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Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts
Showing posts with label creative. Show all posts

10 June 2013

Mosaics: A Lost Mid-Century Styling?

Photo Source:www.midcenturia.com
Mosaic: A picture or pattern produced by arranging together small colored pieces of hard material, such as stone, tile, or glass.

From the first search I did for MCM furniture and design, oh... almost 10 years ago now, I still remember thinking about how cool this one particular amoeba table with mosaic was. While that table is long gone, my interest in mosaics still lives on. If our schedule ever cools down, we'd (my wife and I) like to do a couple of mosaic projects together. Still, I often wonder, what happened to this wonderful artistic aspect of the mid-century era gone by?

Photo Source: www.flickr.com
In all my research, I have yet to find mas production mid-century modern furniture that was tiled or that was finished in mosaic. I'm not saying that they don't exist. If they do, pleas lead me to them. I'd really like to learn more about this particular aspect of mid-centutry furniture.

Still, it seems that mosaics played a large character role in the art scene of the mid-century eras. Buildings held large mosaic murals on the outside, or in the lobby. Many parks had mosaics on the walkways or in the promenades, many pieces of furniture even carried mosaic tops or boarders, and even production mosaic wall art* was produced for the home or office.

These pieces weren't just pieces of ceramic or glass put together. They were real images a lot of the time. Whether it was an abstract design, a bull/bull fighter combo, still life of fruit/bottles, or a peacock, these pieces had character.

Photo Source: www.midcenturia.com
One thing that I can say for sure, is that mid-century design today has not forgotten completely about the mosaic tile trend. Many a refurb of a mid-century home is, and has, used tile mosaic in the shower or bathroom. Unfortunately, that's as far as it seems to go though.

So, what happened to the attraction of mosaics? Is it that tile is too expensive? Too hard to clean? To hard to creat? Lack of imagination? I really don't know. No matter what the reason, it's clear that mosaics are not nearly as popular for the mid-century styling as it once was.

In the effort of encouraging at least one person to take on a mid-century styled project, I'm adding photos below of some very cool mid-century/mid-century styled mosaics. Don't worry, I'm not leaving it all to you, I'm going to try and take on one too. I already have a mirror frame planed with my wife. So, go get some mosaic materials*, start designing, and get to making a new mid-century styled mosaic piece. Why leave all the creativity to the masters of the past? Just remember, they would have never become masters without starting as novice.

Photo Source: www.midcenturia.com


Photo Source:www.furniturebyljindustries.com
Photo Source:www.midcenturia.com
Photo Source: http://furnishmevintage.com
Photo Source: www.retrotogo.com
Photo Source: www.1stdibs.com

Photo Source:www.apartmenttherapy.com

Photo Source: http://www.houzz.com

If you are interested in mid-century books on the subject, I suggest that you look at some of the following.
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01 September 2011

Chris Haberman's The Nifty Fifties Art Show by Elroy ArtSpace

Yes... I know. It's a very long post title. That my friends is how life is at times. It just takes time to explain what's going on. That... is exactly how I feel about now.

Once upon a time I wanted to live in Oregon. We moved to Chile South America instead. Believe it or not, we got to Oregon, just the Latin version of it. So, I've been told at least. However, it's times like these that I miss not having moved to the real Oregon. Beyond the fact that people speak English there, which can be nice at times, Oregon and the city of Portland are very artsy. On top of that, they seem to be Mid-Century artsy. Elroy ArtSpace has a way of constantly bringing this point to my attention. That's a good thing...and once again, this morning, I found myself wanting to be in Portland one more time. See, I got a post on my wall (FB, of course) from Elroy ArtSpace mentioning another show there doing called The Nifty Fifties, and I had to check it out. Upon looking at what appeared on the screen I immediately wanted to attend. Reality dictates that I will not be attending. Sheer distance alone makes it virtually impossible for me. But my friend... not for you... So, if you can, you should go...but wait! There's a good reason why.

Chris Haberman is this reason. Why? Well...because, Mayor Sam Adams has said that “Chris is the hardest working artist in Portland.” Elroy ArtSpace seems to think that, that is a common consensus. I'm pretty sure that not too many Mayors have said that about other artists. In fact, if you go to www.elroyartspace.com you will find out even more about Chris Haberman's accomplishments, and they're really worth noting. There is also a video interview with him here.

However, I'm going to talk to you about why I want to go so bad.When landing upon the "Nifty Fifties" promotional page I found the following (all art is courtesy of Elroy ArtSpace/Chris Habermann and is copyrighted for use under their approval only):



I mean, these paintings are just cool! It's pretty impressive. From what I've see online, not all his work looks like this, but is still very captivating. I really like the MCM look of the painting that Elroy ArtSpace has listed on their site. So, if you like what you see here, It would be worth your while to check this showing out. Plus, someone's got to go. That way you can give me your review on how this shin-dig went down. For all the skinny on the show make sure you check out www.elroyartspace.com