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Dear DNA readers,
I hope you’re doing well, even as the future becomes ever more perplexing.
We all know that data centers have become the political lightening rod of the year. It’s not just the resource-gobbling behemoths themselves that incense people, it’s what they symbolize about the mystifying, runaway AI that could save lives or might destroy jobs, that could make us all smarter or atrophy our brains, or even destroy humanity. In sum, they represent a phase of technological advancement that has Americans, who tend to be techno-optimistic, very, very anxious.
So this adds poignancy to a pair of upcoming shows at LACMA that revisit the era when the future was bright.
%20and%20Logan%20U.%20Reavis%20(illustrator)%2c%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Home%20of%20the%20Future%E2%80%9D%20cutaway%20illustration%20of%20Aluminaire%20House%2c%20in%20Popular%20Mechanics%2c%20August%201931%3B%20house%20built%201931.jpeg?upscale=true&width=800&upscale=true&name=A.%20Lawrence%20Kocher%20and%20Albert%20Frey%20(architects)%20and%20Logan%20U.%20Reavis%20(illustrator)%2c%20%E2%80%9CThe%20Home%20of%20the%20Future%E2%80%9D%20cutaway%20illustration%20of%20Aluminaire%20House%2c%20in%20Popular%20Mechanics%2c%20August%201931%3B%20house%20built%201931.jpeg)
A. Lawrence Kocher and Albert Frey (architects) and Logan U. Reavis (illustrator), “The Home of the Future” cutaway illustration of Aluminaire House, in Popular Mechanics, August 1931; house built 1931
Home of the Future, 1925–1985: Designing Domestic Utopias, opening on September 27th, takes us back to the time when the designer Norman Bel Geddes heralded daily life reshaped “for the greater economy, efficiency, comfort and happiness of our lives.”
Objects, posters, advertising, and more illustrate what curator Wendy Kaplan describes as “an astonishing parade of domestic futures: kitchens that cleaned themselves, living rooms organized around radios and television sets, houses made of plastic that could be erected in a day, and, eventually, computers small enough to sit on a desk and recast the way families communicated, worked, and entertained themselves.”
Bob Lerner, Anne Anderson in RCA Whirlpool Miracle Kitchen, 1959, kitchen designed 1956; photo 1959; printed 2026
Now we live in that future, and even when we love many aspects of it, we don't necessarily embrace the Futurama aesthetic of Bel Geddes' time. One of the more fascinating trend stories this year was this one about luxury kitchens that "camouflage" all the smart appliances! It’s a far cry from past decades when the space-age gadgets were put on show.
But the LACMA exhibition, and accompanying book, above, also raise questions about how the American home was packaged, to whom it was sold, and by whom. Kaplan writes that “scientific innovation, corporate ambition, government policy, and adventurous design,” converged in the single-family house, yet racially restrictive covenants and biased mortgage lending policies excluded Black, Hispanic, Asian, and other minorities from the suburban domestic dream.
Ralph Bartholomew Jr., Untitled, 1960
A similarly skeptical view from the vantage point of today also pervades the accompanying show at the museum, The Kitchen and Its Discontents.
Excitingly, you will get to see two actual kitchens from LACMA’s collection that profoundly impacted society as it modernized following two world wars: Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky’s 1926–30 kitchen for the New Frankfurt social housing program in Germany, and Charlotte Perriand and Le Corbusier’s 1948–50 kitchen for L’Unité d’Habitation in Marseille, France.
But in ostensibly making women’s lives more efficient and less labor-intensive, the exhibition uses photographs, prints, and advertisements from LACMA’s collection to argue that reality was more complicated, with the kitchen still “a contested space for labor and living.”
Both exhibitions open on September 27th. Click here for information.
Photo of Frankfurt Kitchen at V&A East Storehouse, London. Photo by Frances Anderton
A final note before we move on to Design Things To Do: LA is rich in design and culture, but it can be hard to stay on top of everything that's going on. Which is why I curate this KCRW newsletter to keep you apprised of some of the city's offerings, hosted by cultural partners around town. This and other KCRW newsletters express the station's dedication to community life, and its design and architecture, art, music, food, and so much more. Show your love by donating to keep KCRW thriving. Give DnA a shoutout in the comments when you do!
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Design Things To Do
Top Pick: Ma Yansong on the Lucas Museum
It’s here! Next Tuesday, September 22nd, is the opening day for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, designed by Beijing-based architect Ma Yansong. His wild concept tests the outer limits of digital design and fabrication. Ma will discuss the "narrative" building, along with guest speakers Tracey Bates (CEO, LMNA), Thom Mayne, and Eric Owen Moss, in a conversation at Bovard Auditorium at USC, on September 22nd, at 6:00 PM, as part of its Visions and Voices series. There are a few tickets left. Click here ASAP to RSVP.
