In Memoriam: Maloof and Zimmerman; Brooke Hodge Leaves MOCA

Part and parcel of the privilege of hosting a show on KCRW is now maintaining a blog relating to it. If you happen to read the DnA blog you may have noticed it refreshes itself rather sporadically and that is because I confess I belong to the camp that is still not fully at ease with blogging or tweeting or whatever other haiku-like forms of expression we are supposed to engage in these days to keep ourselves visible. Unlike my inimitable associate producer, Alissa Walker, for whom all things web-related come as naturally as breathing, I struggle with the instant posting of thoughts and reports, preferring to rewrite and correct things umpteen times, or post opinions only when I feel really, really strongly about something, both of which require the opposite skills from blogging.

Having got that off my chest, I am now going to refresh this blog with some recent items that matter:

1):    the news that Bernard Zimmerman has passed away, at age 79. Every community has its characters and in the LA architecture world Bernard Zimmerman was one of them. Contemporary of Frank Gehry, longtime teacher at Cal Poly Pomona, Zimmerman was an ardent advocate of LA architecture, creator over the years of many exhibits of emerging LA architects, often with numbers in the titles (New Blood: 101, being one of the more recent). Mainly though, Zimmerman was the community’s conscience. He was utterly convinced of the rightness of a stringent brand of Modernism – its social as well as its formal principles – and didn’t hold back from chastising any designer he felt had fallen short of its ideals. At times he could go over the top in excoriating someone for the sin of applying too much decoration or working for a client he deemed less than ideologically pure, but he was a true believer, a dedicated teacher and unusually selfless in promoting other designers, often more than himself. He will be missed. A memorial will be held Monday. 

2): the news that Sam Maloof has passed away. This revered designer and woodworker died peacefully at age 93 after a long career fashioning fine and distinctive custom furniture. Read the Times obituary here. His legacy is not only his own work, and the memory of a lovable, immensely energetic and passionate craftsman, but a current rebirth of interest in the art of craft. A memorial will be held Tuesday, at Tuesday  June 9, 2009  at 3pm, at: Kresge Chapel, School of Theology, 1325 No. College Ave, Claremont, Ca  91711

3): the news that Architecture and Design curator Brooke Hodge had been dislodged from her perch at MOCA, where she has for the last eight years mounted many shows, among the most notable her "Skin and Bones" show, which explored the mutual influences in fashion and architecture. Not only is it regrettable to see Brooke have to depart (reportedly budget problems meant some curators had to be cut and those who had focused on a specialty – architecture, photography -- were chosen over the museum’s generalists) but this decision also raises the larger question of who or what institution here will henceforth champion architecture and design, particularly LA architecture and design, one of the region’s signature artistic contributions to contemporary culture. Dating back to the directorship of Richard Koshalek, MOCA has maintained a strong architecture and design department. Who will step into the breech? Read more on this in the Architect’s Newspaper. Incidentally, not only was Brooke let go but her upcoming show was also abruptly cancelled – devoted to LA architect, Thom Mayne. For his latest contribution to the art of architecture, see Nicolai Ourrousoff on Thom's new building for Cooper Union in New York.