mcmick

Cleveland will host the 14th World Congress on Art Deco May 14-21, 2017. About 130 delegates from around the world--including Ireland, Hungary, Argentina, France, Australia, and New Zealand--will be in Cleveland to see it's Art Deco treasures. This World Congress occurs every 2 years, and is sponsored by the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies, will help from the (local) 20th Century Society USA. Most days there will be morning lectures at Cleveland State University and tours in the afternoon. Some participants are attending pre-Congress events in Cincinnati and Detroit, and post-Congress events in Pittsburgh: www.artdecoworldcongress.org. We need volunteers to help with tours! You don't need to know anything about Art Deco--we'll train you and provide a "script." Far more important are volunteers that are passionate about Cleveland...and if you know some Cleveland history, that's good too. (Maybe you wrote a book on Downtown architecture, maybe you're knowledgeable about the history of train travel...we would love to have you..hint, hint.) Tours usually include lunch. It's a fun group that gets together every two years--LOTS of Australians--who are a blast! Our first "tour guide training session" will be this Saturday, April 22, from 10:30 am-12:30 pm. Most volunteers will only need one session. If you would like to join us this Saturday, let us know and we'll provide the Downtown Cleveland location: [email protected]. There will be "classes" every weekend until the Congress, usually Friday and Saturday, so if you would like to participate in a future "class" let us know and we'll provide the schedule: [email protected] There will some changes to the tentative itinerary: www.20thcs.org. But the basic outline is correct. We have a need for guides fluent in French and Spanish! We also are looking for Clevelanders with a passion for vintage clothing--some of the delegates have amazing vintage outfits, and would be interested in some local vintage shopping. Hope you can join us! Your friends at the 20th Century Society USA

Peter Sheridan is an Australian guy with one of the world's finest collections of Art Deco radios. He is in the US promoting his second book on the subject, and The 20th Century Society USA asked him to stop in Cleveland between his Chicago and LA bookings. His talk will focus on the industrial designers of the era, and will include many gorgeous photographs of these colorful radios. He is an enthusiastic and engaging speaker, and this will be a very interesting presentation. Following the talk, Peter will autograph copies of his latest book: DecoRadio: the most beautiful radios ever made. We will also have a drawing so one audience participant receives a free copy of the book! Date: Thursday, September 25, 2014 Time: 4:00 pm Place: Fenn Tower, Cleveland State University, 1983 East 24th Street. Price: $5 for 20th Century Society USA members, $8 for non-members. FREE for CSU students and faculty with CSU ID. Space is limited, so reserve your place--even free tickets--at: www.20thcs.org

Just a reminder that Joan Kahr's presentation on Art Deco Ironwork will be on Friday, Sept. 21 at 7:00 pm in the Recital Hall at the Cleveland Museum of Art. FREE!

The Rose Iron Works tour has SOLD OUT. Please provide your e-mail address for our newsletter at [email protected] if you would like to be notified of future events. I'll also try to post future events here. [You do not need to be a 20th Century Society member to receive our newsletter.] Upcoming event: private tour of the Terminal Tower Complex: including the English Oak Room, Silver Grille, and the Greenbrier Suite (a place most Clevelanders have never seen...)

Saturday, September 22, from 1:00-5:00 pm: The 20th Century Society USA is organizing a minibus tour to see some of the creations of Rose Iron Works in the Cleveland area. We will begin at the Cleveland Museum of Art; try to include works at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, St. James Church in Lakewood, and The Hangar, a private club in Beachwood. The tour will conclude at the Rose Iron Works shop on East 43rd St. The cost of the tour will be $15 for 20th Century Society members and $25 for nonmembers. Space is limited, and on a first-come, first served basis. Interested participants must register and pay in advance: please contact the 20th Century Society directly at [email protected] or 828-778-6425.

On Friday, September 21, 2012, 7:00 pm: The 20th Century Society USA is hosting a presentation by Joan Kahr at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Mrs. Kahr wrote a highly acclaimed book about Edgar Brandt, the French master of Art Deco ironwork. Mrs. Kahr will also discuss Cleveland's Rose Iron Works, and the role of Paul Feher, the very talented Hungarian designer who came to Cleveland in the late 1920s to work with Martin Rose--a collaboration that produced the finest Art Deco metalwork in America. The museum is open until 9 pm on Fridays; the lecture and admission to the regular collection are FREE. Mrs. Kahr will be available to sign copies of her book, and we will give away one copy of the book to those in attendance.

