An Eames Anthology: Articles, Film Scripts, Interviews, Letters, Notes, and Speeches
420
An Eames Anthology: Articles, Film Scripts, Interviews, Letters, Notes, and Speeches
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| ISBN-13: | 9780300203455 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Yale University Press |
| Publication date: | 04/28/2015 |
| Pages: | 420 |
| Sales rank: | 757,404 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.70(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.20(d) |
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An Eames Anthology
Articles, Film Scripts, Interviews, Letters, Notes, Speeches by Charles and Ray Eames
By Charles Eames, Ray Eames
Yale UNIVERSITY PRESS
Copyright © 2015 Eames Office, LLCAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-300-20345-5
CHAPTER 1
CHARLES EAMES "Design Today"
DESIGN TODAY presents the same problem as it always has. The need has changed but the equipment necessary to solve the problem is still the same. The designer should be capable of forming in his own mind a clearer conception of the NEED he is to fill and he should possess a vocabulary of facts regarding materials and techniques adequate enough to enable him to fill the need appropriately and with feeling. It seems obvious that he should possess these facilities and yet the classic training, which many claim deals with the fundamentals and common denominators in creating art, often forces upon the young designer a system of sterile formula, or makes him so conscious of self-expression that he ignores completely the help he can get from physical and natural law.
The first step in design, that of determining the need, is a very hazardous undertaking. It is not simple, even the most sincere can easily confuse the actual need with the traditional idea of need and be led off on a hopeless tangent. To face this problem in the complex world of today, we find young designers preparing themselves, not with involved theories, but with all the understanding, facts, and experience that they can obtain. In the manual experience of work, they develop an attitude of feeling as well as proficiency. From tools they learn vital lessons in "fitness to need," balance, and relation of form to the human scale. They discover that the work done with a tool is only as orderly as their attitude while using it. Working with the healthy discipline of economy, in materials and forms, they develop a natural feeling for the appropriate.
It is possible for them while working and designing in a limited variety of materials and media to develop a "habit of approach" that can be applied to virtually any creative work. They may so prepare themselves that they can approach any problem with the least possible loss of energy no matter how new to them its requirements or materials. They will intelligently determine the need, and then fill that need inventively and appropriately.
In the airplane one feels strongly the appropriateness of its streamed lines and they seem healthy and good. This effect is very different from that of the streamlined vacuum cleaner or inkwell where the designer has fallen into a habit of form and has the mistaken idea that it would be good to streamline everything. People instinctively recognize the goodness in a sailboat, an axe, an airplane or a huge dam and, consciously or unconsciously, get from them a feeling of esthetic satisfaction. The modern designer tries to refine his work until it contains as much of that goodness as possible. In his case it is mostly a conscious effort but the goal is still the same form of goodness that all people sense intuitively to some degree. In it there is no room for pretense or snobbery or for value results by the costliness of materials used. Certainly the future cannot be considered hopeless as long as designers continue to honor the accomplishment of producing a very inexpensive article that can serve well and bring pleasure to a million housewives.
CHARLES EAMES
"Organic Design"
HAD THE Museum of Modern Art's Competition been held this year instead of last, a possible program would have required the competitors to design furniture restricting themselves to the materials and techniques not absorbed in National Defense. That would have been quite a trick but the Competition was held last year and the Museum's view was a much longer one. It was attempting to put new life into an industry which had become ingrown. Their aim and the aim of every competitor, I am sure, was to provide the largest group of people with good furniture within their means.
The opportunity was a rare one because of the unique phase of the Competition, which provided contact with manufacturers and an outlet for the winning designs. When the show opened at the Art Museum and the cost of the pieces announced, it was held by many that the main purpose had been defeated and that most of those for whom the furniture was intended could look but not afford to buy. To some, the obvious reason was the high cost of "Merchandising"—that great difference between the cost of manufacturing and the cost to the consumer. It is part of a complicated system that is to the uninitiated a complete mystery, and no matter how illogical and costly it may seem, it applies to virtually all furniture—that of the Competition suffering no more than any other.
Had the sole effect been to produce immediately acceptable and reasonable pieces, it could have been accomplished by closely studying the processes of mass production in the furniture industry and designing strictly within these techniques. These are techniques which had attained an almost incredible efficiency in the production of forms originally conceived as wood handicraft. Joints belonging to the hand technique are made by machinery, and machinery covers them with the decoration that for centuries hands have formed. It would be perfectly possible to eliminate some nonessentials and create pleasing proportions but the design could never deviate from the ingrown production pattern. The danger here is that the change is apt to be superficial and lead further up a blind alley.
There is another approach to the problem—one that should pay the greatest dividends in the long run, but it presents various immediate obstacles, economic and otherwise. That approach is to ignore all materials and techniques to determine as completely and clearly as possible our needs in furniture. Then to search for the materials and techniques which can most appropriately fill this need. Because of quantities involved these are apt to be found in factories where the efficiency of mass production is essential and form submits to no compromise. Factories making electrical equipment, airplanes, tools, or any of the many useful things which have never had "art tradition."
