The Fine Art of Marc Davis

Queequeg Pursuing Moby Dick, 1956

There have been some exceptional art shows in Los Angeles this year, and another just opened this week:   "The Fine Art of Marc Davis" at Glendale's Forest Lawn Museum.

Horses Seeing Red, 1950

From the creative mind that conjured  Tinker Bell and Maleficent, come these fabulous images in oil, charcoal, acrylics and watercolor.

 

1956 Romance

According to his widow Alice, Marc would come home from the Disney studio in the evening, relax in front of the television, and work on his projects.  While watching football, boxing or a rodeo, Marc would sketch nature, harlequins, bullfighters, mythological creatures and abstracts.

Marc's Tree, 1958

The exhibit also contains a few of his beautiful sculptural pieces, including a Roman helmet made of wire, which I am particularly obsessed with.  It was just another side of this remarkable talent.

The exhibit runs through July 26, and it's FREE ...and so is parking. 

Muse of the Weird and Wonderful

Sun illustration by Rolly Crump, 1966

Artist Rolly Crump was honored this week at Disneyland with a special window on Main Street (it's about time!) and I couldn't be happier for him.

Rolly is a swell guy, and one of my favorite artists in the whole world, not only for his Disney work -  which is groundbreaking - but his independent art as well.   Actually, I'm inspired by everything I've seen him do.

 

Rolly with his Tower of the Four Winds model

for the 1964 New York World's Fair

In Disney circles he is known for his designs on the Enchanted Tiki Room, It's a Small World,  the Haunted Mansion, the Adventureland Bazaar, and to a lesser degree for his legendary unbuilt "Museum of the Weird" - macabre and witty concepts that were decades ahead of their time...and Tim Burton.

Lighting Fixture for The Museum of the Weird, 1966

I love his drawing style of the 1960s: bold, ragged ink line, textured and angular, with colors kept to a minimum. Much of it borders on the psychedelic.  Even more, his art has a sly sense of humor that I'm simply crazy about.

Pride Creations "Push Down" Toys, 

concepted by Rolly, 1960s.

According to Rolly, even while at Disney he always had cool projects going on the side. 

In 1960, a chance meeting with West Coast rock poster pioneer, Howard Morseburg, led to a new venture in printmaking.  Rolly's satirical designs poked fun at Beatnik culture, the coffee houses and jazz clubs of Greenwich Village, Seattle, San Francisco, and the East Bay.  

Poster for Pete's Poop Deck Jazz Club

Seattle, Washington, 1960

His easy-to-read graphics satirized big issues of the era, from drug use to the human rights record of revolutionary Cuba and the Soviet Union.  Though they apparently weren't made in extremely large quantities, the hand-pulled prints were popular with artistic young musicians and hipsters, and were influential on poster design that later dominated the Sixties.

"Green Gasser Kauphy House" Poster

1960

In 1959 Rolly became a show designer at WED (now Walt Disney Imagineering) after Walt saw some of the propellers and mobiles he had created.  

Rolly's Rongo Tiki God concept, 1962

I met Rolly for the first time when Jody and I were co-curating "Tiki: Native Drums in the Orange Grove" at the Anaheim Museum in 1996.  Rolly gave a 2-hour presentation describing the inspiration for his Tiki designs and his other work.  An unforgettable evening.

Jody Daily, Rolly Crump, & Kevin Kidney

 Anaheim Museum Tiki Show, September 14, 1996

In our own projects for Disney, Jody and I have welcomed the opportunity to more fully geek out over Rolly's designs by translating several into merchandise, including his 1967 Tomorrowland Ticket Booth,  Small World Clock facade, and, of course, his Tiki characters.

Rongo Tiki Drink Bowl at Disneyland, 2009

Cheers for Rolly, on his very-deserved tribute down at Disneyland this week. We can't thank him enough for sharing his creativity and utter coolness with all of us.

Dedicated To The Happiness of Your Family

1958 newspaper ad

Birthday Wishes

Small World Figure #1250 - Spanish Dancer

Our friend Alice Davis celebrated her birthday this week, and we'd like to dedicate this post to wishing her much happiness and good health!  Happy Birthday, Dear Alice!

Small World costume designer Alice Davis and Mary Blair in 1964.

