Kemper Nomland Jr. (May 8, 1919 - December 25, 2009) was a

modernist Modernism is both a philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new forms of art, philosophy, an ...

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

and part of a father-son architectural team with his father Kemper Nomland, Sr. He was also a painter and printer of poetry and arts publications.Brother Antoninus/ William Everson
Poet, Printer and Religious An Interview Conducted by Ruth Teiser, Berkeley 1966

Family

Kemper Nomland Jr. was the son of Kemper Nomland Sr. (1892- 1976) and Elgie (Barrington) Nomland (1892-1996) . He had one younger brother, Dr. John Nomland. Kemper Nomland Sr. was born in

Buxton, North Dakota Buxton is a city in Traill County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 348 at the 2020 census. Buxton was founded in 1880. Today, it has become a bedroom community for the nearby Greater Grand Forks metropolitan area. History Buxton ...

to Norwegian immigrant parents who had lived in rural

Traill County, North Dakota Traill County is a county in the U.S. state of North Dakota. As of the 2020 census listed the population at 7,997. Its county seat is Hillsboro, and its largest city is Mayville. History The Dakota Territory legislature created the county on ...

. After completing coursework at the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...

, Kemper Nomland Sr. studied architecture at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

before practicing in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, and then

. He worked with Albert C. Martin in 1922, Marston Van Pelt & Maybury (1923–1925) Austin, Martin & Parkinson (1926–1927); Kemper Nomland Jr. after 1928; and Hunt & Chambers from 1942-1944. Cultural Resources of the Recent Past
Historic Context Report, City of Pasadena

Studies and work camp

Kemper Nomland Jr. graduated from

Pasadena City College Pasadena City College (PCC) is a Public college, public community college in Pasadena, California. History Pasadena, California, Pasadena City College was founded in 1924 as Pasadena Junior College. From 1928 to 1953, it operated as a four- ...

in 1938 and with a bachelor's degree in architecture from the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

in 1941. He worked for Albert C. Martin before joining his father to form a firm together. He was a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was put to work in a

Civilian Public Service The Civilian Public Service (CPS) was a program of the United States government that provided conscientious objectors with an alternative to military service during World War II. From 1941 to 1947, nearly 12,000 draftees, willing to serve their ...

camp at

Wyeth, Oregon Wyeth is an unincorporated locale in Hood River County, Oregon, United States. It is the site of a campground area in the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area off Interstate 84 (I-84). It was a railway station and had a post office between ...

, (CPS Camp 21) in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...

, where he did forest-maintenance work, and

Camp Angel Camp Angel was Civilian Public Service (CPS) camp number 56, located from 1942 to 1945 near Waldport and the coast in the Siuslaw National Forest and Lincoln County, in western Oregon. It was one of many CPS camps across the United States where c ...

, near

Waldport, Oregon Waldport is a city in Lincoln County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,033 at the 2010 census. The city is located on the Alsea River and Alsea Bay, south of Newport and north of Yachats. History Settlement of Waldport began in 1 ...

, "where he was involved with the fine arts group, designing several covers for books printed by the

Untide Press The Untide Press, founded in 1943, attempted to bring poetry to the public in an inexpensive but attractive format. It was founded by writer William Everson, architect and printer Kemper Nomland, actor Kermit Sheets and editor / librarian William ...

at the camp and working on Illiterati, a literary and artistic journal". He designed the chapel at Camp 21 in the

Columbia River Gorge The Columbia River Gorge is a canyon of the Columbia River in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Up to deep, the canyon stretches for over as the river winds westward through the Cascade Range, forming the boundary between the sta ...

on Gorton Creek in

, "a few miles east of Cascade Locks."Charles Davis and Jeffrey Kova
Confrontation at the Locks
; A Protest of Japanese Removal and Incarceration during World War II, Oregon Historical Quarterly Vol. 107, No. 4 winter 2006 Seven of his framed paintings, including portraits from his time at the work camp, are held in a collection at

Lewis and Clark College Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...

. One of his paintings was published in two of Coffield's books as well as the publication ''The Illiterati''. Subjects of the paintings included

Glen Coffield Glenn Stemmons Coffield (June 5, 1917 – June 16, 1981) was an American poet and conscientious objector. He was born in Prescott, Arizona, and received a B.S. degree in education from Central Missouri State Teachers College in 1940. During World ...

