Newsletter, April 1989 by LA Forum Admin

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RANDOM NOTES

Forum .:.........------. Newsletter

t OFFICERS: Christian Hubert, Plesidfll/ Aaron Belsky,

Vic. Plesid/tm

Ann Zollinger, S(J(,lelllyITreasu",

NEWSlmER EDITOR: , Natalie Shivers

BOAR[)"OF DIRECTORS

Shelly A Berger Aaron Belsky

Benjamin Caffey

Christian Hubert

John Kaliski

Just a few signs of Spring in an air

An amusing sport in West Hollywood is

perpetually smelling of blueprints: after the

~Confuse

retreat of Zev, we can now look to another

up-the-ante on the cloying s'hadows there by..

boy wonder/Rabbi manque to stir things

asking them if they know Joseph. Either they

the

at Maxfield's. Simply

up. Daniel Liebeskind, sage of surefooted-

do - in which case they transmogrify into

multitextual-quotational- and mechanized

one's best friend this side of Sloane St. - or

metaphysics of phoeniK-like architecture

else they'll be far too embarrassed to admit

will be accepting a chair aN.JClA The real

the galle. In any event, you will have made a

machines, though, win be construbted by

deep impression, since this Melrose boutique

techno-dudes Holt.Hi[lshaw Piau Jones,

to conspicuous minimalism is a kind of

who will be designing that august university's..

overcooked appropriation of the Basque-

co-generation plant. The Duke of Westwood

Moroccan's 'sly menagerie in London.

and the Dean of lies are succeeding in their campaigns. While the fortresses of

Michael Piltas Natalie .,Shivers

Vendeur~

Joseph (n.e Eltedgui) has not only promoted

downtown rise ever higher every day,

Hammnett, Miyake, Naia et at, but has also

Frank Gehry is planting a copper snake in

furthered the image of Eileen Grey, Ron Arad

the Postmodern grass of the Neo-Spanish

and Gae Aulenti by jux!aposing their pieces

Doug Sui~man

Neo-steps Lawrence Halprin is suggesting

Ann Zollinger

for Library Square. Look lor new restaurants

Foster, Chipperfield and most auspiciou~ly

by Michele Saee in Marina del Rey and

Eva Jiricna to

BOARD OF ADVISORS:

with his expensive rags aQd commissioning desig~

his stores.

Josh Schweitzer on La Brea, and for Frank

ADDRESS

Tony 8ill

3454 West First Street lO"$ Angeles. Calilornia

Julia Bloomfield Pamela Burton Peter de Brelleville

Israel's Walker Art Center carts to be pulled

Now Joseph apparently needs "an

up at the Pacific Design Center to display

exceptional piece of furniture upholstered in .

their gridded wonder boXes 01 projects.

exquisite... hide." The winner is to be manufactured and the two runners-up

90004

In thJ meantime, the fab led riches of

Fred Fisher

Postmcdernism will be denied to the citizens

exhibited in Joseph's latest emporium. Either

Kurt Forster

PHONE

of West Hollywood who, accustomed to

a drawing or model will sullies . â&#x20AC;˘ The jury

(213) 389 â&#x20AC;˘ 6730

dearth and death , have decided to take civic

indudes Joseph, Jiricna, Min Hogg of "World

architecture back into th, closet.

of Interiors" and Deyan Sudjic of "Blueprint".

Frank Gehry

Elyse Grinstein '

Applications are available from Ant~ny

Robert Harris

Thomas Hines Craig HodgeUs

Frank Israel

Richard Keating Barlon Myers Michael Rotondi Abby Sher Richard Weinstein

Aaron Betsky

' Hussey or Simon Adley. The Connolly Prize, Wandie Bank, London SW19 1OW Telephone (011-44-1 )543-466 1.

