'California's Designing Women, 1896-1986' at the Autry
You may recognize some names in the exhibition 'California's Designing Women, 1896-1986' -- magazine graphics by Ray Eames, perhaps, or the Grasshopper lamp that has helped to lift Greta Magnusson Grossman from midcentury obscurity to the current Design Within Reach catalog. But the best parts of the show, running through Jan. 6 at the Autry National Center in Griffith Park, are the surprises. The 224 works showcased in 5,000 square feet were curated by Bill Stern, executive director of the Museum of California Design, a pop-up that has staged exhibitions at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in L.A. and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, among other places. Here he walks us through some surprises in the show.
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'California's Desinging Women': Esta James( Museum of California Design / July 18, 2012 )
Working in Los Angeles, Esta James designed the imagery for Franciscan Ware's 1954 Trio earthenware dinner plate. When the manufacturer rebuffed James' desire to incorporate her signature into the design, the artist did it anyway, hiding tiny letters spelling "ESTA" in the dandelion flower. (See next photo for detail.)
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