Los Angles Archives - Where Art Inspires Beauty

Lot 446, Laddie John Dill, Untitled, $1,500 - $2,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 446, Laddie John Dill, Untitled, $1,500 – $2,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 440, Ettore Sottsass, Spool Vase, $1,200 - $1500, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 440, Ettore Sottsass, Spool Vase, $1,200 – $1500, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 355, David LaChapelle, 1000 B.B., D&G, New York, $5,000 - $7,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 355, David LaChapelle, 1000 B.B., D&G, New York, $5,000 – $7,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 338, Yunhee Min, Events in Dense Fog #3, $8,000 - $12,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 338, Yunhee Min, Events in Dense Fog #3, $8,000 – $12,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 311, Roy Lichtenstein, Modern Head #4, (From Modern Head Series) $15,000 - $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 311, Roy Lichtenstein, Modern Head #4, (From Modern Head Series) $15,000 – $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 305, Robert Dowd, Untitled (Dollar Bill) $2,000 - $3,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 305, Robert Dowd, Untitled (Dollar Bill) $2,000 – $3,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 255, Gertrud & Otto Natzler, Green Crystalline Glazed Bowl, $3,000 - $5,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 255, Gertrud & Otto Natzler, Green Crystalline Glazed Bowl, $3,000 – $5,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 231, Jeff Koons, Ballon Dog (Blue), $15,000 - $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 231, Jeff Koons, Ballon Dog (Blue), $15,000 – $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 202, David Hockney, Celia with Green Hat (From Moving Focus Series) $15,000 - $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 202, David Hockney, Celia with Green Hat (From Moving Focus Series) $15,000 – $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 177, Ken Price, Big Wave II, $17,000 - $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 177, Ken Price, Big Wave II, $17,000 – $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 111, Roland Petersen, Fall Cloud Shadow and Fields, $15,000 - $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 111, Roland Petersen, Fall Cloud Shadow and Fields, $15,000 – $20,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 89, Pedro Friedeberg, Three Leg Table Clock, $3,000 - $5,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 89, Pedro Friedeberg, Three Leg Table Clock, $3,000 – $5,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 50, Herbert Bayer, Owl People, $4,000 - $6,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 50, Herbert Bayer, Owl People, $4,000 – $6,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

Lot 45, Oskar Fischinger, Stippled Cosmic, $5,000 - $7,000, Image Courtesy LAMA — Lot 45, Oskar Fischinger, Stippled Cosmic, $5,000 – $7,000, Image Courtesy LAMA

One of my favorite auctions of the year is coming up at LAMA (Los Angeles Modern Auctions). The Modern Art & Design auction will be happening this Sunday, October 11, 2015, at 12 pm.

I would give nothing more than to preview this auction and see these gorgeous works in person, however, I’ll be in New York for the weekend, celebrating my sisters 50th birthday. We have tickets to see Wicked as well as reservations at The Boathouse on Central Park. I know I’m jumping ahead of myself here, but I’m hoping to have lots of great things to share on future Design Diary entries.

Back to feeling Blue. It’s always been one of my favorite colors, and apparently I’m not the only one. It also appears to be the worlds most popular color, from denim jeans to corporate logos. Dark blue signifies trust, dignity, intelligence and authority. Bright blue indicates cleanliness, strength, dependability and coolness. Light blue suggests peace, serenity and infinity. Did you know that 53 percent of the flags in the world contain blue? And aristocracy is blue-blooded in all European languages. It seems that blue is sharply refracted by the eyes, causing the lens to flatten and push the blue image back, therefore, we perceive that blue areas are receding and smaller.

If I could have any of the works above, I would choose Roy Lichtenstein’s Modern Head. The contrasting shades of blue, separated by solid black lines and black dots, are striking and strong. I’d love to see it hanging in a room with a black chair by Viennese secessionist Joseph Hoffman. They’re certainly from different era’s, but unexpected pairings make for great interior design.

Sitzmaschine Armchair in Black, Joseph Hoffmann, Image Courtesy Wikipedia

I hope everyone has an amazing week, and I’ll look forward to sharing whatever crosses my path in Manhattan very soon.

Check out Los Angeles Modern Auctions to see the full catalogue of items up for auction this weekend… and by the way, they’re not all blue.

Starbucks at Highland and Willoughby, Photo Romi Cortier — Starbucks Drive Thru at Highland and Willoughby, Photo Romi Cortier

The new Starbucks Drive Thru at Highland and Willoughby officially opens today! However, yesterday March 26, 2015 was their soft opening… and it was a smashing success.

I have to admit that I’ve never been more excited about the opening of a Starbucks, because the opening of this Starbucks means that a dilapidated Historical-Cultural Landmark has been restored. For me this is a very personal story, because for the last 20 years I’ve been driving by this crumbling aluminum and wood building, sad for the loss of an elegant bygone era. The little white building with its faded green trim was slowly falling apart before my very eyes. Surrounded by a chain link fence, it seemed inevitable that a developer would find away around the landmark status and destroy it. So you can only imagine my excitement as I saw construction crews rebuilding it a few months ago as I whizzed by. I suppose if I actually read the newspaper once in awhile I might have had a heads up about this. Suffice it to say, I’m beyond thrilled that I’m not the only Art Deco enthusiast in the city of angels who loves to see gyms like these salvaged and restored.

Built in 1935 by RJ Kadow, it was part of a string of gas stations owned by the Gilmore Oil Company. You might recognize the Gilmore name not from the TV show, but rather as the original developers of LA’s historic Farmers Market on the corner of Third and Fairfax that began in 1934. Also, the Gilmore’s independent oil company became the largest on the West Coast, famous for it’s Red Lion logo.

The buildings last incarnation was as a Texaco gas station that closed in the early 90’s, and it was also the gas station featured in the film L.A. Story. Iamnotastalker.com reports that it was the Melrose Neighborhood Association that stepped in on March 23rd of 1992, and got the building declared a Historical Cultural Monument to prevent if from being torn down. Who would have guessed that it would take over 20 years for someone to breath new life into this beautiful little building. Having grown up in Seattle, I’m not surprised that a major company like Starbucks stepped in to save the day. That’s how we roll in the Pacific Northwest. To fully appreciate what they’ve accomplished, take a look at the photo below. It’s so exciting when a major corporation re-invests in its community. Thank you Starbucks!

Where Art Inspires Beauty

Tag Archives: Los Angles

Feeling Blue at LAMA

Starbucks Drive Thru at Highland and Willoughby

A Design Diary by Romi Cortier