Modernism Week Fall Preview has become the best way to consume a slice of Modernism Week without overindulging in the frenzy of the winter affair.
Compare the February attendance — more than 75,000 — to 2015’s attendance in October — fewer than 10,000 — and you can understand the more relaxed pace of the Modernism Week Fall Preview.
You can still enjoy Modernism Week’s trademark architecture and design events featuring lectures, walking tours of commercial districts, and fabulous home tours. “We’ve seen steady growth in attendance of the Fall Preview, but when the Modernism Show and Sale started its fall edition in 2014 it really made a difference,” says Lisa Vossler Smith, Modernism Week executive director.
One of the traditions carried over from Modernism Week to the Fall Preview is the double-decker bus tours.
According to Vossler Smith. “We have added more tours – Frey ll House tours (the home of modernist architect Alberty Frey), multiple walking tours, Sunnylands Historic House tours, and have added more Double Decker [bus] tours.”
Want a dose of fun, cocktails included? Don’t miss the return of one of Modernism Week’s most popular lecture series of the February edition. “Modernism With a Twist” is a series of slide lectures produced by Richard and Debra Hovel. For this fall, they have curated a few audience favorites for “The Best of Modernism With a Twist,” which will be presented on two consecutive nights.
The talks are framed around six 10-minute slide presentations on quirky topics. “We are the scamps of Modernism Week, we share a parallel universe but we look at topics in an irreverent, witty view,” says Debra Hovel. “Many people have an almost religious reverence for modernism but we like to poke a little fun at it.”
The $40 tickets include the amusing, rapid-fire entertainment and cocktails and snacks at the Desert Star, a beautifully restored 1950s midcentury modern complex of seven units that is scheduled to gain Class 1Historic Designation in Palm Springs.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MAKERVILLE
Bob Bogard pulls back the curtain on the 1950-’60s with his presentation on Mother’s Little Helper.
“The Best of Modernism With a Twist” lecture series:
“Revered and Reviled,” by Kurt Cyr
“Mother’s Little Helper,” by Bob Bogard
“Mop, Glow, and Mow,” by Anne Rowe
“West Coast Cool,” by Richard Hovel
“I Love You, I Hate You, I Love You,” by Jay Saltzman
“Naked History,” by Debra Hovel
Friday, Oct. 21, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 22, 5:30 – 7 p.m.
Visit modernismweek.com for the full fall preview schedule and to purchase tickets.