L.A. SPACE

POP

as emerging car culture, jet engines, pop trends, and the

‘Atomic Age’. From his beach house in Playa del Rey, Curry

watched the jets flying over Los Angeles Airport and, imag-

ined a future shaped by new technologies.

He absorbed all these influences and ideas to develop a new

norm for lighting – a single piece that combined stand, bulb

and shade into one organic, yet bold and colorful ‘LA space-

pop’ form, fit for tomorrow’s world. He contrasted colorful

cast-iron bases with transparent glass tops, and combined

interrelated materials, parts and colors across multiple prod-

ucts. His space-age ‘total look’ lamps were an instant hit

– Industrial Design Magazine awarded his collection the

accolade of ‘Best Lamps of the Year’ and the US Depart-

ment of Commerce showcased his Stemlite Collection in

the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Iraq, as exemplars of

American design.

By 1969, with more than 50 national design awards, includ-

ing the New York Art Directors Club’s Award of Distinctive

Merit, to his name, Curry was described by the Los Angeles

Times as “one of California’s leading designers” just before

his untimely death two years later. His legacy lives on today

as one of the true pioneers of American space-age design.

Bill Curry designed the Obello Lamp in 1971. Using the visu-

al form of a mushroom, he took inspiration from the atomic

age, space race, and pop culture that would go on to define

1970s Los Angeles. Sadly, he passed away the same year,

and never saw the Obello Lamp go into production – in fact

it was at such an early prototype phase that he hadn’t even

given it a name.

After serving in the US Navy, Curry studied at Art Center

College of Design in Pasadena, California, before starting his

career as an ad man, graphic designer and art director in the

aerospace industry. His multi-disciplinary background and

exposure to pioneering developments in electronics and sys-

tems engineering in the aerospace industry gave Curry the

experience and confidence to venture into industrial design

and launch his own home furnishings company, Design Line

Inc., in 1962.

From the first human-made object touching the lunar sur-

face in 1959 to Neil Armstrong’s first steps on the Moon in

1969, the era was dubbed the ‘space age’ and its aesthet-

ics influenced a generation. At the same time, the miniskirt

moved from science fiction films to the high street, popu-

larized by designers such as Mary Quant, and a new gen-

eration of Disney artists turned Mickey Mouse into a global

icon: pop culture was born. The modernism that had char-

acterized American architecture since the 1930s evolved

into a futuristic style influenced by the space race as well