In black and white

The Saturday night party put on by the Palm Springs Modern Committee is always one of the great events of the year but this one, kicking off the party scene of Modernism Week blew everyone away. Nearly 400 folks, most dressed in black and white (except yours truly who still can't read an invitation correctly after all these years), flocked to a fabulous home in Palm Springs to drink, dance, socialize and, from the looks of things, hook up. Clearly, after seeing one of the muscular hosts in a leather vest and no shirt, it is time to start sweating to the oldies again for me!
Guests were met at the door by the Trina-Turk-clad Jamie Kabler along with Dottie Dubois and Maude Chapeau and each new arrival was captured on film by Matt Bamberg's expert lens work. (Perhaps Matt will share some photos with our readers. We'll ask.)
The home that these two gentlemen built, after tearing down the home that stood here (the neighbors described it as "funky" and hardly worth preserving) was a low-slung two-bedroom, gorgeously appointed with a backyard just built for entertaining. The sound of a dj playing hits from the 1970s got everyone's energy level up (Billie Jean, celebrating its 25th year of existence was just one of the tunes that stirred the emotions) and pretty soon everyone was dancing, including the sponsoring organization's Peter Moruzzi and Nickie McLaughlin, putting in some pretty swift moves.
Among the crowd was socialite Donna Macmillan in a Marilyn Monroe wig and a Roy Lichtenstein-patterned blouse; photographer David Glomb with Marcello Villano and Dusty Atkins; Kimberly Nichols, Lisa Vossler Smith and Maria Zang in black wigs (with the printed slogan F*CK MOD prominent on their chests); fashion designer Garyk Lee and his partner Tony Boris (Garyk is currently putting the finishing touches on a mural in Venice) along with photographer Sherri Breyer Mardones, beautiful enough to stand out even in this crowd, and Christopher Kennedy, the interior designer responsible for the incredible decor of the hosts' home. BTW, the house is for sale. Four million and it's yours, although neighbors tell me that two million is pretty much the going rate on this street. Still...
Over in the corner was the king of desert party decor Todd King with John Paxton in a white fuzzy wig. King who lives down the street is a fan of architecture but is not that nuts about the modern style. Perhaps it's a little cold for his taste. At any rate, with 400 sweaty people roaming around, cold was the last thing on anyone's mind, especially now that the weather in Palm Springs has finally turned its deliciously warm self.
All anyone could talk about was the Modernsim Show opening the night before. Dolphin Productions' Rosemary Krieger startled us with this bit of information: Of all of the 18 Modernism shows that Dolphin produces around the country, today's attendance at the Palm Springs Convention Center was the largest the group has ever seen. "What's even more amazing," Rosemary told me, "was that there are only 80 exhibitors at this one and it outdrew even Miami Beach's show which has 375 exhibitors." (Nothing like having a few less distractions to fill the hall, I wanted to say, but no need to downplay this. It's big. Thisbigreallybig.)
Arriving after attending another gala during the evening was Harold Matzner, who had just come from the McCallum Theatre's big "Night At The Ball," where he was presented with gold sneakers (Harold wears sneakers with every outfit including white tie). Also on hand was local philanthropic superstar, publisher Mark Adams and his friend Neil Garcia. Now let's keep this among ourselves, OK: Neil is one of the house mates in the current edition of "Big Brother," the CBS-TV smash. So, we asked, who won? (We figured we'd catch him in a weak moment and we could then immediately place bets in Vegas and win that fortune we think we deserve so much.)
Garcia, listen up producers, was totally, completely and decidedly mum on the subject. Damn.
This week begin many events including double-decker bus tours of famed Palm Springs architectural tours given by Modernism Week committee member Robert Imber (look for him to take over this blog tomorrow with his full report). And soon we'll be awash in events. Be sure to check www.modernismweek.com for details on all of the upcoming stuff.
Oh, and one more thing. Julius Shulman signed copies of his new book at the Modernism Show. He says he sold more copies of his book here than in his entire history. And that goes back 97 years! Congratulations.
See you around?

About last night...

About last night...

