All posts by romicortier@yahoo.com

Architecture, Fun

Stampd Puma Hosts Launch Party on Roosevelt Rooftop

April 22, 2016 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Grauman's Chinese Theater, Photo Romi Cortier — Grauman’s Chinese Theater, Photo Romi Cortier

Roosevelt Hotel Sign, Hollywood, Ca. Photo Romi Cortier

Roosevelt Hotel rooftop view of Hollywood Boulevard, Photo Romi Cortier

Roosevelt Hotel Sign, Hollwyood, Ca. Photo Romi Cortier

Roosevelt Hotel Sign seen from Roosevelt Hotel Rooftop, Hollywood, Photo Romi Cortier

PUMA STAMPD Launch Party, April 2, 2016: Ferdinand Prinz von Anhalt, Dustin Walker, Skyler Campbell, Recio Carrington Young, Guest, Romi Cortier (left to right) — STAMPD PUMA Launch Party, April 2, 2016: Prinz Maximilian Ferdinand von Anhalt, Dustin Walker, Skyler Campbell, Recio Carrington Young, Jay Denton, Romi Cortier (left to right)

I recently attended the STAMPD PUMA launch party on the roof of Hollywood’s iconic Roosevelt Hotel. We arrived a bit late to the event and were denied access in the Lobby, as the party was at full capacity. We texted our host on the roof to pull some strings… her suggestion: take the stairs. Climb thirteen floors, in leather pants and boots? Well, ok. We ducked into one of those doors labelled ‘EXIT only’, with cameras everywhere. Up and and up we went. Would security stop us half way up, or worse yet, at the very top? Of course the door to the roof was locked, but 2 texts later our host gave us entry, and there was no security to kick us out. We’d made it!

The view from the roof was so spectacular. Looking down on Hollywood boulevard from such an amazing vantage point and seeing the world famous Mann’s Chinese Theater made me giddy. Of course, it makes sense, this is where so many of those vintage photos of Hollywood had been taken. Having a cocktail under the splashy neon sign was also super cool. And to be honest, probably my favorite thing about the party…. that, and meeting Ferdinand. No, I’d never seen Bravo’s Millionaire Matchmaker, so I wasn’t familiar with his quest to find a bride. He just seemed like a cool guy from Europe with an interesting story. Eventually the name of his dad and step mom came up: Frederic Prinz von Anhalt and Zsa Zsa Gabor. He’s also a lawyer and realtor, who’s also in the process of shooting a reality show. This is what makes Hollywood, well, Hollywood.

There were also plenty of gorgeous young people at the party, of which none looked familiar. And where was the product placement? Shouldn’t there be some kick-ass shoes on display somewhere? I’m guessing the party was way to cool for that, or I’d just arrived a bit to late. Whatever the case, those folks we’d seen lined up downstairs in the lobby an hour ago were finally being allowed upstairs, a sign that it was time to wrap things up and head out. Bougie, me? Maybe just a little.

Architecture

Frank Gehry Architectural Models @ LACMA

March 25, 2016 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Frank Gehry at Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Photo Romi Cortier — Frank Gehry Model, LACMA,, Photo Romi Cortier

rank Gehry Model, Prospect Place at Battersea Power Station, 2013 - present, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier — Frank Gehry Model, Prospect Place at Battersea Power Station, 2013 , LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, 2009, Photo Romi Cortier — Frank Gehry Model, Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial, 2009, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, 8150 Sunset, West Hollywood, 2015, Photo Romi Cortier — Frank Gehry Model, 8150 Sunset, West Hollywood, 2015, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, 2006, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, Beach House, 2014, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, Experience Music Project, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier — Frank Gehry Model, Experience Music Project, Seattle, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry Model, LACMA, Photo Romi Cortier

Frank Gehry just wrapped up a remarkable exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. I managed to squeeze in the day before it closed and was wowed beyond belief. I found myself feeling completely giddy, like a grown kid in a candy store. I absolutely wanted to touch everything and feel all of those amazing textures under my fingers, but I refrained.

