Arts & Entertainment Modern Masterpieces E The bequest of a 20th-century decorative art and design collector takes center stage at Cranbrook Art Museum. Walter Von Nessen: Nessen Table Lamp, manufactured by Pattyn Products Company of Detroit, circa 1935. Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News F riends of the late John Bloom, executive director of the Fanclub Arts Foundation and a collector known in the local arts community, recall stories about how he acquired an original Albert Kahn architec- tural rendering. The drawing, completed as the Ford plant in Highland Park was being planned, actually came into his posses- sion as portions of the building were being torn down. Bloom went to the site and asked if he could have struc- tural fragments. Instead, he was allowed to take the draw- ing. That piece of Detroit history, displayed in Bloom's Franklin home for many years, has become the property of the Cranbrook Art Museum, where there is an exhibit honoring Bloom and showcasing his posthumous gifts. "From Frank Lloyd Wright to George Nakashima: Uncovering the John Bloom Bequest to Cranbrook Art Museum" runs through March 22. Visitors will see 60 works spanning the 20th century. They include stained glass windows from major buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, a Luc Lanel-designed Art Deco vase for the French manufacturer Christofle and furniture by Mies van der Rohe, Nakashima, Charles and Ray Eames, Finn Juhl and Vladimir Kagan, a second-gen- eration and still active furniture maker who escaped Nazi Germany as a child of 10 when he came to America with his family in 1938. "Bloom primarily collected in three major areas — American arts and crafts, American and French Art Deco metal works and Art Deco graphic design;' says Emily Zilber, Cranbrook collections fellow who has researched contextual information about the objects. "Although there were 180 pieces in the collection, the Bloom bequest allowed us to sell the pieces that didn't fit into Cranbrook's goals and receive the funds they raised. Because we're particularly interested in modern decora- tive arts and design, we sold items such as ancient works from Egypt." Proceeds will go toward establishing the John Bloom Decorative Arts and Design Fund to support The late John Bloom: Passionate collector. the care and development of the museum's collection. Two lectures exploring the exhibit are scheduled. Zilber will cover "The Cranbrook Connection: Uncovering the John Bloom Bequest to Cranbrook Art Museum" at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 17, in the deSalle Auditorium, and she will take attendees on a narrated tour. James Zemaitis, director of 20th-century design at Sotheby's in New York and an adviser for some of Bloom's purchases, will trace the development of the contem- porary design market, including major stylistic and economic trends from the 1950s to the present, and offer insight on emerging trends in collecting 20th-century decorative arts and design in the John Bloom Memorial Lecture, "Twentieth-Century Design: Looking to the Twenty-First Century:' at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, also in the deSalle Auditorium. "While I was researching the collection, it was excit- ing to find items that had direct connections to the Cranbrook community," Zilber says. "Bloom commis- sioned work from students here, and he had a drawing by Myron Barlow, an artist who instructed a member of the Booth family, who founded Cranbrook." Bloom, age 71 when he died of cancer in 2006, is sur- vived by a brother, Douglas Bloom. The late collector is remembered as a friend by Rabbi Daniel Syme of Temple Beth El, where Bloom was a member. "John contributed his time and expertise as chairman of our Art Committee says the rabbi, who always could count on hearing Bloom's reactions to his sermons. "He was able to find and secure mosaic tiles from an ancient synagogue for our lobby, and he helped with the arrangements for stained glass windows outside the sanc- tuary" David Grossman had known Bloom for 20 years and carries on his commitment to the Fanclub Foundation, which supports art education. "John had worked in sales before his retirement, but his passion involved the arts and people Grossman says. "He headed up fundraising events for our organization and knew how to get people involved." Gregory Wittkopp, director of the Cranbrook Art Museum, met Bloom at a fundraiser in the 1980s, and they became friends. "John would call me about once a month and tell me about his dream of having his collection come to the museum;' Wittkopp recalls. "He'd tell me about each new item he acquired and what fun he had living with each one. I saw that he had a couple of menorahs, but they were not part of the holdings that came to Cranbrook." Zilber, who knows Bloom only through her research, says the bequest helped fill holes in the Cranbrook hold- ings. "It's been wonderful to learn about somebody with such a strong interest in making an arts institution the best that it can be she says. "It's been quite exciting to have the objects get a second life in the museum, and they will be used in the context of other exhibitions as they're developed." "From Frank Lloyd Wright to George Nakashima: Uncovering the John Bloom Bequest to Cranbrook Art Museum" runs through March 22 at the museum, 39221 Woodward, in Bloomfield Hills. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Sundays and 11 a.m.-9 p.m. the fourth Friday of every month. $10 adults, $5 teens and full-time students with ID, free for children 12 and younger with adult admis- sion. Lectures include "The Cranbrook Connection: Uncovering the John Bloom Bequest to Cranbrook Art Museum" at 3 p.m. Sunday, Feb.17, and "Twentieth-Century Design: Looking to the Twenty- First Century" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 28, both in the deSalle Auditorium. (877) 462-7262 or www. cranbrookart.edu . The Fanclub Arts Foundation holds it annual fundraiser, ArtRageous 2008, 7:30-11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 9, at the Detroit Historical Museum, 5401 Woodward, in Detroit. $100 per person in advance; $125 at the door; $50 college students with ID. Call (248) 584-4150 or e-mail www.fanclubartsfoundation.org . 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