california design + animal

A couple of weeks ago, we were having a very typical weekend - relaxing and getting some things done around the house. Jesse worked much of the day on Sunday, and I caught up on piles of laundry. But I was very eager to see an exhibit at LACMA that won't be around much longer, so around 5pm, we headed out to the exhibit with plans to grab dinner out afterwards. It was the kind of evening that makes me really appreciate LA.

The exhibit is "California Design, 1930-1965: 'Living in a Modern Way.'" Since we moved here, I've been loving retro California design and all the mid-century modern furniture that you can find at antique shops and flea markets. The exhibit showed off a lot of these fun designs, but also gave some of the historic context for its development, which I thought was really interesting. Here are some quotes from the exhibit:

"By the onset of World War II, these homes and their furnishings were characterized by a particular kind of modernism rooted in California culture and conditions. The general qualities associated with the state (optimism and democracy, fearless experimentation, and a love of new technology) and those specific to design (an affinity for light and brilliant color, an openness to Asian and Latin influences, and an advocacy of fluid spaces and cross-disciplinary approaches) made California's best products distinctive."

The exhibit also said California design during this time demonstrated a "connection to nature," "embraced comfort and leisure," "responded directly to the environment," was "functionalist," "and it embraced the informality that came with the permeable spaces by blurring the distinctions between indoors and out..."

I love spaces that blend indoors and out, so that appealed to me. And one of the things I love most about California is the optimism and fearlessness that is generally present, so it was fun to hear those characteristics applied to design. The exhibit made me proud of my adopted state!

On a whim, we went to Animal for dinner, a place we've been wanting to try. The chefs were featured on a Top Chef episode not that long ago, and the restaurant always gets great reviews. Here is what we had:

sliced pig head, hush puppy, pickled ramp vinaigarette
tandoori octopus, tamarind, kumquat, raita
poutine, oxtail gravy, cheddar
grilled quail, rhubarb char-siu, apple, mandarin, yogurt
foie gras, biscuit, maple sausage gravy
bacon chocolate crunch bar, s&p ice cream

The foie gras was so good I almost cried, and the bacon chocolate crunch bar made me giggle. It was one of the best meals I have had in LA, and I loved that it was a spontaneous one.