ed. note: We recently heard from Friend of Arts Meme (FOAM), Chris Nichols, fresh off his annual Halloween ‘Spooky Tour,’ now rarin’ to go with a massive, global-scaled, and far-reaching event, GOOGIE WORLD EXPO, on a Sunday afternoon. It all happens in GOOGIE world headquarters (for a day) in Van Nuys, CA.
The Googie World Expo is a celebration of exuberant and futuristic mid-century modern architecture and design. A honking day-long rave, the multifaceted event Sunday November 13 will include speakers, vendors, book signings, and an exhibition of 3-D photography exploring the many facets of modern architecture and design. The expo will be held at the Valley Relics Museum in Van Nuys.
Speakers include Alan Hess, whose landmark books include Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture and Googie Redux, and Michael Murphy, who co-authored Googie Modern: Architectural Drawings of Armet Davis Newlove. Murphy and Hess will showcase the artwork created by the firm, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary. | Helen Fong was a key member of the Armet & Davis team, designing some of the firm’s best known restaurants. John English will introduce us to this pioneering designer, one of the first Chinese-American women in architecture. | Buckle up for a ride through midcentury automobile design and culture with Jeff Stork and Tom Dolle, authors of Glamour Road. | Academy Award-winning filmmaker and Disney legend Don Hahn will present Yesterday’s Tomorrow: Disney’s Magical Mid-Century, his look at how Walt Disney and his artists influenced mid-century style and design with their modernist approach to films, books, architecture, and urban planning. | Finally, historian Jennifer Mermilliod will take us on a visual tour of Covina Bowl (1956, Powers, Daly, DeRosa) one of the most lavish bowling centers ever created. Her firm supervised the building’s recent restoration as part of a new housing development.
It really is fabulous, we attended prior Googie World Expo(s) and enjoyed loads of fresh information as well as some excellent people watching. Look for us there! Only $15.
Googie World Expo | Valley Relics Museum | Sunday Nov 13