Toad in the Hole

We've just received word that Mr. J. Thaddeus Toad, the fabulous motorcar-stealing amphibian from Kenneth Graham's classic Wind in the Willows, is deceased and buried in - of all places -  the Haunted Mansion's pet cemetery at Walt Disney World.  Gosh, we didn't even know he was sick!

Reportedly, the graveyard statue (seen in the gloomy photo above from GhostRelationsDept.com) is Disney's tribute to Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, the much-loved WDW attraction which closed forever in 1998.  

But wait a minute!

That's our Mr. Toad Big Fig,  painted over to look like moldy stone (kinda) and stuck amongst the weeds!  Well, I suppose a tribute's a tribute (even a cheesy one done on a zero budget) and Jody and I are nonetheless strangely flattered by WDW's gesture.

 Our Mr. Toad was released in 2004, and though we pushed the sculpt through seemingly endless revisions to get his likeness on model,  Toad is my personal favorite of all the character figurines we've done...and the only one displayed in our home.

As for Toady's appearance at Walt Disney World's Haunted Mansion, let's hope, as Mark Twain once famously said, "The rumors of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

Tally Ho!

Papua in Paper

This is a paper sculpture I recently made for a friend, representing a carved agiba from Papua New Guinea (inspired by the stunning photograph below.)  It's part of a series of embossed paper art I'm currently working on for myself.

Photo by Paul B. de Rautenfeld, 1925.  

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

I love New Guinea art and have managed to collect a few authentic pieces over the years, but artifacts from this fragile and endangered culture are difficult to find.  Luckily there are some great collections to see in museums across the country, most notably New York, Chicago, Massachusetts...and here in California.

The de Young Museum in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, is currently home to over 400 masterworks of New Guinea art from the collection of Marcia and John Friede.  I was there last week and spent well over an hour exploring the gallery with my jaw hanging open.  

Rabbit Transit

Vintage newspaper ad, 1963

"Official Hukilau Mug" Work in Progress

Each year Jody and I look forward to an adventurous weekend at the "Hukilau" in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and especially to catching up with friends over libations at the Mai Kai. While we won't be able to attend this summer,  I'm beyond thrilled to get to sculpt the official 2009 mug  based on the logo I did for them in 2007.


The ceramic mug will be produced up in Monterey by Munktiki, and will have a stunning glaze treatment. More photos to follow shortly...

If you're interested in attending "the world's most intimate Tiki celebration" visit the Hukilau website for the sensational line up of events in store for 2009.

Hukilau Paper Sculpture Poster

Rain in San Francisco

Now don't get me wrong.  Just because I love old stuff, doesn't mean I resist change.  In fact, I love change!  A fresh coat of paint, turning over a new leaf, clean socks. When real improvements are made anywhere, I shout hooray!

But bad change - the pointless kind, where something good (or at least something with potential) loses out to something that is decidedly not better... well, that's not so good. 

You may have heard the news that the Tonga Room Restaurant at the historic Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco may soon be lost forever as the hotel is converted into - I can hardly bring myself to say it - condominiums!

I could see clouds gathering on the horizon a few years ago when the Tonga's Hurricane Bar introduced the plasma screen assault of basketball; the true sign of desperation for any themed bar.

The Tonga Room dates back to 1945 when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's art director Mel Melvin transformed the Fairmont's indoor swimming pool into a magical nautical bar, complete with a thunder and lightning rainstorm that occurs every 20 minutes.  If you haven't seen it, there's just nothing like it.  Peering down at the rocks, sand and giant clam shells on the dark watery bottom of the lagoon's deep end while a mist of cool chlorinated rain falls from the ceiling above still makes the back of my head tingle.

I urge you to plan a visit to the Fairmont tout suite, request a water-side table, order a drink, and soak up the atmosphere while you may.  I'll be there for happy hour tonight! 

All Aboard for the Future!

Fantasyland, 1957

The VIEWLINER was the earth-bound predecessor of Disneyland's Monorail, existing for only a year and a half, from 1957 to 1958. Billed as "the fastest miniature trains in the world," the salmon-colored Tomorrowland train and the blue Fantasyland train ran a figure-8 through the two lands on narrow gauge tracks.

