Cyber Week: Get 35% off Dwell with promo code WEEK35
SubscribeSign In
Collection by Erika Heet

"Living in a Modern Way" at LACMA

For their part in the citywide "Pacific Standard Time" exhibition, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) has just opened “California Design 1930–1965: Living in a Modern Way,” which runs through March 25. One of five PST exhibitions hosted by LACMA, “Living in a Modern Way” takes its title from a quote by the Swedish-born designer Greta Magnusson Grossman, whose simple, functional and stylish pieces in the show help define the principles of the mid-century modern period. In 1951 Grossman declared that California design “is not a superimposed style, but an answer to present conditions…. It has developed out of our own preference for living in a modern way.” This sentiment is perhaps no better exemplified than within the exhibition’s unprecedented exact reassemblage of the furnishings in Charles and Ray Eames’ Case Study House #8 living room, which brings their philosophy of living—in a modern way—into a context as yet unseen outside their actual home.

View 11 Photos
Just as in the Eames house, at LACMA’s exhibition the couple’s Lounge Chair is placed against floor-to-ceiling glass window walls near the entrance.
Just as in the Eames house, at LACMA’s exhibition the couple’s Lounge Chair is placed against floor-to-ceiling glass window walls near the entrance.
A molded plywood elephant designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1945. The molded plywood division of Evans Products Company was kept busy by the Eameses, first during World War II manufacturing splints and stretchers, then afterward with their sturdy molded plywood furniture. The elephant was among their first designs for children.
A molded plywood elephant designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1945. The molded plywood division of Evans Products Company was kept busy by the Eameses, first during World War II manufacturing splints and stretchers, then afterward with their sturdy molded plywood furniture. The elephant was among their first designs for children.
A pair of 1949 lobster motif swimsuits by L.A. designer Mary Ann DeWeese, who designed for companies such as Sandeze and Catalina. Her designs were often fanciful, as this set reflects, and picturing the couple who once rocked this pair is truly rewarding.
A pair of 1949 lobster motif swimsuits by L.A. designer Mary Ann DeWeese, who designed for companies such as Sandeze and Catalina. Her designs were often fanciful, as this set reflects, and picturing the couple who once rocked this pair is truly rewarding.
La Gardo Tackett created this garden sculpture around 1955 for Architectural Pottery; it comes from the collection of the ceramic manufacturer’s owner, Max Lawrence. Tackett based the forms on highly abstracted totem poles.
La Gardo Tackett created this garden sculpture around 1955 for Architectural Pottery; it comes from the collection of the ceramic manufacturer’s owner, Max Lawrence. Tackett based the forms on highly abstracted totem poles.
Julius Shulman snapped this image in 1947, one year after Richard Neutra completed the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive. Research Library at the Getty Research Institute.
Julius Shulman snapped this image in 1947, one year after Richard Neutra completed the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. © J. Paul Getty Trust. Used with permission. Julius Shulman Photography Archive. Research Library at the Getty Research Institute.
Greta Magnusson Grossman, who was born in Sweden, made this formica, walnut and iron desk for Glenn of California in 1952. Also an architect, Grossman designed homes in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sweden.
Greta Magnusson Grossman, who was born in Sweden, made this formica, walnut and iron desk for Glenn of California in 1952. Also an architect, Grossman designed homes in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sweden.
A gunwood dresser with a mirror by R.M. Schindler, made for the Ruth Shep house in Silver Lake, circa 1934–38. Schindler created several house designs for Shep before settling on the later design, for which he also designed furnishings.
A gunwood dresser with a mirror by R.M. Schindler, made for the Ruth Shep house in Silver Lake, circa 1934–38. Schindler created several house designs for Shep before settling on the later design, for which he also designed furnishings.
Post-Constructivist jewelry designer Margaret De Patta, a founder of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild, created this silver and quartz pin in the late ’40s or early ’50s; its lines reflect the atomic age yet show a clear departure from it.
Post-Constructivist jewelry designer Margaret De Patta, a founder of the San Francisco Metal Arts Guild, created this silver and quartz pin in the late ’40s or early ’50s; its lines reflect the atomic age yet show a clear departure from it.
Hungarian designer Paul Laszlo created this cotton-rayon textile in 1954 or before; its strong Miró-esque forms evoke a cultural cross-section of modernism.
Hungarian designer Paul Laszlo created this cotton-rayon textile in 1954 or before; its strong Miró-esque forms evoke a cultural cross-section of modernism.
An early (1936) trailer by Wallace “Wally” M. Byam, named the Clipper after the popular Pan Am aircraft. Called an “airplane without wings” by its creator, the Clipper represented the freedom inherent in trailer travel. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!
An early (1936) trailer by Wallace “Wally” M. Byam, named the Clipper after the popular Pan Am aircraft. Called an “airplane without wings” by its creator, the Clipper represented the freedom inherent in trailer travel. Don't miss a word of Dwell! Download our FREE app from iTunes, friend us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter!