Hasta La Ideas

Avid design collector compiles contemporary-history objects

Sponsored content:

A consummate collector for more than a decade, George Kravis has cultivated one of the preeminent art collections of industrial design. “I’ve always been interested in anything with a cord, a plug, a battery or a light,” states Kravis. Growing up in a household full of Russell Wright dinnerware and Tommi Parzinge furniture, Kravis’ appreciation for design developed at an early age. The purchase of an RCA Victor model record player in 1949 launched the beginning of Kravis’ collection and incited a lifelong fascination with the stylish allure of everyday objects.

Kravis forged a career in broadcasting from the ground up, demonstrating a tenacity and sense of determination evident in his collection. In 1962, he became one of the youngest individuals to own a jazz radio show and later went on to acquire several radio stations. The communications mogul turned radio connoisseur began to amass a selection of vintage radios to form the cornerstone of his collection. “It’s pretty representative today of what happened during the Golden Age of radio,” says Kravis of the collection, which boasts models such as the boldly iconic Patriot Radio and the shapely Air King Skyscraper radio of the 1940s.

The thousands of objects Kravis has gathered are mined as much for their value as they are for their personal impressions. “Sometimes I’m trying to fill a hole in the collection,” he explains. “Sometimes, I just see something and it jumps out at me. It speaks to me. I know it’s the right thing.” Culling from auction houses and eBay, Kravis affectionately details a list of his pieces with infectious enthusiasm: “I have sleds, power tools, air compressors, blenders, telephones and typewriters.”

Kravis’ collection is predominantly a study of the Streamline Moderne design craze that swept Depression-era America in the 1930s—it was a movement based on endowing basic, domestic objects with a sleek, aerodynamic style that belied an optimistic interpretation of the future. Both aesthetically and historically significant, Kravis’ collection includes nine of the 12 objects featured as apart of the retrospective stamp series entitled “Pioneers of American Design,” which debuted at the Copper-Hewitt Museum in 2011.

In 2007, Kravis found a kindred spirit in David Hanks, curator for the comprehensive exhibition, “American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow” who now serves as an independent advisor to Kravis. Impressed by the caliber of the show, Kravis contacted the Philbrook Museum to host the exhibition which featured 180 objects from such design luminaries as Norman Bel Geddes and Henry Dreyfuss.

As a Tulsa, Oklahoma native Kravis created a longstanding and integral connection to the Philbrook Museum, serving as a board member since the 1960s. Kravis reflects, “It has been an important part of our social life and our art life here in the community.” In 2008, Kravis gifted a portion of his collection to the Philbrook, and it is now on display at a satellite building pending relocation to a new wing (opening in 2012) designed by the renowned architect, Richard Gluckman. An advocate of sharing his collection to educate and inspire students, Kravis states, “I think it will develop a whole new audience.”

Kravis employs an expert eye for the design hallmarks of the past while also looking forward as an Apple product enthusiast and collector of the whimsically elegant products by contemporary design firm, Black + Blum. He underscores the importance of creating products that are “appealing and functional,” applauding consumer giant Target and museum shops for making design more obtainable. To predict the standing of good design, Kravis says, “Some things, take a wait and see. It’s like listening to a new song. You have to listen to it for awhile to see if you really like it.”

Nine objects from the George Kravis collection will be on display as a continuation of the traveling “Stamps of Approval” exhibition, opening at the Smithsonian Castle in Washington, D.C. from 15 November-29 April 2012.

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.

A freelance programmer using DIY technology as a tool to teach with Machine Project

Sponsored content:

Catering to “overambitious amateur enthusiasts,” Machine Project conjures up an idiosyncratic fusion of classes and workshops that masterfully craft pedagogy out of the infinite realm of possibility. Hosting a range of workshops from psychic communion with plants to the typography of ransom notes, Machine Project is a non-profit arts organization that operates as an “informal educational institution” from its unassuming storefront in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. Founder Mark Allen explains the cult appeal of the classes, stating, “We found that an engineer and a poet talking about noise music was even more interesting than a group of poets talking about poetry or a group of scientists discussing science.”

Born in Vermont, Allen received his MFA at the California Institute of the Arts and began honing his curatorial leanings towards the obscure through a series of trial and error. In Houston, Allen ran a gallery called Revolution Summer that adopted the Marxist theme of time as currency for the purchase of art works. Shortly after moving to LA, Allen became involved with the subversive art collective, C-Level (currently reincarnated as Betalevel), a group that was known for such sardonic situationist commentary as virtual cockfighting—contestants donned rooster suits with sensors—and the shock-inducing video game, Tekken Torture Tournament.

While at C-Level Allen started to combine his love for technology with a flourishing aptitude for teaching, which laid the groundwork for his philosophical approach to Machine Project. “My interest in teaching unexpected, creative and unsanctioned uses of technology in the production of art is in direct support to the idea that technology is a tool which can be used by any motivated individual,” he says. As a freelance programmer and a faculty member of the Digital Art Related Program Activities (DARPA) initiative at Pomona College, Allen relies heavily on the gestalt of technology factors in creating new courses at Machine Project, but at the same time invites a naturalistic study of the world around us.