Although frequently called the "Guardians of Traffic," isn't the correct name "Guardians of Transportation?" Each Guardian holds a different mode of transportation: covered wagon, several kinds of trucks, automobile, etc. Also glad to see the Guardians lit at night, well in advance of the World Congress on Art Deco in 2017...held in Cleveland, of course. Decophiles from around the world will go nuts for the Guardians--and the logo for the 2017 Congress will probably feature a Guardian as well.

I guess I'm usually looking at the wonderful Art Deco chandelier in Brooks Brothers, that I haven't paid attention to the carpet. The space used to be a branch of the Union Commerce Bank.

Just a reminder that the Cowan Pottery Symposium is this weekend at the Rocky River Public Library: Saturday, May 5, 2012. This program should appeal to those interested in art, art history, art pottery, and Cleveland history. www.cowanpottery.org.

It's my understanding that the pieces sold at prestigious department stores around the country that--like Halle Bros.--catered to the "carriage trade:" Saks in NYC, Gump's in San Francisco, Bullock's in LA. Because of the Great Depression, Cowan Pottery closed in 1931. Guy Cowan was then employed as the chief designer for Syracuse China. Good trivia: when working for Syracuse China, Guy Cowan designed the China service for The Higbee Company's Silver Grille!

The annual Cowan Pottery Symposium will be on Saturday, May 5, 2012. This year is special because it will inaugurate the 100th Anniversary of the founding of Cowan Pottery. The highlight of the program will be a presentation by Mark Bassett, an expert on American Art Pottery and the "Cleveland School" in particular. He wrote a very well researched and critically acclaimed book about the subject. Cowan Pottery was made in the Cleveland area from 1912 until 1931. Many respected artists worked for Cowan over the years, and the works were known for their quality craftsmanship, unusual glazes, and progressive designs--many in an Art Deco style. The pottery was sold in prestigious department and specially stores around the country. The program should appeal to those interested in art, art pottery, Art Deco, and Cleveland history. The heritage of Cowan Pottery was one of the factors that influenced the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies to select Cleveland as the host of the World Congress on Art Deco in 2017. More information at: www.cowanpottery.org. www.MarkBassett.com.

Mr. Schweinfurth was also responsible for the design of the very elegant, winding marble staircase in the Cuyahoga County Courthouse. Next time you're in the vicinity, take a look. It's not a straight helix, but much more sophisticated, with compound angles and subtle variations in the shape of the stones as one ascends. Absolutely brilliant! Designed without the aid of a computer, I might add...

^What nailed it for Cleveland? 1. The proposed theme of "artists, designers, and craftsmen." Previous Congresses tend to focus on architecture, so this is a novel concept. 2. Our plan to involve students. We're going to need lots of help from educators and administrators here (hint...anyone out there?) 3. Excellent local cultural institutions like the CMA and WRHS that can complement our plans. 4. The fact that a World Congress on Art Deco hasn't been in the US since 2005 (New York.) The 10 page, full color proposal is a 12.3 MB pdf file, and is to big to attach here. And I can't figure out how to separate the individual pages on my MacBook, although some of the individual pages may still exceed 200KB. Of course, the 2017 Congress will include Fenn Tower, Landmark Office Towers, and the (hopefully restored) Coast Guard station. Our 2006 tour was only 4 days, and so we couldn't cover everything. [Actually the Landmark Office Towers were included in 2006, just not listed in the summary on our web site.] And yes, the volunteer charged with organizing the photos and text for our 2010 San Francisco trip is way behind. And since we're planning our Miami tour in January, probably won't get to it until next spring. Sorry!

Cleveland selected to host the 2017 World Congress on Art Deco. At the 2011 World Congress on Art Deco in Rio de Janerio, delegates from the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS) selected Cleveland to host the 2017 World Congress. The 20th Century Society USA (www.20thcs.org) nominated Cleveland and made the presentation. We tried for the 2015 Congress, but were edged out by Shanghai, China. But the ICADS delegates were so impressed with the Cleveland proposal that they selected Cleveland for 2017...never in the history of ICADS have they selected a Congress city six years in advance. World Congresses attract Art Deco enthusiasts from around the world. We now have six years to assemble a strong group of volunteers to show Cleveland to the world!

Cleveland selected to host the 2017 World Congress on Art Deco. At the 2011 World Congress on Art Deco in Rio de Janerio, delegates from the International Coalition of Art Deco Societies (ICADS) selected Cleveland to host the 2017 World Congress. The 20th Century Society USA (www.20thcs.org) nominated Cleveland and made the presentation. World Congresses attract Art Deco enthusiasts from around the world; we hope to have a strong group of volunteers in place by 2017 to show the world all Cleveland has to offer...including Art Deco! The theme of the Congress will be "Artists, Designers, and Craftsmen," to focus on Cleveland's strong tradition of Art Deco art and craftsmanship, and in particular industrial design.