apparently, I was not too interested in this candlestick during the Mexico City exhibition, as only a small top portion of two appears in the last photo of post #5.
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