In 2008, Machine Project took over the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a day, and turned it inside out as a metaphorical nature center of activity, comprised of more than 60 projects that included “ambient haircuts,” musical elevators and a murder mystery entitled “A Machine Project Field Guide to the LA County Museum of Art.” Inspired by the artistry of set designers Christy McCaffrey and Sara Newey who designed the ornate gate created for the event, Allen asked the team to imagine a transformative environment for Machine Project’s own storefront. The result was an immersive forest installation that housed woodland-themed events involving banjo plucking, elf lore and “a presentation by some very dedicated Bigfoot enthusiasts.”

The inquisitive wit and spirited atmosphere at Machine Project is reflected in both the class subjects—a selection based on chance meetings with talented individuals—and the “hide-and-seek” mechanisms throughout the space. Whether it’s teaching a parent-child course on How to Steal Cars—”Our belief is that children who learn to steal cars with their parents are more likely to steal cars responsibly when they grow up,” Allen quips—or the storefront’s tree stump dumb waiter that delivers beer, Machine Project transforms the everyday into something simultaneously extraordinary and achievable.

Allen explains, “If you look around wherever you’re sitting there’s a large percentage of things whose workings are totally mysterious: cellphone, tape dispenser, refrigerator, computer. We are surrounded by a material culture where most people remain unaware of how everything that surrounds them is made. Machine Project exists to provide an opportunity for people to understand their built environment, to create a space in which accessibility to knowledge and hands-on, DIY learning experiences can happen right in our own neighborhood.”

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.

Sculpting with sound, an artist crafts multi-sensoral experiences

Sponsored content:

Navigating the strata of sound, composer and visual artist Kamran Sadeghi maneuvers a digital diving bell that harmoniously discovers new territories forged between art and music. Culling sounds from eclectic sources such as found objects, a grand piano and the chamber of a nuclear cooling tower, Sadeghi weaves together an electronic topography that is both hypnotic and haunting. Sadeghi explains, “I would take the time to learn something and after doing so, I would use it for something other than what it was originally designed for, or I would just take it apart and or break it out of boredom.”

Born in Iran, Sadeghi and his family relocated to America around the time of Iran’s Islamic Revolution. Although the indigenous tones of Persian folk and pop music were prevalent, Sadeghi spent most of his time as a visual artist growing up. At the age of nineteen, Sadeghi channeled his artistic talents into music, self-educated on curiosity and record stores. “I would spend a lot of time in [record stores], talking to people and listening to new music. They were my library for many, many years,” reflects Sadeghi.

In 2000, Sadeghi began to experiment with traditional instruments and computer synthesis, culminating in four full-length albums first released in 2005 under the alias, Son of Rose. Establishing a name to evoke a spirit, Son of Rose was created to “explore and experiment with electronic music theories and techniques.” Under Son of Rose, Sadeghi deftly fuses patterns of sine wave frequencies and polymorphic rhythms with a measure of warmth and timbre. “I’m often using sound as a physical material, much like a sculptor would with their preferred materials,” elaborates Sadeghi.

Delving further into the relationship between rhythm and space, Sadeghi launched the evocative album entitled, “Through Thickness,” recorded under his given name. Released by Dragon Eye, electronic artist Yann Novak’s label, “Through Thickness” forms part of Sadeghi’s “Kha series.” Referencing the Sanskrit word for “zero,” the numeric marker in tabular arrangements, the Kha series escalates into an exotic interplay of beats and movement. Sadeghi states, “It was a way to create a platform for me to focus specifically on rhythmic structures, both for sound and image. I like to create a series of work. They become more like a study that I develop over long periods of time.”

By exploring ambient dimensions, Sadeghi has also studied how space forms sound. In 2008, Sadeghi was commissioned to create and record a musical piece inside a nuclear cooling tower. Using the tower as an instrument,Sadeghi amplified an original composition and re-recorded it with the attached echo effect; repeating the procedure to affect a lulling, drone state. Sadeghi reflects. “It was a serial experience. That night I had my first acoustic dream’ where I could almost feel the sound of that place in my sleep.” Sadeghi also explored tonal resonance through his collaboration with the dance company, Zoe | Juniper, using twelve individual speakers to spatially project his live score.

Harkening back to his visual artist roots, Sadeghi has also interwoven color and shapes into his compositions, creating installations that have been internationally displayed at galleries including the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle and the Staalplaat in Berlin. In 2010, Sadeghi showcased his animated graphical score, “Pattern Recognition” at the 4Culture Gallery, an emergent, electronic art space. “The piece is like an animated Rubik’s Cube that is being moved by the music. I wanted to explore how the eye follows the ear, or vice versa,” describes Sadeghi. Intuitively exploring sound and images, Sadeghi describes his approach: “I’m hyper aware of acoustic space. I am always listening to the difference between what it sounds like ‘over here’ compared to ‘over there.’ I like to explore the threshold of sound and music in space.”

Continuing to develop musical narratives, Sadeghi is currently working in collaboration with Soundwalk Collective on a three-part album series entitled “Medea,” which chronicles the collective’s nautical journey along the coast of the Black Sea in the mythical spirit of Medea and is due for release in 2012.

This story is part of an editorial series sponsored and inspired by Le Meridien.
New Perspectives explores fresh ideas and distinct points of view in global art and culture.