5 design things to do this week

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This week: see furniture inspired by Daft Punk; explore a century of fashion photography; consider the future of two iconic boulevards; discuss the poetics and politics of View Park; and kick off summer with a Pasadena garden party.

1) Hervet Manufacturier, Daft Punk limited edition at Maxfields

Cousins Cédric and Nicolas Hervet first started making furniture when they were teenagers working in family-run workshops.  More than two decades later, the pair have combined futurist forms and the high quality craft learned from their fathers to create a collection of limited production furniture and small objects. Add to the mix Cédric’s longtime friendship with Thomas Bangalter of Daft Punk and Hervet Manufacturier has developed a Daft Punk limited edition collection, on display through June 28 at Maxfield Gallery in West Hollywood and then at JF Chen starting July 9.

When: Through June 28, Monday through Saturday, 11 am – 7 pm; Sunday, noon – 5 pm

Where: Maxfield Gallery, 8818 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA 90069

Tickets: Free. More information here.

2) Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911–2011

Since the first stylized fashion photography by Edward Steichen was published in the French journal Art et Décoration in 1911, fashion photographers have blurred the lines between fashion and image, and between advertising and art.  The Getty Center’s new exhibition Icons of Style: A Century of Fashion Photography, 1911-2011 explores 100 years of the best fashion photography.

Exhibits include Richard Avedon and Irving Penn‘s stunning silhouettes for Harper’s Bazaar and VogueWilliam Klein’s street photography captured on a 35mm camera; glamor shots by Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber; also digital and fantasy imagery like Tim Walker’s 2002 “The Dress-Lamp Tree”, shown top of page, and Yohji Yamamoto, Autumn/Winter 1995 (detail), by David Sims, above.

When: Public opening Tuesday June 26.  Exhibition runs through October 26.

Where: The Getty Center, 1200 Getty Center Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90049

Tickets: Free. More information here.

3) UCLA’s SUPRASTUDIO imagines new futures for two famed LA boulevards

99% Preservation and 1% Densification: A Case for Urban Density along the Wilshire Corridor

LA’s population is expected to increase by 1.5 million by 2050, and it already has a housing shortage and a traffic nightmare. So Thom Mayne and Eui-Sung Yi of UCLA’s Now Institute and Morphosis Architects believe they have a relatively low-impact plan to accommodate the city’s anticipated population increase — by densifying less than one percent of its land. This Wednesday, they will present a proposal for a high-density, interconnected urban community along L.A.’s iconic Wilshire Corridor, expanding on the residential high rises already built between Westwood and Century City.  Mark Gold, UCLA associate vice chancellor of environment and sustainability, will moderate a conversation with Mayne and Yi.

When: Wednesday, June 27, 7:30 pm

Where: Hammer Museum, 10899 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024.  Parking is available under the museum for a $6 flat rate after 6 p.m.

Tickets: Free. Free tickets are required and available at the Box Office one hour before the program. One ticket per person; first come, first served.

“Gridlock: A Master Plan for the Sunset Strip Circa 2050”

Will cruising on Sunset be the same when cars steer themselves? What future can we envision for Rock and Roll’s Crawl of Fame? These were questions posed by UCLA SUPRASTUDIO tutors Craig Hodgetts and Marta Nowak when they asked students to imagine the Sunset Strip in the age of self-driving cars. Now you can see the fruits of their research, conducted in collaboration with ArtCenter College of Design’s graduate students in Transportation Design, at an exhibition opening Saturday at A+D Museum.

When: Jun. 30–Aug. 19, 2018; Opening reception Saturday, Jun. 30 at 6:30 pm.

Where: A+D Museum, 900 E. 4th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90013

Tickets: $10 general admission; free to students and members  More information here.

Adler Guerrier, Untitled (Street View, View Park), 2017. (The original image is no longer available, please contact KCRW if you need access to the original image.)

4)  Evolution of View Park: Making Sense of Gentrification

Los Angeles’s View Park community is one of the largest historically African American enclaves in the United States. Karen Mack with LA Commons will lead a discussion, entitled Evolution of View Park: Making Sense of Gentrification, at the California African American Museum, exploring the neighborhood from its beginnings to today, including its controversial inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. This is part of a series of programs relating to the current CAAM exhibition Adler Guerrier: Conditions and Forms for blck Longevity (on view through August 26), a show of photographs by the Haitian-born artist documenting the poetics and politics of place.

When: Discussion, Thursday, June 28, 2 – 4 pm; Galleries open Tuesdays-Saturdays 10 am – 5 pm, Sundays 11 am – 5 pm.

Where: California African American Museum, 600 State Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90037

Tickets: Free; click here for more on the discussion about View Park, and here for more on the Adler Guerrier exhibition.

5) Norton Simon Museum Presents Its Fifth Annual Garden Party

“A Night in Focus” garden party marks the start of summer at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, whose own gardens were inspired by Monet’s beloved garden at Giverny. Celebrate the long days and warm nights ahead as you explore the sights and sounds of the Sculpture Garden, sketch en plein air or collaborate on creative projects such as creating a botanical bookmark, sculpting and printing works inspired by flora in the garden, or working on a collage inspired by the objects on view in Line & Color: The Nature of Ellsworth Kelly. Throughout the evening, enjoy live jazz in the Garden Café.

When: Saturday, June 30, 5 – 7:30 pm

Where: Norton Simon Museum, 411 W Colorado Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91105

Tickets: Free with museum admission, $15. More information here.