In the three-way curve laminated shell construction and the rubber weld Eero Saarinen and I felt that we had found processes that would go a long way toward filling our ideas of the chair need. Techniques not long out of the laboratory stage, they were developing rapidly along mass production lines and in a few years would surely be producing efficiently and economically.
That they were being used primarily in defense production was significant because it insured their growth and promised great possibilities when the war needs let up.
With no preconceived ideas of form we worked simultaneously with factory technicians and many experimental sitters, and as the chair forms developed we, too, were surprised and as we worked with them, we found them pleasing.
Priorities and the time limitations forced many compromises, but the Museum of Modern Art, having broadened the horizon of an industry, enabled this type of solution to be manufactured and merchandised, a process which otherwise would have taken years of propaganda and persuasion.
It will be several years before the full value of the Competition can be judged, but if its influence has made it easier for new and appropriate structural systems to be used for comfort in our home life, a great deal will have been achieved. That this comfort will be accompanied by aesthetic satisfaction we have no doubts.
RAY EAMES
Covers for California Arts & Architecture, 1942
California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 4 (April 1942), California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 5 (May 1942): cover, 15. Cover: Ray Eames in designing this month's cover has used the structural elements and drab green that we have all seen with reassurance actively defending our coast. Photograph by Charles Eames.
California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 8 (September 1942): cover, 10. Cover: A piece of wood sculpture by Ray Eames designed in a complex form to take advantage of a system of molding laminated wood developed by Charles Eames. In its practical application in the defense and commercial fields an important feature of the system is its principle of mass production.
California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 9 (October 1942).
California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 10 (November 1942). The Ray Eames cover for the November issue: The clearest and most concise forms often come directly out of and are a part of our most serious work. The source material of the November cover is an example of the beauty of these forms. Those shown relate to the solving of the airfoil; the basic formulas governing the motion of a fluid, curves representing lift and drag, and the airflow itself. These are the tools of the aerodynamist.
California Arts & Architecture 59, no. 11 (December 1942).
RAY EAMES
Covers for California Arts & Architecture, 1943
California Arts & Architecture 60, nos. 1–5 (January–June 1943), nos. 7–10 (August–December 1943).
California Arts & Architecture 60, no. 6 (July 1943): cover, 15. Cover: The blue, an American eagle, is a photograph by Ralph De Sola of the Federal Writers' Project; the black is an early American wood carving by an unknown sculptor said to have been a sign for Eagle Tavern, Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Photograph of wood carving courtesy Museum of Modern Art. Cover design by Ray Eames.
CHARLES EAMES
"City Hall"
Editor's note: The issue of Architectural Forum in which this article appeared was devoted to "New Buildings for 194X," an optimistic look ahead to "postwar design trends."
IN A TYPICAL American community with 70,000 people, about 27,000 are registered voters. In 1943 only 12,000 voted in a municipal election.
WHY?
Among the several important reasons: A lack of the facilities by which the people can educate themselves to understand the techniques of government.
A city government should—must—be housed as the center of a mutually cooperative enterprise in which: THE GOVERNMENT TALKS TO THE PEOPLE. AND THE PEOPLE TALK TO THE GOVERNMENT.
The administration of government is the business of the people.
The obligations of the people in a democracy consist not only of an exercise of franchise, but participation in and active direction of the rules or laws by which government exists.
The city hall must properly be considered the heart of any community, the house of government. A building in which provision is made not only for the administration of rules and regulations, but a building which must contain facilities for the expression of the idea of government, which is never static and which can never be complete without the direct participation of the people who create it.
It should be impossible to think in terms of the juvenile court without thinking in terms of the children's clinic, without thinking in terms of a Board of Education. Such a Board of Education can best function through activities within the house of government itself by presenting in active cooperation with all departments: exhibitions, motion pictures, study and lecture groups, open forums.
TO THE END THAT WHEN THE GOVERNMENT TALKS TO THE PEOPLE AND THE PEOPLE TALK TO THE GOVERNMENT—IT is ONE AND THE SAME VOICE.
The design of the city hall is conceived as an integral part of the city plan. Located at the end of the new mall, it fits admirably into this natural position. The inter-penetration of public spaces, parks and the purely administrative functions of government symbolizes a truly democratic type of community, of which this group of buildings becomes the center.