Submit your leather chair by June 1, join the famed and the lab in the mags. Good luckl

RaYmund Ryan

SEAGATE UPDATE

, The competition to design a staircase and

and children. The park. situated directly

north/south axiS." Each axiS is treated,as

entnes go one step further and employ the

work(s) of art altha end of Pica Blvd. in

in front of the new hotel and called

an Independent work of art, bUllhe inter·

site as a vital part of their designs. one

Santa MQnica has been narrowed down to

"Musclerama Park~. is meant as a celebra·

section is intended to conceptually knit the

metaphorically and the other phySICally.

lour finalists: Red Grooms, George Herms,

tion 01 the famed Muscle Beach.

site into ,the larger community. According to

Each scheme cannot be imagined anywhere

James Turrell, and the team of Newton and

The anist claims to be using his allu,.s ions

the artists' narrative, one element, the

else. They succeed in both their placement

Helen Harrison . The competition is being

to inspire both nostalgia and physical

"walkway", is a "rellection on a variety of

and the sile·specific references that

pleasure.

experiences generated by walking". Markers

generated the projecls although they could '

along the path desa-ibe brief narratives 01

not be more different.

conducted by the

Santa Monica Arts ..

Foundation (S.MARTS.) and ,is underwritten by the developer

the nflw

George Herms proposes a series of five

walking, including historical and political

Park Hyan Santa Monica Beach Hotel ,

discrete sculptures intended to provoke

themes. The s&a:lnd element is a stair a-nd

Soli! Interests Corp" as part of the

concern aboUithe environment. The

development agreement with the city.

sculptures, with provocative titles such as

, a ramp that wind through four representatiQns

The whole competition process begs the question of the common developerlCity

of Southern California's ecologies - desert,

liason in commissioning public art. It seems

forest, marine and lake.

jronic that the competition1lriel voices a

The four finalists' proposals were

"Hero's Fountain", "Pur~icalion Station",

unveiled March 30 and were on view at

and "Tower of Hope", ~ake use of found'

Santa Monica City Hall in April.

marine objects (bugys. gears, etc.).

Each of the entries is sophisticated and

Attention is also given to the existing storm

provocative in its own way, as is to be expect-

pends upon the erection of a large' building

ed from the cast of players. h is distUrbing,

of questIOnable aesthetic benefit to the city.

The lour designs were in answer to

drain as an environmental issue by lining It

concern about environmental protection, and yet the existence of the artwork de-

with buoys and monitoring its pollution

however, that the Jury lelt obliged to narrow

As often happens, a,compromise results

mental artworil. and artist designed beach

output. Each sculpture suggests ritualistic

the field down to the greatest hits of the art

from Ihese deals, and the public has to live

improvement.· The intent of the compali

and transcendent settings, while also

lion is to create a new means 01 public ac-

recalling ancient religious sites.

S.M.A.R.T.S: call for

~site

specific envIron-

world today. In striving for extreme variation ' lor its own sake, it is possible Ihat some

with the result . Santa Monica will have its public art, and the winning scheme will be

cess to the beach and to visuall~ and -.

equa!1y valid projects were overlooked, or

overwhelm9d by the shadow of the building

conceptually terminate Pica Blvd. Aolsts

James Turrell's scheme is more abstract.

that the finalists were chosen for their aJli·

that made it possible.

were also asked to des·ign inexpensive,

Platonic forms dominate the site and are

ance to ~ current trend or mode of thought.

durable, and functional works of art, and

linked by a series of "succulent gardens".

Turrell's scheme, for example, is an advance

to address environmental issues dealing

These architel::tonic forms, termed

on his well-known work in Arizona, but his

with Santa Monica Bay. A budget of

"transformation spaces" by the

$650.000 will cover artist fees, design.

designed as spaces froni which 10

difference between the Santa Monica site

construction qnd installation. The winning

experience frames:! views of land. horizon,

and the desert. Herms' scheme also presents

• project is expected to be completed in lime for the hotel opening in May 1990.

The four entries differ greatly in attitude

~rtist, are

strategy does not seem to recognize the vast

and sky - what Turrell calls a "magical

mature examples of themes previously found

and perceptual experience." A reflective

in his work, but which again dismiss the

tide pool terminates the Pica Boulevard

potential of the site. His five sculptures,

axis.

