Artistry Accommodated

The Schindler Chace house acted as the perfect blank canvas for creative types to thrive. The removable walls and seamless transition to the outdoors provided the perfect space for them to host events. Amazingly, the house could transform from the quiet refuge of a studio to a gallery overnight. A flexibility many houses at the time didn't have. The fact is, creative types were drawn here, perhaps because of the lifestyle in the house, or perhaps because the house respected the needs of an artist. Either way, 835 North Kings Road has been more than accommodating to the creators that have lived there over the years. 

The following is a short summary of the brilliant people that have had the pleasure of living at the SCH. The years of stay are noted. 

Announcement for a talk on modern art at the Schindler House 

Rudolf Schindler (1922 - 1953)

Architect

Richard Neutra (1925 - 1930)

Architect, Schindler's friend turned rival, lived in the Chace portion with his wife

"I am an eyewitness to the ways in which people relate to themselves and to each other, and my work is a way of scooping and ladling that experience." - Richard Neutra 

Dione Neutra performing at the Schindler House  1928

Dione Neutra (1925-1930)

Richard Neutra's spouse

Musician and performer at Kings Road House

Dione on Schindler: "Schindler was such an individualist... Mr. Neutra always believed that prefabrication would eventually have to be the road for the architects.. but Schindler was very much interested in space exploration, so all his houses were - each house was again completely different, and designed for a particular space."

Pauline Schindler (1922-1927/ Late 1930's - 1977)

Rudolf Schindler's spouse

Talented graphic and typography designer, editor, writer, teacher, toymaker

Loved to host events at the house, sponsored lectures and exhibited

Ran local leftist newspaper called Carmelite

Interested in painting, theatre, and dancing

Galka Scheyer (1931-1933)

"Recalling Happy Memories" by Peter Krasnow
Galka Scheyer lecturing on the Blue Four at the house

Modern art dealer and American representative of The Blue Four (the painters Vasily Kandinsky, Alexei Jawlensky, Paul Klee, and Lyonel Feininger)

Referred to Schindler as "Five" in reference to his comparable talent to the modern artists

Lectured at the house

 John Bovingdon (1928)

Dancer

Remembered for the haunting performances he performed in the gardens when the Schindlers hosted large parties.

Theodore Dreiser (1935)

Bovingdon, 1928 

 Novelist

 Edward Weston (1930)

Photographer

John Cage (1934) 

Music composer

Clyde Chace (1922 - July 1924)

Engineer

Marian Chace (1922 - July 1924)

Clyde Chace's spouse

The house wasn't like any other because it didn't conform to the trend of consumption. Rather it promoted one to produce. The structure was a piece of art, and quite frankly, it inspired its lucky inhabitants. 

Sunday Parties for Free-Thinkers

  A view of the courtyard where social gatherings were held

The outdoor space of the Schindler-Chace house offered a beautiful setting for high spirited gatherings. These courtyards were vast in green land and offered a welcoming ambiance with their open fires. This was how Schindler intentionally designed the courtyards; they were meant to be social spaces. Visitors came and went on a constant basis, some staying a month, a year, or more. The amount of infamous personalities passing through the house was extraordinary. Friends of the Schindlers who were avant-garde in the arts, education and politics were welcomed during Sundays’ open house to join for dinner. When there was a large number of guests, the sawhorses would be brought out. Planks stored on the roof were taken out to set over them to make for tables and on boxes to make for seats. Events were often held in this way as well, whether it was a Bohemian dress-up party, or for a Thanksgiving celebration. 

Thanksgiving at Kings Road, 1923

The most memorable event during these Sunday parties was John Bovington’s dance recital. Along with his companion, Jeanya Marling, they danced in scanty attire, or a lack of thereof. Dione Neutra described these occasions to be sublime, for they would illuminate the garden at night. For music, they would hit gongs which were hung on ropes. Beginning with crawling, the two performers would slowly evolve from lower animal forms to the ultimate human. As they finally stood erected on two legs, they continued to move in trance. For the audience, this was the most thrilling portion of the night.

Schindler's home, 835 North Kings Road, often served as a venue for
performances and presentations

There was always a mixture of people, extending from the most provincial to the most liberal. What was happening was the realization of Pauline’s wishes. She had previously confessed to her mother, "I should like it to be as democratic a meeting-place as Hull House where millionaires and laborers, professors and illiterates, the splendid and the ignoble, meet constantly together."  The conversations that occurred between the diverse group of guests during these special occasions were nothing short of worthy discussion about revolutionary ideas in all fields. Arguments never escalated to aggressiveness and guests were always encouraged to bring their friends to join in dialogue. The rooms and courtyards of the house had freed everyone’s expression in this way. 

Works Cited:
Sarnitz, August. R.M. Schindler: Architect, 1887-1953 A Pupil of Otto Wagner, Between International Style and  Space Architecture. Rizzoli International Publications Inc., 1988.

McCoy, Esther. Vienna to Los Angeles: Two Journeys. Santa Monica, California, Arts + Architecture Press, 1979.
Darling, Michael, and Smith, Elizabeth A. T. The Architecture of R. M. Schindler. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.
Crosse, John. Pauline Gibling Schindler: Vagabond Agent for Modernism, 1927-1936, Southern California Architectural History. Last modified 2010. Accessed December 8th, 2012.
<http://socalarchhistory.blogspot.ca/2010/07/pauline-gibling-schindler-vagabond.html>

Fonck, Arnoute. Schindler-Chase house by Rudolf Schindler, 2007.
 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/arnout-fonck/2538802756/>

The Sleeping Baskets

The sleeping baskets further defined the influence of nature in the house. The experience of camping at Yosemite National Park, can be compared to the experience of sleeping in one of these sleeping baskets. 

“For sleeping he provided the sleeping baskets. Architecturally they consisted of a canopy and beams that met at four posts at mitred corners... Visually, they were planes supported on spider legs.”

— Kathryn Smith, Schindler House

 

Sources

Smith, Kathryn, and Grant Mudford. Schindler House. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 2001.