Illustrator Loris Lora on her new book about California Modernism

Date
24 September 2014

If you’re concerned that your bookshelf is starting to look bit run-of-the-mill then allow us to present you with a new publication to blow the others out of the water. Eventually Everything Connects is a new publication by Loris Lora, published by Nobrow, illustrating the largely unknown but absolutely fascinating commonalities which joined many of the architects, designers, filmmakers and photographers working in southern California in the Modernist era.

The story behind the book is great. Loris Lora was studying at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, when one of her classes set her the task of researching California Modernism. “It was in that class where I found interest in the relationships between a wide range of creatives in mid century California,” Loris explains. “I was particularly interested in the relationships between some of my favourite creatives. One of the first connections I remember researching was Charles and Ray Eames’ friendship with legendary filmmaker Billy Wilder, then I found out Billy Wilder was also good friends with designer Alvin Lustig. All of a sudden I was creating a ‘connect the dots’ map of all these designers, architects, entertainers, creatives, etc., which is now featured with the book.”

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Eventually it was the Eames who formed the central idea of the book for Loris. “The Eames became central figures on my map and was greatly inspired by them. The title of the book comes from a quote by Charles Eames: ‘Eventually everything connects – people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is key to the quality per se.’ To me that defined what California Modernism was all about.”

After presenting her “connect the dots” map to Nobrow Press in London, they suggested making it into a book. “Being a fan of the beautiful books Nobrow creates, I agreed," Loris explains. “The biggest challenge was transforming my map into a leoporello book. I played around with some ideas but the one that felt most appropriate was to carry a scene from west to east (of southern California during that time) while also trying to show how all these people connect with one another in all these fun environments.

“The original artwork for the interior was divided into 4 large panels 19 inches x roughly 50 inches across. It was mostly done in gouache with some digital touch ups. As you can imagine, I went though tons of gouache paint.” And thank God she did, because the resulting book is both absolutely huge and fantastically interesting. Get your hands on it asap!

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Above

Loris Lora: Eventually Everything Connects

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Maisie Skidmore

Maisie joined It’s Nice That fresh out of university in the summer of 2013 as an intern before joining full time as an Assistant Editor. Maisie left It’s Nice That in July 2015.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.