Image courtesy USC
Be sure also to go check out the building, collection and the grounds, including the Studio-MLA-designed public garden (with statues including Botero’s Maternity and Princess Leia Frees Herself from Jabba the Hutt!). As for the display of "narrative" art, it contains many revelations. The Norman Rockwells, for example. Plus, you will find a fair number of paintings (by artists including John Philip Falter and Stevan Dohanos) that seem to gently mock modern suburban life (see, LACMA shows, above.)
Quick Picks
Material supply chains and labor costs compound the cost of housing construction in Los Angeles. How did we get here and is there another way? This Saturday, September 19th, 5:00-8:00 PM, take a gallery tour of Craft Contemporary’s current Clay Biennial exhibit tierra, led by Danila Cervantes, with Joanna Keane Lopez and Jackie Amezquita, followed by a conversation in the courtyard about material, the land it comes from, and the labor that puts it in place. Unfinished City 02: tierra is hosted by L.A. Forum.
Photo by Frances Anderton
LA is famed for its sunshine and noir, except that there’s often not enough noir where you need it — like shade trees or structures on hot streets. Hear author Sam Bloch — Shade: The Promise of a Forgotten Natural Resource — in conversation with Edith de Guzman of ShadeLA, this Sunday, September 20th, at 10:30 AM. The conversation is hosted by L.A. Parks Foundation at the office of Studio-MLA in Boyle Heights, at 251 South Mission Road, Los Angeles. The office-come-public events space in a warehouse converted by architect Michael Lehrer is worth the trip alone. Click here to RSVP.
Big Blue Bus stops add shade on Lincoln Boulevard, designed by Lorcan O'Herlihy. Photo by Frances Anderton
What can museums learn from game design, and what can games borrow from art? Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill (League of Legends, VALORANT, Wild Rift) and the museum’s CEO Michael Govan will provide answers at a conversation this Monday, September 21st, at 7:00 PM, at LACMA. It is part of The Genesis Talks series, “exploring the intersection of culture, creativity, and innovation.” Interesting. Click here to RSVP.
Image courtesy Riot Games
We know wellbeing when we feel it, but can you design it into buildings? Yes, says psychotherapist and neurodesigner Dr. Rachel Melvald. Join Melvald, trauma-informed designer Erika Brulé and me for a discussion about how “color, texture, light, and spatial flow act on the body before we've consciously registered them.” By way of example, consider the new David Geffen Galleries, with its intense atmospherics. The conversation takes place next Thursday, September 24th, 4:30 PM–9:00 PM (conversation starts at 6:00 PM), at Autex Acoustics Showroom, at 742 S Hill St, Suite 501, Los Angeles, CA 90014. The composer Prateek Rajagopal will score the evening live. Click here to RSVP.
The David Geffen Galleries before the art was added. Photo by Frances Anderton
Are you sitting comfortably? If not, head over to Christie's Beverly Hills for an installation of 50 classic chairs, brought by Basic.Space, the self-described "curated, IRL-to-URL shopping destination." It's on from September 24th–30th. View and bid on seats designed by luminaries including Willo Perron, Kelly Wearstler, Rick Owens, the Eameses, and Mies van der Rohe. Click here to make an appointment.
Lounge Chair 01 – Transparent Blue by SeungJin Yang. Image courtesy Basic.Space
Schindler x 2... FORT: LA has a knack for putting the fizz into serious topics (architecture) and formulaic events (fundraisers). So their astrologically themed benefit on Saturday, September 26th, 7:00–10:00 PM, comes with astronomy from Orion Bear, Moon Pies from Main, and personalized chart readings by the astrologer-witch-occultist Gogo. It all takes place in a private home designed by R.M. Schindler. Readers of this newsletter get a $20 discount. Use Promo Code FRANCESKCRW to get tickets to Schindler and the Moon.
Meanwhile, the MAK Center holds its annual benefit at another Schindler house (Fitzpatrick-Leland). Get tickets here for Glow Up, a dinner and auction, taking place on September 25th and 26th.
Image courtesy FORT: LA
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%2c%201956%2c%20CANVA%202.png?upscale=true&width=2400&upscale=true&name=Kyu%20Lee%20of%20Hamilton%20%26%20Goody%20Architects%2c%20Monsanto%20House%20of%20the%20Future%2c%20(presentation%20rendering)%2c%201956%2c%20CANVA%202.png "Kyu Lee of Hamilton & Goody Architects, Monsanto House of the Future, (presentation rendering), 1956, image courtesy LACMA")