Bob Gurr's concept sketch, 1956

Imagineer Bob Gurr patterned the sleek aluminum sides and big open windows after General Motors' Train of Tomorrow and the Aerotrain - in classic fifties future style. Powered by gasoline, courtesy of a Chevy Corvette V-8 Engine, the cab was practically built from old automobile parts, complete with a steering wheel, stick shift, and a reverse gear!

GM's Aerotrain, 1955

The single best place for information on the Viewliner and the Aerotrain can be found at the fascinating "Viewliner LTD" blog.

Make an Abstract Mobile

Legendary Disney Imagineer Rolly Crump with a few of his kinetic mobiles and sculptures, c.1963. Incredibly cool.

Want to make your own mobile?  Here's a fantastic "how to published in Popular Science Monthly, December 1954.  This abstract pattern was designed by John Lynch of New York City's Museum of Modern Art:

1. Cut abstract shapes from cardboard or light-gauge sheet metal.

2. For the arms, bend the ends of soft 16-gauge wire into loops and attach the cut-out shapes.

It's all about balance.

The Refrigerator of Tomorrowland

CIRCARAMA, Disneyland's original motion-picture-in-the-round, was a gotta-see-it Tomorrowland attraction from Day One in 1955.

A spectacular 360 degree tour of the American West - spanning the Sunset Strip to the Grand Canyon - viewed on eleven screens in a giant circular theater. First-time visitors must've been utterly bowled-over by the effect.

But that's not why I've brought you here today. Oh, no. We're going to find another wonder of early Tomorrowland: the FOODARAMA!

Got your ticket?

Follow me!

As your eyes adjust to the indoor lighting, here's our first view of the theater. Not quite what you expected? Yep, there really are five automobiles parked in here! All sparkly fresh 1955 models by American Motors. But what's really surprising is the absence of ropes or stanchions protecting the displays! Evidently, people of the Fifties were well-behaved and respectful of everything.

Moving to the center of the room, we pass a sporty two-door Metropolitan within our reach. (Well, what do you know... there are fingerprints all over it!)

Glancing back at the entrance, half of the room looks like a Nash dealership...

...while the other half resembles an appliance center!

Let's look around. Try to resist the temptation to tug the door handles, or twist all the knobs on the washing machines, okay?

And *Gasp* there it is! The fabulous new FOODARAMA by Kelvinator!!

The Rolls Royce of Refrigerators

The "last word in foodkeeping," the futuristic FOODARAMA can hold 166 pounds of meat in its freezer, has a handy Breakfast Bar for eggs and bacon and 2 pitchers of juices, Cheese and Butter Chests, an aluminum foil dispenser, and even an unrefrigerated bin for bananas!

Imagine that! A special bin in your refrigerator that is unrefrigerated! Now that's something!

And the FOODARAMA offers much more. You see, not everybody here in the 1950s can afford a kitchen full of Kelvinator appliances like Donna Reed or June Cleaver have on television. A quarter of American families in 1955 (approximately 50 million people) were poor working class folks - people who had saved their way through the war, and not terribly long before that, had faced the hard times of the Depression.

Extravagances such as the FOODARAMA embodied optimism for a tomorrow stuffed to the rafters with bountiful plenty. Even Richard Nixon, in his famous 1959 "kitchen debate" with Nikita Khrushev, asserted that the superiority of capitalism over communism was not in ideology or military might but in the comforts of the suburban home, "designed to make things easier for our women."

Author Stephanie Coontz in her excellent book The Way We Never Were comments, "Acceptance of domesticity was the mark of middle-class status and upward mobility." By the mid-fifties the "glorification of self-indulgence" in family life was at the center of the postwar American dream.

Okay, shush now, everybody. The movie is about to start, and it's a good one!

As the lights begin to fade, I wonder...will the little light inside the FOODARAMA stay on?

Be Mine!

Mouseketeer Valentine, 1950s

By George...

Vintage newspaper ad, February 1961

Vintage newspaper ad, February 1963

Happy Birthday Mr. President

                                     Vintage newspaper ad, 1963

 "A Look Behind the Scenes Walt Disney's Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln"  

Free Souvenir Flyer from Disneyland, 1965/1966.  

                               

View a hi-rez scan of the complete flyer here.

Daytime Fun! Night Time Magic!

                                Newspaper ad, Summer 1963

Newspaper ad, 1961