Windsor Utley Windsor Utley (1920 - 8 April 1989) was an American musician, artist, teacher and gallery owner, closely associated with the painter Mark Tobey. Life and career Utley was born in Laguna, California in 1920. He graduated from the Choate School i ...

, Bill Webb, a waterfall, concert, and (from 1968) an anti-war rally. He also painted a portrait of Mark Schrock, the director of CPS Camp 21. Nomland was also involved in printing work with

William Everson William Everson may refer to: * William Everson (poet) (1912–1994), American poet of the San Francisco Renaissance * William K. Everson (1929–1996), English-American film preservationist, historian and academic * William G. Everson (1879–1954 ...

and provided the illustrations for William Everson's ''War Elegies''. He also wrote to

E.E. Cummings Edward Estlin Cummings, who was also known as E. E. Cummings, e. e. cummings and e e cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), was an American poet, painter, essayist, author and playwright. He wrote approximately 2,900 poems, two autobi ...

Architectural work

Together with his father, Nomland designed one of the

Case Study Houses The Case Study Houses were experiments in American residential architecture sponsored by ''Arts & Architecture'' magazine, which commissioned major architects of the day, including Richard Neutra, Raphael Soriano, Craig Ellwood, Charles and Ray Ea ...

in 1947 at 711 San Rafael Avenue in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

. The project was part of a program sponsored by the magazine

Arts & Architecture ''Arts & Architecture'' (1929–1967) was an American design, architecture, landscape, and arts magazine. It was published and edited by John Entenza from 1938–1962 and David Travers 1962–1967. ''Arts & Architecture'' played a significant role ...

which promoted the design of modernist postwar housing. The home on a sloping corner lot "in the hillside neighborhood" "mirrored the descending line of the home’s site into the sloping roofline" and included "large walls of glass and a heated floor system" and used "industrial materials such as plywood and corrugated wire glass were also used throughout and the architects further specified large openings to the outside, which allowed for the fluid layout of interior spaces to be carried to the outdoors." In 1950 he moved to Mt. Washington section of Los Angeles and designed his own three-story hillside home, and about a dozen other nearby homes. He resided there with other

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

friends and neighbors until his wife inability to get around well. Nomland also designed the

Norwegian Seamen's Church, San Pedro The Norwegian Seamen's Church ( no, Den norske sjømannskirke) is a Norwegian Church Abroad that doubles as the Church of Sweden Los Angeles ( sv, Svenska kyrkan Los Angeles), also known as the Swedish Seamen's Church. It is located at 1035 South ...

. During the campus' expansion during the 1950s, he refurbished

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

's Moore Hall, including lighting work when it was converted to exclusive use by the University's School of Education. After working with his father for several years he joined "several architectural firms, and at one point he designed a house for actress

Jane Russell Ernestine Jane Geraldine Russell (June 21, 1921 – February 28, 2011) was an American actress, singer, and model. She was one of Hollywood's leading sex symbols in the 1940s and 1950s. She starred in more than 20 films. Russell moved from th ...

" and designed at least a dozen other residence.

Personal life

His first wife, Ella Kube Nomland (1914-1994) had been an immigrant from Germany. He was later married to Joan Westermeyer.Dennis McLella
Kemper Nomland Jr. dies at 90
L.A. architect built Case Study House No. 10, He joined with his father to form Nomland & Nomland after World War II. During their partnership, the pair designed numerous projects. OBITUARY December 30, 2009 Los Angeles Times Kemper Nomland Jr. died of natural causes while residing at an assisted living home in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, leaving behind a daughter, Erika Nomland Cilengir, a son-in-law, Erol Cilengir, and a grandson, Kemal Antonio Cilengir.

Selected Projects

* Case Study House No. 10 (1947) by Kemper Nomland and Kemper Nomland Jr. * West Hollywood house at 1030 North Kings Road *French Normandy style residence at 3635 Shannon Road in Los Feliz,''Grand French Normandy Residence'' (Keller Williams, Beverly Hills)
/ref> *

(1951)

References

External links

Footprints of Pacifism: The Creative Lives of Kemper Nomland & Kermit Sheets

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nomland, Kemper 2009 deaths 1919 births Pasadena City College alumni People from Traill County, North Dakota Artists from California Artists from North Dakota Architects from California American conscientious objectors Members of the Civilian Public Service Columbia University alumni People from Mount Washington, Los Angeles University of North Dakota alumni