October 1, 2011
The essence of our Eames House exhibit, Indoor Ecologies, was the interplay of the very contemporary restoration work being done to preserve the house, and a suite of pop-up vignettes – two-week long recreations of several early photographs of the living room: from that first Christmas in the house to a Japanese tea ceremony with Isamu Noguchi and Charlie Chaplin. (See other Events during this period for more details.)
The title thus refers to both the preservation challenge of maintaining the ecology of the house for the next quarter of a millennium and the gentle sculpting of the space into the visual ecosystem that sustained Charles and Ray. As such, the notable moments celebrated in our vignettes remind us that although the Eames House is presented as of 1988, it was first and foremost, a space for living: ever-growing, ever-changing.
How could we undertake much needed repairs AND reimagine the living room and alcove? Thanks to being able to lend the contents of both rooms to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for their exhibition: the blockbuster California Design: 1930-1965, “Living in a Modern Way”, also part of the Getty initiative Pacific Standard Time.
Watch the L.A. Times’ time lapse of the contents’ move and setup at LACMA!
The Eames Foundation was proud to be a participating museum in Pacific Standard Time: Art in L.A. 1945-1980. An unprecedented collaboration of more than sixty cultural institutions across Southern California, Pacific Standard Time told the story of the birth of the LA art scene. Initiated through grants from the Getty Foundation, Pacific Standard Time took place for six months beginning October 1, 2011.