wonderful in themselVes, negate the site by introspection and appear to be arranged as

and execution: Red Grooms' scheme is probably the most lighthearted of the

Artists Newton Harrison and Helen Mater

projects. featuring a "lheme~ park of

Harrison propose a "place of power"

monumentally·scaled muscle men. women,

formed by "the unique intersection of the

an afterthought. Conversely, both the Grooms' and Harrison

MODEST HOUSES IN THE TRADITION OF

SOUTHERN CALIfORNIA ARCHITECTURE : ,

a proposal for an exhibition organized by Frauk9 Neumsyer and sponsored by the R.I.B.A. The exhibit is to open at USC and trav91 to the R.I. B.A. milXt spring. ' Californian styJe was a native Calilornlan. The range and vaflety of their backgrounds e'~e

Herakle~es'

Spanis.h heritage, Its taste for exotIC

as well as their interest in what happens

cOnclusion that everything is perpetually in

styles, the craftsman tradition with Japanese

right here right now, rather than what

flux more convinCing than In Los Angeles.

inlluence. and the local varieties of

happens elsewhere, helped to produce a

modernism. futurism and post-modernism)

diversity of forms, materials. and spatial

are not sequential, but co·existent, not ba~ed

relationships unique in all t he world.

on each other. but mixed up together and

continuously created.

Like Greene & Gre~ne, they tried to combine

Never or nowhere

Having grown up In Europe and been ed· ucated in the tradition

of European

architecture with all its burdens and obligations and its goal of Vitluvian perfection found in "'irmitas. ulilitas and venustas",

r ,

their skills in handicrafts and knowledge about Japanese architecture in distributing

Beyond Ihat. however, we must Iry 10 /

I knew that I could only ovarcome my

cuhure shock upon arriving in LA by

living spaces and combining inside and out.

llnderstand the condhions thaI have

Or, later, like Schindler and .Neutra, they

,generated this apparent but not actual

accepting the delu,itely dil1erenlthough

disorder: the varied landscape. with its

informed the creed of E!JTopean modernism

equal world of CalilornliJ architecture.

smooth, soft colors. the benign climate,

With their dWn comprehension of existing

the sun, Ihe dry desens, and the eanh·

conditions to generats' a variE!,ty of forms with

Driving around Los Angeles gives the

quakes. Disneyland. Hollywood, the

a wide range of materials.

impression of endless possibilities with n~

freeways and the melting !XIt of 180,ethnic

legible tradition. This, 01 cours~, is LA's

gorups in' LA County are other factors

panicular trad~ion: the lack 01 a perceptible

, The houses in this exhibition are examples of the extent and breadth of the transformations

\ affecting architecture produced in Southern

or evident order ~ the order 01 the city.

California. These local conditions

of California oonditions into arch~eclu r e.

The roots 01 the tradition don' run into the}

have inlluenced the. Southern California

Some 01 the q)Jalilles they represent include

depths of history. Instead, they are to be

style as much as any architects' perso(lal

)

a spatial inventiveness." an emphasis on or

lound on the horizontal surface of the pre·

sensibilitl$s.

)

juxtaposition of contradictions, idiosyncratic

sent, creating and recreating themselves

choices of materials and colors. play with

daily. The main aspects of Southern

None of the generation of architects woOl.·

icons, and contextual responses to the tocal

California's architecture (e.g. the region's

ing in this century to create a Southern

built and nalUrallandscape.

(Ms Neumeyer is an an:hiled in Berlin who spent several years in LA)

I .

UCLA CENTER FOR

THE CALIFORNIA PROJECT

REGIONAL POLICY STUDIES

' -UCLA has announced the gift of a $5 million

A symposium sponsored jointly by

York or Chicago. Over the past decade new

endowment from alumni Ralph and Goldy

scholarship, ranging in subject from World

Angeles. San Diego and San Francisco last

Lewis 10 create a new Center for Regional

City formation to the politics of growth control

Ja~uary

Policy Studies. The Cenler, organized as a

and problems of homelessness. has focused

associations of

~om8n

in architecture in Los

sat a precedent for the proposed

annual event which seeks to provide a

university-wide. multidisciplinary jesearch I

attention on Los Angeles. Scholars now

statewide lo~um for issues affecting women

community, will be based at the Graduate

reaJize that the city is a center of tremendous

in archifacture.

School of Archit e'cture and Planning, where

cultural transformations and thus a new kind

existing interdisciplinary and policy-related

of city necessitating-serious research. The

\ Discussion focused on the potential of, a

research activities Will provide a foundation

future statewide organization for these

for the new Center's projects.