Having built architectural models during my interior design studies at UCLA, I have a tremendous respect for what it takes to create these massive pieces by hand. It’s an art form, in and of itself. Looking at Gehry’s six decades of models, you can see both the evolution of his work, as well as the evolution in the types of materials used. I love how crumpled up green and red construction paper was used to represent trees. Foam core, balsa wood and sheets of plastic were also used in increasingly sophisticated ways as the exhibit evolved. And Seattle’s Experience Music Project was a stunning replica of the original, with exterior high gloss paint used as a nod to the guitars of famous musicians.

While walking through such a large scale exhibit, it proves the point that only so much computer rendering can be done to see how a proposed building will fit into its surroundings. With an actual built model, you can walk around it and see it from multiple points of view. As light shifts, nuances in the structure will reveal itself. This will allow the architect and his team to make observations, and then make adjustments prior to the start of construction. This is very relevant when millions of dollars are at stake. I’m guessing that many of these models were made after some of the buildings were built. That said, there were several architectural models created for structures that were never built. This would at least give their design team a sense of satisfaction to see their concept realized in some form. It also works as a fantastic selling point when making presentations to communities that might be unsure of the need for a ‘Gehry’ building in their neighborhood.

Below is one of the models I made for my Drawing and Drafting class at UCLA. I was so excited about what I’d created on paper, that I simply had to build a scale model to present to our final class. I don’t think it was in any way required, I was just so enthusiastic that I built it. You should have seen the look on the other students faces when I walked into class that day. Yep, I got an A+ for my extra effort. Not an easy feat for a UCLA design class. #Winning

Scale Model built by Romi Cortier for Interior Design Studies at UCLA. Photo Romi Cortier

Architecture

Mondrian Inspired in Playa Vista

March 15, 2016 romicortier@yahoo.com 1 Comment

Mondrian in Marina del Rey, Photo Romi Cortier — Mondrian in Playa Vista, Ca. Photo Romi Cortier

Mondrian in Marina del Ray, Photo Romi Cortier — Mondrian in Playa Vista, Ca. Photo Romi Cortier

These Mondrian inspired townhomes in Playa Vista have been around since 2008. I wrote about them on my previous blog and thought it would be a blast to go back and revisit them. Overall they’ve held up incredibly well. There’s a bit of fading to the primary and secondary colors on the south side of the complex, which has me asking myself, who’s in charge of freshening things up? I hope the developer who created these 16 units gave a list of the proper colors to the HOA to be used for repairs and maintenance. One wrong swoop of color, and the overall gestalt of these homes would be ruined.

The lushness of the landscaping thats grown in over the years looks so pristine. It makes me wonder how Piet Mondrian would feel about his two dimensional paintings being turned into 3-D living environments. Known as De Stijl, (Dutch for The Style) this artistic movement began in Amsterdam in 1917, and is fast approaching it’s 100th birthday. I had the good fortune of going to see the Mondrian / De Stijl exhibit in Paris at the Centre Pompidou in 2011. It was a fantastic survey of the period and included paintings, furniture, and building models. There weren’t any photos allowed in the exhibit, but I did sneak in my digital video camera, shooting gorilla style from under the overcoat I was holding in my arms. The images aren’t the best, but it’s still so fun to look back at the footage occasionally and re-live the exhibit. I have a feeling I’ll need to find a way to turn this artistic movement into a future DIY Youtube video.

Romi Cortier, Center Pompideu, Paris, Photo T. Zeleny — Romi Cortier, Center Pompidou, Paris, Photo T. Zeleny

Below is an image of a home model, known as the Rietveld Schroder House, that I photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art a couple of years ago. Also known as the Schroder House, it was built in 1924 by Dutch architect Gerrit Rietveld in the town of Utrecht. Mrs. Truus Schroder – Schrader, who commissioned the home, lived in it until her death in 1985. There are several famous pieces of furniture that were designed for this house, including the Red Blue Chair, that I’ll share in my next blog post.

Schroder House Model, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Photo Romi Cortier

If you’re going to Utrecht, Netherlands, you can actually visit the original home run by the Centraal Museum.

