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CURVY, BALLSY: R.I.P. EVA ZEISEL, 1906-2011
The great Eva Zeisel passed away on December 30th;
she was 105 years old. The Modfather sends his sincere condolences to her
daughter Jean Richards, and Zeisel enthusiasts everywhere.
We have long admired Zeisel's body of work, not
to mention the astonishing longevity of her career. When the mid-century
modern revival picked up steam in the 1980s, Zeisel quickly became a
collector favorite, and a critic's darling once again; meanwhile, Zeisel
kept on working, creating new designs, as well as reissuing old ones, for
KleinReid, Nambe and Crate & Barrel, among others, her contemporaries all
long deceased. Zeisel fanaticism reached new heights at the beginning of
the 21st century, with important museum exhibitions, new books and even a
documentary or two; the devotion of her ardent supporters has approached
slavish levels.
Why? Beyond a deeply sincere appreciation for the
work itself, Zeisel had a great story, and some pretty serious street cred.
A real-life "Zelig" of 20th century design history, she showed up at the
Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes
(read birthplace of art deco) in Paris in 1925; later, she cooled her
heels in Weimar Berlin in the early 1930s. Alas, life wasn't always a
cabaret for Eva, who was later incarcerated for alleged conspiracy in
Stalin's Russia in 1936 (mug shot directly above). Released in 1937, she
traveled to Vienna; then, just as the Nazis arrived, she high-tailed it to
Britain and got married before migrating to the US (cue the singing nuns),
where her grit, point-blank exposure to seismically-important artistic
movements, and well-honed expertise in all aspects of ceramic design,
production and sales would produce remarkable second and third acts.
Zeisel's mid-century tableware designs were
considered revolutionary, an immodest departure from traditional forms.
Described as biomorphic, sensuous, fluid and curvy, her work had a
"swoopy" quality that is romantic, sculptural and eye-catching. Add to
this the notion of a female authority in the then male-dominated field of
industrial arts, and one can see how Zeisel became a figurehead in the
"transitional modern" design era (mid 1940s-early 1950s); like Russel
Wright, she helped bring modern to the masses. She couldn't come up with
anything that was embraced on the scale of Wright's juggernaut American
Modern dinnerware line, but then Wright had a bit of a head-start on his
home turf. Zeisel's twin dinnerware lines for Hall China, Century &
Tomorrow's Classic (upon which several questionable, dorky-ass patterns
were applied) sold well for years, but it is her Town & Country line,
manufactured by Red Wing between 1947 and 1956, that is most coveted by
collectors today. Conceptually similar to (and almost certainly
influenced by) Wright's American Modern, Eva's T&C shapes were
extraordinarily playful, and era-transcendent, while the glaze colors were
very much of the period, which no doubt boosted sales. Bold and dramatic,
yet casual, unfussy and honest, it's probably her design most closely
related to the Hungarian peasant pottery that so inspired Zeisel to take
to the clay in the first place. (The Modfather prefers Zeisel's whimsical
yet thoughtfully-articulated "Pals" line bird shapes produced by Monmouth
Stoneware in the mid-50s; these original wares are especially hard-to-find
today. Not surprisingly, "Pals" was one of the first vintage Zeisel
dinnerware offerings to be reproduced, and has been reissued at least 3
times so far...truly a classic for the ages, and we simply can't keep
pieces in stock for very long.)
In direct competition for at least 2 decades during
the golden age of American industrial design, there isn't much evidence
that Wright and Zeisel developed a chummy camaraderie, in spite of the
fact that Eva's son John attended the same elementary school as Wright's
adopted daughter Annie (according to daughter Jean, Eva and Russel would
see each other at parent-teacher meetings). The most startling line in
Zeisel's NYT obituary is this statement, allegedly made by Zeisel to a
writer at some unknown point: "Men have no concept of how to design things
for the home...women should design the things they use." Given her
background, we speculate that Eva didn't really believe this, and that the
proclamation was merely intended to capitalize on feminist sentiment with
an eye towards increased sales (if so, good for her). Still, that
couldn't have endeared her much to Wright, assuming he was still alive at
the time.
In addition to countless other prestigious honors,
Zeisel was, somewhat ironically, the recipient of a 2002 "Russel Wright
Award," which the Wrighterati created to honor "contemporary leaders who
carry forward [Wright's] legacy..." (and to promote Manitoga, of course).
Would Wright have approved? We'll never know for sure, but we're betting
he'd rather Zeisel get a "Russel Wright Award," than the other way around.
All that said, Zeisel's place in the design pantheon
is assured, and the world is a much sorrier place without her. Every time
the Modfather takes a swig of Cabernet from one of his much-beloved
Zeisel-designed Nambe wine goblets, he'll think fondly of Eva, and her
outrageous defiance of the odds.