Center will allow for such work to be done in , a thorough and public manner, and will)lelp

groups. Proposed roles lor such an

us to understand Los Angeles as a leading

association included: a professional support

The Center will promote and coordinate

network \0 increase access to existing

research and teaChing on regional Los

opportunities and create new ones; a ~mmunicalion network to disseminate

through seminars, research symposia, policy

informatIOn, thereby expanding awareness of

workshops. dem~>nstration projects and

relevant social and economic issues; a

publications.

IObbyin~

organization to effect political

change related to women's, minority. and

metropolis of the 21st century.

Angeles issues. II will carry out its task

The exarfunation of public policy, planning

social issues; an institutional resource 10

and urban design at the regional level will

promote women's professional and public

target problems linked to this region's rapid

Christine Cinciripini

visibility, fostering better understanding. of

economic and population growth. Professors

their roles and contribuling to the building of

Paul Ong and Edward Soja of the Urban Planning Program. for instance. have

a fem inist practice.

proposed a symposium on urban poverty in a But the question remains â&#x20AC;˘â&#x20AC;˘ can such an

Los Angeles where. more than in any ottler

organization strike a balance between its role

metropolitan/egion, poverty has escalated in

as a special interest group serving the needs

a climate 01 manufacturing expansion and

of its membership and the obligation to

employment growth.

become an effective participant in the public realm ~uniting

the efforts of professionals in

community service?

The Center will also support and provide a

forum for what has been termed the new

,. Christine Cinciripini

'school' of Los Angeles. Los Angeies has, until recently, been viewed as an exception to other American metropolises. This perception has r!Jsulted in its receiving far tess scholarly attention than more lypical' cities like New

(

RANDOM EVENTS

Membership in the Forum is open to any interested' individual. The $35 annual fee entitles memberS'to free admission to Forum events, io receive the bi-monthly newsletter, and to purchase other F~rum publications at reduced rates, Members are encourag~d to partiCipate in planning Forum activities. Please check th'e appropriate category belgw if interested.

Lec t u r es '

E xhib-i t s

"The French Revolution:

Greene and Greene photographs

-. An American Perspective":

by Mar'vin Rand

a Videoconference co-sponsored by

Gallery of Architecture, 964 N. La Brea

F ISCrT. Telecom. and the Bibliotheque

Through April29

n a m e:

d'info rmation, Centre Geo rge Pompidou UCLA 'and Centre Georges Pompidou

·1

address : "1789/ 1989 Paris/ Los Angeles· The City and Histo~cal Change~

May 10

"Recent Proje cts": Lecture by Charles Moore

UCLA, Gallery \ 220

Apri/26 - May 12

UCLA, Haines Hall 39

t e lephon e: Exhibit of Works by Wallqce Neff

May 11, 8pm

Huntington Ubrary

I am interested'in participating in the following activities:

"Curront Works of Andres Dua~y , and Elizabeth Plater·Zyberk":

May 6-

lecture by .Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk UCLA, Haines Hall 39

"The Architedure of Exile": StanleY,Tigermon _

May 18, 8pm

Gallery fo r ";rchitecture,

"Current Works": Henry N. Cobb

May 13 - June 24

UCLA, Perroff 1102

R9C9ption, May 12, 7-9pm

June " 8pm

"The Ends and the End of Revolution: France in 1789 olld 1968": Jean 8audrillord

964 N. La Brea

publications planning and developman r fundraising lec tures and discussions raading groups and r~earch social evants

For mOfe informoliOl1 contad: Ch r istian Hubert, (213) 389·6730 or Aa ron Belsky, (213) 938·6826

"Around the World with Cliff May: bporting the California Ranch House" _

UCLA, Gallery 122d GSAUP Libra~

May 17·June7

UCLA, Dickson Auditorium June1,8pm

"The Dada and

S~rrealist

Word-Imagen

LACMA

June 15 · August 27.

THE FORUM NEEDS TO KNOW Help us collect archibabble"construction news, designer events, and loose ends of architecture. _ Help write the Forum Newsletter. Call Aaron Betsky, N~wsletter Editor, at (213)S38·6826.