Thursday, June 21, 2012

Joe Fresh video - wonderful

If you haven't seen the Joe Fresh video on Harry Bertoia's huge panel sculpture in New York, take a few minutes to watch an uplifting story: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoMFtO6o1pI
A little background: the 70' screen was installed in 1954 at the bank on 5th Avenue. The glass fronted building allowed passersby to see the sculpture clearly from the exterior, so the piece became somewhat of a New York landmark. When, after a change of ownership, the heavy screen was removed, there was a public outcry. After a lawsuit, blogging protests, and general discontent, the sculpture was returned to the building. This video shows Joe Mimran (founder of Joe Fresh clothing stores) rejoicing in the return of the Bertoia.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Upcoming lectures and events

The Denver Modernism show (see http://denvermodernism.com/events/ ), coming up August 24, 25, 26 of 2012 is a fun, huge event dedicated to Mid Century Modern design, autos, clothes, furniture, everything. On Saturday, 2:00 pm the Daughters of Design, with Susan Saarinen,
Celia Bertoia and Carla (Eames ) Hartman, will discuss modern design in terms of their relatives Eero Saarinen, Harry Bertoia, and Charles Eames. More details to follow as the time grows closer.

On September 13th, 7:00 pm, in my hometown of Bozeman, Montana, a presentation on Harry Bertoia will be accompanied by several original sculptures, and a special surprise. All Montanan modern art lovers, be sure to be there! Out-of-staters welcome, too. This is a free talk at the Bozeman Public Library. More details to follow later in the summer.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Authenticating Bertoias

I find various blogs discussing the difficulty of authenticating Bertoias. This is indeed a problem, since Bertoia rarely signed his pieces, believing that a work of art speaks for itself and needs no ownership. Although it is a generous and wonderful concept, it has created challenges for those of us who follow him. Val Bertoia, son of Harry, at http://bertoiastudio.com/north.html  is still your best bet for validating the real deal in sculpture. If it is a monoprint or painting, find me, Celia Bertoia, daughter, via http://harrybertoia.org/contact.html.  One thing I can say is that a true Harry Bertoia always has a feel of integrity and high quality craftsmanship. He was very skilled and did not cut corners in workmanship.