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DESIGNERS OF TO-DAY

O L D E R P O S T S
TIKI TIME
Why are we so damn queer for 60s-era "Polynesian Pop" artifacts and
locales? It's definitely not the syrupy rum drinks, blech (forget the
Mai-Tai, just give the Modfather a cold beer thank you). We can't riff on
the nation's mid-century fixation with all things South Pacific any better
than Sven Kirsten, who masterfully encapsulated the campy movement in his
landmark 2001 Book of Tiki.
From there, we'd recommend a visit to
Critiki and
Tiki Central, where you can get the low down on Tiki
palaces still standing, and those long gone. There weren't too many here
in Dallas, unfortunately. We did have a Trader Vic's (which made a
short-lived comeback in recent years), and Stephen Crane's Ports O' Call,
nestled on top of a skyscraper downtown. Then over in Ft. Worth you had
Ren Clark's Polynesian Village, notable for their infamous (and highly
desirable) "severed head" tiki mug. Most of the actual vintage tiki mugs
you find these days are relatively worthless Japanese imports. But the
tiki-themed wares made in America are hot, and we are always on the
lookout for them, especially as we continue to beef up our restaurant ware
offerings in general. Here's a cool
matchbook cover pic from the old Trade Winds in nearby Tulsa.
The neat thing about this place was their use of Frankoma pottery,
including what is perhaps the
most valuable vintage Tiki mug of them all.
DISSED LIST NOT TO BE
MISSED The Modfather is alternatively saddened and
satisfied that the notoriously censored AOL Russel Wright e-mail discussion group is finally
dead. Founded by Manitoga booster Dennis Mykytyn back in the mid-90s, the
core members of this rag-tag bunch routinely came up with extraordinary
findings, including many corrections to erroneous info found in the
collector books. Unfortunately, there were some pathetically sensitive
souls unable to withstand any perceived slight or negativity, which led to
draconian post rejections (mostly bon mots from the Modfather). As you
might expect, the lively discussion soon dried up and died.
JACKED BAUER
Just about a year ago, Bauer of
California launched a
reissue of some American Modern shapes; collectors were enthusiastic,
but leery after the Oneida fiasco a few years ago. Like Oneida, Bauer felt
compelled to include a
bastard coffee mug, which is no doubt the harbinger
of reissue line failure. The most obvious problem? Original vintage AM
pieces are actually cheaper than their new Bauer counterparts, ouch. But
the new pieces are much more durable, right? According to Bauer's
own FAQ, this new pottery achieves its bright color by being low-fired,
"which means that it has a greater tendency to chip," double ouch. Last
month, Bauer announced the production of the pitcher and tumblers in
"traditional Bauer colors" (including
traffic cone orange, apparently)
LINENS &
THINGS RW devotee Gary Maurer and his
lovely wife Laura have finally published their long-promised text on
Wright's tablecloth work. The Modfather has yet to receive his promotional
copy, but you can get yours
here
GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMAN
Here's a nifty
belated Xmas card created by you know who. Given the message, it must date
back to 1955, the year of the I.C.A. overseas assignment:
COVER /
INSIDE
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BACK
THE WAY WE WERE (FOR REAL) It
pains him, but the Modfather highly recommends
this article
by one-time Modfather nemesis (and queeny old airbag) Sandy McLendon,
writer/editor for the online mag jetsetmodern.com. In it, McLendon
provides a somewhat sober reminder of what MCM meant to most people during
the 1950s and 60s. No wonder we can never find what we're looking for at
estate sales
PROUD MARY One thing's for sure:
If Russel's life ever gets the Hollywood treatment, the Oscar-bait role
will go to the lucky actress playing Mary Wright, savvy co-conspirator,
aristocratic but edgy muse, presumably long-suffering wife, and young
cancer victim. When I started collecting RW, I didn't understand the
fervor of the NYC cognoscenti for Mary. Then in 2002, the most intriguing
component of the RW retrospective at the Cooper-Hewitt was a bizarro yet
mesmerizing home movie clip of Mary, who was, as I wrote in 2002, "vogueing
and sashaying around their NY apartment." The exhibit's accompanying book
(see my Why RW? page for details) featured a chapter entitled "Marketing
Easier Living," by Robert Schonfeld; for anyone who endeavors to
understand Wright's life and work, it is a must read. The tale Schonfeld
spins delineates the impact of Mary's talent, intelligence, support, charm
and self-sacrifice on Wright's career, and it is nothing short of
astonishing. I am holding a Bauer Country Gardens creamer I found today
as I write this; it is simple, elegant and quite "natural," as she
intended. So Hail Mary; without her, we might not have anything to talk
about on this website today
TV SHOW & TELL TRAGEDY Normally
I wouldn't post forwarded video clips, but this one really got to me. I
often daydream that someday I'll be the star attraction on Antiques
Roadshow, but lord, please don't let it all go down like
this (click to download)

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