PVAC90: ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPE
is the physical space we call home; the beauty of nature coexisting with world-renowned architecture. PVAC’s history as a house for creativity is illustrative, from its humble beginnings at the public library to its current incarnation atop the Peninsula’s hill.
We launch this section of PVAC90 by revisiting four recent exhibitions in the PVAC Architecture & Design Series: Palos Verdes Modern, LADD & KELSEY: Noble Places, Aaron G. Green and California Organic Architecture, and John Elgin Woolf: Master of Hollywood Regency. Scroll down to see all ARCHITECTURE & LANDSCAPE posts.
Jasper Wong: POW! WOW!
Since 2015, Jasper Wong’s nonprofit collective powerhouse, POW! WOW!, has coordinated over 100 murals beautifying Long Beach. Not only are such visions aesthetically appealing, implementing talents of local artists alongside international names, but the mission of this ongoing project is also to empower youth in underfunded neighborhoods.
“The name POW! WOW! was inspired from the color-filled pages of comic books. POW! being the impact that art has on a person; a punch in the face, something that surprised you, WOW! being the reaction that art has on a viewer. Together they form POW! WOW! – a term that describes a gathering which celebrates culture, music, and art. This event represents the core mission of POW! WOW! to beautify, educate and bring people together through the power of art.”
Created in 2010 and headquartered in Honolulu, Hawaii, this ongoing international experience has brought a sense of dignity to inhabitants from cities across the US, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, China and Israel, including our very own South Bay locale.
See videos of POW! WOW! Long Beach 2019 HERE and HERE.
View map of Long Beach mural locations HERE.
View POW! WOW! Worldwide map HERE.
We encourage you to drive to various locations in Long Beach to view the city’s beautification in person as brought to our community by Jasper Wong’s ongoing vision for cultural inclusion. His murals provide us an excellent way to remain inspired and informed while most of our state remains in shut down.
On May 20th, Hawaiian-based artist, Jasper Wong discussed his nonprofit, POW! WOW! with Julia Huang. POW! WOW! is a community-based beautifying project which has incorporated murals into architecture across Long Beach and around the globe. Julia Huang is known to our area as CEO of the multiple award-winning intertrend, a design and advertising agency based in Long Beach promoting art and cultural shifts in marketing. Wong and Huang have partnered to present POW! WOW! Long Beach which is going on its sixth year this September. The two engaged in a discussion about their own experiences empowering our neighborhood through art and diversity. See the video of the Zoom discussion HERE.
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Birkett House, designed by Pierre Koenig. Photo: Lance Gerber
PV Modern & Beyond:
PVAC has become recognized for original research displayed in our exhibitions in the areas of architecture and design, as initiated by former Executive Director, Joe Baker.
As a way to educate about the architectural gems located throughout Palos Verdes Peninsula, Palos Verdes Modern was a landmark survey of projects by noted mid-century architects Pierre Koenig, Richard Neutra, Paul Revere Williams, and A. Quincy Jones.
“Founded in 1931 as the cultural arm of the newly formed Palos Verdes Estates, the Palos Verdes Community Arts Association (now Palos Verdes Art Center) was woven into the fabric of the midcentury modern community with the opening of the Lowell Lusk designed building in 1974. Palos Verdes Modern celebrates this important period in our collective history.” –Gail Phinney and Joe Baker, Curators, Palos Verdes Modern
To view Palos Verdes Modern, go to palosverdesmodern.com
Lillian B. Ladd House, photo © Ezra Stoller / Esto
For 17 years PVAC has raffled off homes in Southern California as designed by such influential talents as Ladd & Kelsey, Aaron G. Green, and John Elgin Woolf. These additional exhibitions have been incorporated into our educational programming and will be ongoing.
“Operational from 1959 to 1982, Ladd & Kelsey, Architects’ lack of inclusion in today’s architectural discourse and popular media is in striking contrast to their accomplished body of work that has left a lasting impact on California Modernism and the USC Style.” –Kevin Lane, Curator, Ladd & Kelsey: Noble Places
To view LADD & KELSEY: Noble Places, go to laddandkelsey.org
Anderson House, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA. Designed 1958. Photo: Maynard L. Parker. Courtesy of the Huntington Library, San Marino, CA.
“Architect Aaron G. Green (1917-2001) FAIA, was one of Organic Architecture’s most talented proponents. Inspired by the complex patterns, rugged textures and varied forms of nature, Organic Modernism offered an alternative to the sharp-edged glass box Modernism known as the International Style.” –Alan Hess, Curator, Aaron G. Green and California Organic Architecture
To view Aaron G. Green and California Organic Architecture, go to aaronggreen.net
Condominium Type A, drawing by The Office of John Woolf. Courtesy of Marrakesh Country Club, Palm Desert, CA.
“Heralded as ‘architect to the stars,’ Woolf gave film royalty a new luxury style. According to The New York Times, Woolf ‘established a new vocabulary for glamorous movie-star living … synthesized 19th-century French, Greek Revival, and Modernist touches into a heady mixture that has since been christened Hollywood Regency, which foreshadowed aspects of postmodernism.’ He designed houses for many luminaries, including Judy Garland, Cary Grant, Bob Hope, David O. Selznick, Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy.” –exhibition presented in partnership with Art, Design and Architecture Museum, U C Santa Barbara.
To view John Elgin Woolf: Master of Hollywood Regency, go to johnelginwoolf.com
In addition, we are proud to continue with this tradition by creating a Panel Discussion made up of many returning experts in partnership to further understand the importance of architecture in our community.
Updates to this exciting new development will be announced soon.
