Mies van der Rohe McCormick House Film Premiere

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Musings

Please consider yourself personally invited.

Join the Elmhurst Art Museum for a Movie Premiere and Martini’s.
On November 4, 2011, the Elmhurst Art Museum is hosting Soiree and the Silver Screen, a premiere screening event, to share a new documentary film titled Mies van der Rohe’s McCormick House, directed by Karen Carter Lynch. There will be a silent auction of mid-century modern collectibles, lively music and plenty of food and drink. All proceeds of the event directly benefit the restoration of the Mies van der Rohe McCormick House.

Take a look at the film trailer to get a sneak peek.

 

 

The Elmhurst Art Museum is fortunate to have the McCormick House as part of its permanent collection. Built in 1952, the McCormick house is one of only three residences in the United States by Mies van der Rohe. In 1994 the home was relocated from its original location in Elmhurst, and incorporated into the new art museum by DeStefano + Partners, adjacent to the Elmhurst Public Library by Dirk Lohan, Mies’ grandson. The McCormick house is right at home among this architecturally important campus of buildings. The McCormick house was designed for Robert McCormick, the developer of the stunning 850 -880 Lakeshore high-rises in Chicago, and borrows many of the same details. For more information about the McCormick house visit here.

I hope to see you at the event. If you are unable to attend, there is opportunity to donate to the care of the McCormick house online.

 



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Read more | Comments (3) | October 20, 2011

Chicago Screening of Herbert Matter Documentary

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Inspiration, Musings

Back in January, I shared a post about the making of the Herbert Matter documentary film. Slated to be screened only in Los Angeles, Switzerland, and Virginia in 2011, it was proving difficult for many of us to see. I have just learned that the Elmhurst Art Museum is hosting a presentation of the documentary film The Visual Language of Herbert Matter, on Friday September 23rd, 2011. Take a look at this gorgeous video clip of the entry sequence from the film. You can learn more about the film by visiting the official website . For those of you in the Chicago area, it will no doubt prove to be a wonderful event. Hope to see you there.

“I am very excited about the new documentary film, The Visual Language of Herbert Matter. It provides a revealing look at the fascinating life of the highly influential mid-century modern design master. He was a true multi-disciplanary designer, blurring the lines between graphic design, film, and photography. Swiss born Herbert Matter is largely credited with expanding the use of photography as a design tool and bringing the semantics of fine art into the realm of applied arts.”

Excerpts courtesy of http://www.herbertmatter.net
Images courtesy of http://www.artofthetitle.com

 

 

 

 

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Read more | Comments (0) | August 16, 2011

Mies van der Rohe McCormick House

Posted by Cynthia | Filed under Inspiration, Musings

This is the best kept secret around.  Really.

 

Have you heard of the McCormick House?

 
 
The McCormick house at the Elmhurst Art Museum is a mid-century modern masterpiece. It is one of only three residences in the United States by Architect Mies van der Rohe. The Farnsworth House in Plano Illinois, and the Morris Greenwald House in Weston Connecticut, are fairly well known, but the McCormick House? 
 
A stroll through the home offers a rare opportunity to personally experience Meis' design philosophy of “Less Is More”. Visually confronted with post war American culture and transformative changes in design of the 1950’s, these elements are reflected in the clarity and simplicity of the architecture, and the technical innovation of material use in both the structure and furniture of the period.
 
 
During 1951-1952, Mies' designed the steel, glass and brick McCormick House located in Elmhurst, Illinois (15 miles west of the Chicago Loop)  for real-estate developer Robert Hall McCormick, Jr. A one story adaptation of the exterior curtain wall of his famous 860-880 Lake Shore Drive towers, it served as a prototype for an unbuilt series of speculative houses to be constructed in Melrose Park, Illinois. 
(more…)

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Read more | Comments (0) | November 5, 2010