George Nelson: Architect, Writer, Designer, Teacher February 3 through May 8, 2011 Oklahoma City Museum of Art George Nelson is probably best known for his modern lighting and furniture designs. His bubble lamps are an icon of Mid-Century Modern design, and today are considered a requirement on the set of any trendy video shoot. But Nelson's influence reached well beyond home furnishings. His talent as a writer, educator and architect was well known before he became an accomplished industrial designer. In fact, when he became the Director of Design for the Herman Miller Company in 1945 he had not designed a single piece of furniture. But fortunately for us, that was not the case for long! The exhibition features works by Nelson organized into three categories- home, office and literature.
On the Trail of Julius Shulman: Stop 2 "This is a bank," the sign outside the futuristic building read. According to legend a prankster added a strategic question mark and echoed the sentiment of many passers-by: "This is a bank?" That was back in 1964 when it opened. Today the Arvest on Lincoln Boulevard looks a bit less Jetsonian, mostly due to replacement of structural glass below the "saucers," but it's still an unusual bank. Designed by Robert Roloff of the architectural firm Bailey, Bozalis, Dickinson & Roloff, the State Capitol Bank caused quite a stir in Oklahoma City when it opened. Heck, it's still pretty shocking today! Originally the flying saucers appeared to hover above the building (as seen in this vintage postcard). All the glass that made that effect possible also made heating and cooling an expensive proposition. Security concerns also mandated replacement of those windows with solid materials and small square portholes