LACMA Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985

17 Sep 2017 - 01 Apr 2018

Francisco Artigas and Fernando Luna
Residence in El Pedregal de San Angel, Mexico City, 1966
Photograph by Fernando Luna. © Fernando Luna, Mexico City.
FOUND IN TRANSLATION: DESIGN IN CALIFORNIA AND MEXICO, 1915–1985
17 September 2017 – 1 April 2018

Found in Translation: Design in California and Mexico, 1915–1985 is a groundbreaking exhibition and accompanying book about design dialogues between California and Mexico. Its four main themes—Spanish Colonial Inspiration, Pre-Hispanic Revivals, Folk Art and Craft Traditions, and Modernism—explore how modern and anti-modern design movements defined both locales throughout the twentieth century. Half of the show’s more than 250 objects represent architecture, conveyed through drawings, photographs, and films to illuminate the unique sense of place that characterized California’s and Mexico’s buildings. The other major focus is design: furniture, ceramics, metalwork, graphic design, and murals. Placing prominent figures such as Richard Neutra, Luis Barragán, Charles and Ray Eames, and Clara Porset in a new context while also highlighting contributions of less familiar practitioners, this exhibition is the first to examine how interconnections between California and Mexico shaped the material culture of each place, influencing and enhancing how they presented themselves to the wider world.
 

Tags: Ray Eames