Nearly 150 people stood waiting patiently outside the Oasis Room at the Palm Springs Convention Center last night, waiting for the doors to open to this year's Modernism Show. A lot of recognizable faces in the crowd: Fashion designer Trina Turk and her gifted photographer husband Jonathan Skol stood out in a sea of notables, including photographer Michael Childers, Christie's Realtor Kyle Morgan (the Kaufmann house goes up for bids soon, he tells us); new Palm Springs restaurateur Robert Kuenzi (his Tropicale restaurant is a stunner); Palm Springs Art Museum's president Steven Nash and his stylish wife Carol; fashion authority Shari Applebaum; Merle and Robert Lustbader with award-winning interior designer Sam Cardella; Annette Bloch from the Kansas City family of H&R Block; Leisa Austin from Imago Galleries; MJ Knappen, who created the colorful Modernism Show program; two men who have made touring Palm Springs architecture a must, Robert Imber and Toni Merchel, and Palm Springs Preservation Foundation president Wililam Kopelk, recently profiled in Town & Country.
The evening was a benefit for the PSPF folks, who work to educate the population of Palm Springs on the importance of the town's architectural style. In an age when so many developers want to come in from out of town and change the character of the place, the forces to preserve are still to be reckoned with. With very little money but a lot of enthusiasm, it's a pretty even match so far but the point of the evening was to declare that history has value here, too.
Nearly 100 booths were set up during the afternoon, featuring furniture, art, accessories, posters, photography. Bill Stern from the Museum of California Design was on hand. At the Show two years ago, Bill presented the Hollywood Regency style and this year's booth featured a photogravure book that he says was given away at hotels from the 1920s onward. The cover features a sepia print of a wedding in Santa Barbara, as contemporary looking as anything today and is given away free with every membership to the Museum. "I found a whole box of them while doing some research and nobody wanted them," he says. Apparently, a lack of historical perspective isn't confined only to our area.
Across the way, famed photographer Julius Shulman was signing many, many copies of a new book being published by the Palm Springs Art Museum and Rizzoli. Written by Michael Stern and Alan Hess, this glorious book flew off the tables as Julius, who just turned 97, drank Scotch ("one piece of ice, please") and chatted up with fans. Sidney Williams from the Museum, who is credited in the book for her invaluable help, was there, as was genius architect Philip Smith (from The Art Office) and his lovely bride Lisa Vossler and others from the Museum who manned the booth.
Charles Hollis Jones signed copies of his book at the PSPF booth to an appreciative crowd and copies of the magazine Season in the Sun were prominently displayed and quickly snapped up. Media folks from Miami noticed the magazine and were quite complimentary. Ahem. (Full disclosure: I publish this seasonal magazine which is privately circulated to the desert's philanthropic folks.)
Also in the crowd were formerly retired architect Bill Krisel, whose Palm Springs classic homes were featured in Thursday's Los Angeles Times in a glowing tribute; photographer David Glomb (his shots in the book "Palm Springs Modern" by Adele Cygelman practically started the stampede toward appreciating the city's style); that good-looking guy from Extreme Makeover who sort of mixed with the crowd but mostly stood apart; Modernism realtor Robert Parker, another good-looking guy but one who definitely knows how to mix.
In fact, handsome pretty much describes the crowd. Musician Pat Rizzo, whose three-piece band entertained during the evening, commented on how nice everyone looked. (His singing stopped many in their tracks; what a talent and how lucky we are to have him here.)
Some of the more interesting exhibitors included:
North Palm Canyon's furniture store, ModernWay, owned by Courtney and Joy Newman; Studio 101 owned by Axel D'Anthes; Robert Willson and David Serrano's Downtown; Dharam Damama's booth which year after year is always popular; Sam Kaufman's eponymous store and Bob King's Top Hat Antiques with its signature vintage clothing.
Other media in attendance were Los Angeles' Hollwood Confidential, recently purchased by the folks from the Las Vegas Sun. (The magazine's rep Judith Connelley told us that the issue being handed out featured all sorts of editorial about Palm Springs.) Also handing out free copies was Modernism Magazine, Atomic Ranch and Palm Springs Life (the magazine's rep Julie Rogers looking more beautiful than ever). All the publications touted the Modernism movement in grand pictorial style. We on the Modernism Week committee are eternally grateful.
At nine p.m. the lights turned off to signal the end of the affair. Dolphin Productions' amazing show continues Saturday and Sunday. Check the web site: www.modernismweek.com for details. This is the show that put Palm Springs on the map. And it looks like the city is doing the same for the show.
Tonight is the big ModCom party at 925 Paseo El Mirador. This is always one of the best parties of the year. Do not miss it.

And so it begins...

This evening at 6 p.m., Modernism Week gets its official send-off at the Palm Springs Convention Center with the opening of the Modernism Show. We hope to see many of our friends there for the kickoff, as it benefits the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation and it's the first crack at all of the great exhibits that will be on display until Sunday. 

Many Modernism fans find that if they don't get there tonight, a lot of good stuff is already taken. It's become quite competitive as the value of furniture, art and accessories increases year by year. (They ain't making any more of this original stuff, folks.)

I will be there tonight with photographer Tom Brewster and I hope you'll stop by the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation booth and say hello. Writer Alan Hess will be there signing copies of his books and we hear they may be a preview of his upcoming Julius Shulman book there, too, although that's unofficial. Forget I said anything about it.

Tomorrow night, also, don't forget the big Palm Springs Modernism Committee party at Jamie Kabler's "Leisureland" estate. Jamie always throws amazing parties and his theme this year is the 1960s with great music, dancing go-go boys and girls and a lot of that Rat Pack spirit you always hear about. Dress in 1960s style, too, if you want to. Just show up. It's a big money raiser for ModCom, which does such amazing work trying to preserve what we have here.

Speaking of that, props to the Los Angeles Times for its preview of the Modernism Week in yesterday's paper, along with a profile of the unsung architect William Krisel. And thanks for mentioning the big Retro Martini Party coming up on Friday, February 22.

And big kudos to this morning's Desert Sun newspaper which, while keeping an objective journalistic eye on things, delineated all of the problems we're having keeping our wonderful architecture from being plowed under by developers. Depressing comment by the new mayor Steve Pougnet who somehow confuses "progress" with "destruction." Listen, folks. If Palm Springs hadn't been through a huge depression during the 1980s and 1990s, all of this wonderful architecture would have been destroyed and we'd be looking like Orange County or another of those "Inland Empire" towns. 

This is why your support of Modernism Week is so important. The city needs to understand that there is real value in preserving our wonderful aesthetic here. It fills up hotel beds, supports local restaurants and makes this area a great place to buy homes.

See you tonight!

Modernismman

A Week of Modernism

They tell us that Palm Springs, California is the "ground zero" for the Modernism movement, and while any reference to "ground zero," makes me nervous, one has to agree that this signature style from the 1950s and 1960s has its center in the California desert. Architects and furniture designers, clothing manufacturers and artists will converge in Palm Springs the week of February 15-24 to celebrate the aesthetic. 

Lectures, bus tours, martini-soaked parties and many other festivities will dot the calendar during the week.

I hope you'll join me as we review the events.