Oh, and back to those homes in Playa Vista… they range in size from 2,062 – 2,630 square feet. Originally they were priced at $1 million and up. I remember walking through one of the original models while they were under construction and I thought, wouldn’t it be fantastic to design the interiors with period furniture and and other modern pieces by Le Corbusier. Sadly, who ever designed the interiors didn’t get the memo, instead choosing zebra carpet and mid-century furnishings as can be seen by an old article on Curbed LA. Click HERE if you’d like to see the design disaster… view at your own risk, as your retinas may never be the same again.

Art

Colorgasm at Chihuly Garden and Glass

March 7, 2016 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

Mille Fiori, Chihuly Garden and Glass, Seattle, Photo Romi Cortier

There’s so much to Love at Chihuly Garden and Glass in Seattle, including this massive installation titled Mille Fiori. I was so taken back by this remarkable work of art, that I’ve chosen to do an entire blog post dedicated to this one room of blown glass.

Mille Fiori, Italian for a thousand flowers, is only one of eight interior galleries, as well as multiple exterior gardens that include blown glass objects on this 1.5 acre plot in the heart of Seattle. The pieces above look quite stunning in the absence of daylight, beautifully lit to expose the saturated quality of the glass, as well as their sinewy and amorphous shapes. Being in this room makes me feel like I’m standing on the ocean floor a thousand feet below the waters surface, watching molten lava emerge from the earth as it forms colorful new worlds.

Situated at the foot of the Seattle Space Needle, this extraordinary museum offers both visitors and locals a glimpse into the mind of probably thee most famous artist to ever come out of Tacoma Washington. As you may know, Chihuly has created notable installations around the globe such as: Chihuly over Venice, Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem, Chihuly at the V&A, and Dale Chihuly objets de vere, at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs, Palais du Louvre. This particular museum opened in 2012 and received LEED Silver certification due to the ‘repurposing’ of the existing building for the Exhibition Hall. I’d been hearing about this space for several years and am delighted that I can now cross it off my ‘to do’ list. That said, I have no doubt that I’ll be returning again and again with family members and friends to share the joy of this important space dedicated to one of Seattle’s own.

Chihuly Garden and Glass Museum info here

Art

Lawren Harris at the Hammer Museum

February 29, 2016 romicortier@yahoo.com Leave a comment

North Shore, Lake Superior, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

Lake Superior, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

Mt. Lefroy, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

Pic Island, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

Icebergs, Davis Strait, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

Mountain Forms, Oil on Canvas, Lawren Harris, Hammer Museum, Photo Romi Cortier

I almost missed the Lawren Harris exhibit, which just closed at the Hammer Museum. Fortunately my client and favorite gal pal Sharon Lawrence reminded me about the show. What a gift. I wish I would have had my photo taken in front of one of them to give you a sense of their scale. The larger pieces, like Mountain Forms above, are about 60 x 60 and remarkably stunning, especially when viewed from a distance.

There’s no doubt that Lawren’s use of color is both superb and stunning. However, it’s his remarkable stylized line work that screams Art Deco and truly draws me in. The dates on these pieces range from 1922 – 30, the height of the deco era. That said, the establishment refers to him as a pioneering modernist and a leading figure in defining Canadian art in the twentieth century. While Harris is a household name in his native Canada, he’s practically unknown in the United States.

My research shows that actor, art connoisseur and collector Steve Martin was instrumental in bring this show to the Hammer, as well as guest curating it. Ann Philbin, the Hammer’s director, had visited Martin’s home and was intrigued by his collection of Lawren Harris landscape paintings. Ms. Philbin delved further into the works of Lawren Harris and then invited Martin to curate the exhibit. Martin wisely chose not to include any works from his personal collection to avoid any conflicts interest. As you may know, every time a painting his hung in a museum exhibit, it adds to the provenance of the piece. That provenance will follow the painting to market any time it’s taken to auction, or sold to a new collector. Thus it would be in bad form to curate a show, add works from your collection, and then sell it at a later date touting its provenance that you helped create. Martin’s love of the work was his motivation for helping bring it to the Hammer, helping to open the doors to a new American audience. I for one am thrilled to have been exposed to this remarkable painting.

The Idea of North: The Paintings of Lawren Harris will be on view at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) July 2 – September 11, 2016.

Learn more about the upcoming exhibit here.

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