RAY EAMES
"Line and Color"
LINE AND COLOR DEFINE VOLUME THAT VOLUME CAN BE TANGIBLE OR NOT BUT THE SPACE BETWEEN TWO TANGIBLE VOLUMES IS NEVERTHELESS A VOLUME
it is impossible to talk about painting without bringing up the whole weary subject of aesthetics philosophy and metaphysics.
the fact is that without any talk we are influenced by the world in which we live and by the synthesis of the experiences of the world by all creators • the engineer mathematician sculptor physicist chemist architect doctor musician writer dancer teacher baker actor editor the man on the job the woman in the home and painters
for the past many years the western world has been working back through the maze of surface decoration and meaningless gloss to the fundamentals of form • sometimes this has been an economic necessity as in the present war years, other times it comes from an aesthetic demand • where the people through the sensibilities of the creators find it necessary to rediscover the nonessentials • hindrances of the past
why is it that today we are more concerned with the materials and design of a chair than with its covering or ornament? why are we more concerned with the quality of the music than with the personal idiosyncrasies of the conductor? why are the uniforms—the word itself becomes strange—so varied and differ so radically from those of former wars? why are our houses being designed from the inside out rather than fitting the living to a predetermined style on the outside? why indeed do we not only accept but also admire and feel intensely proud of the jeep? a superb example of a healthy direction of thinking and feeling
in spite of prejudice and confusion we are becoming aware slowly of true and good and vital and therefore beautiful form
my interest in painting is the rediscovery of form through movement and balance and depth and light • using this medium to recreate, in a satisfying order, my experiences of this world with a desire to increase our pleasure expand our perceptions enrich our lives.
WENDELL G. SCOTT AND CHARLES EAMES
"A New Emergency Transport Splint of Plyformed Wood"
EARLY IN 1942 work was started on the development of a new type of splint for the immediate treatment and transfer of patients with injuries to the lower extremities. The need for such an "emergency transport splint" was suggested by the reports of medical officers serving in the combat zones. In the "front line" zones the medical efforts are principally emergency measures for saving a man's life, alleviating pain, and preserving an injured part until the casualty can be evacuated to a base. In such combat zones the hospital corpsmen render a large part of the initial emergency treatments, which should always be reduced to the simplest, safest, and quickest methods. It was in the hope of simplifying the initial treatment and evacuation of men with lower extremity wounds under combat conditions that the "transport" splint was produced.
"Plyformed wood" is the copyrighted name given to wood veneers that are bonded together by a resin glue and "molded" or shaped to any form by a process involving heat and pressure. By this process it is possible to shape the bonded veneers into compound curves without straining or breaking the strips of veneer. For the purpose of description plyformed wood may be considered as a type of plywood that has been molded into a desired shape. It is light but very strong for its weight. The veneers and resin glue are not critical materials. This laminated wood does not warp[,] as the adjacent strips of veneer are placed so that the grain in each runs at right angles to the other. These were the features that suggested the feasibility of using this material for a surgical splint.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from An Eames Anthology by Charles Eames, Ray Eames. Copyright © 2015 Eames Office, LLC. Excerpted by permission of Yale UNIVERSITY PRESS.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Table of Contents
Contents
Foreword | Eames Demetrios, IX,Acknowledgments | Daniel Ostroff, XI,
Introduction | Daniel Ostroff, XIII,
Part One 1941-1949,
"Design Today", 5,
"Organic Design", 6,
"Covers for California Arts & Architecture, 1942", 8,
"Covers for California Arts & Architecture, 1943", 9,
"City Hall", 10,
"Line and Color", 13,
"A New Emergency Transport Splint of Plyformed Wood", 14,
"Covers for Arts & Architecture, 1944", 16,
Mass-Produced Housing, 18,
"No man is an illand", 20,
"Case Study Houses 8 and 9" (1945), 22,
Evans Molded Plywood Products, 24,
"Covers for Arts & Architecture, 1947", 25,
"Mies van der Rohe", 26,
"Esthetic Qualities in Architecture", 27,
"We Live in One of the Newest Houses in California", 29,
"Case Study Houses 8 and 9" (1948), 31,
usc Lecture on Design, 32,
Advice for Students, 35,
Richard Neutra Apartments: Correspondence, 37,
"Designer Charles Eames Tests Prize-Winning Furniture in His Own Home", 38,
"Case Study House for 1949", 39,
Case Study Houses: Truscon Steel Products, 57,
Part Two 1950-1959,
"Case Study House 9" (1950), 60,
Case Study Houses: Correspondence, 68,
Molded Plastic Chairs, 73,
Eames Storage Units, 75,
Designs for Kites, 76,
"Design Today": Arboretum Speech, 78,
Japanese Tea House: Correspondence, 92,
"The Relation of Artist to Industry", 94,
"Design, Designer, Industry", 97,
Packaging for Soap: Correspondence, 100,
Upholstered Wire Chairs: Correspondence, 101,
AIA 1952 speech, 104,
"Japanese Architecture and the West", 111,
Royalties for Furniture Designers: Correspondence, 112,
Chair Design Process, 115,
MGM's Executive Suite: Correspondence, 118,
"Architecture 1 and 2, University of California, Berkeley", 120,
Washington University School of Architecture: Correspondence, 129,
How the Chairs Are Made: Correspondence, 130,
Upholstery for Furniture: Correspondence, 132,
Buying a New Ford: Correspondence, 133,
"A Communications Primer": Correspondence, 136,
"Visit to Germany: Exchange Program of the German Government, 1954/55", 138,
Compact Sofa, 140,
Lounge Chair and Ottoman, 142,
Omnibus, 146,
Toy Orthopter: Correspondence, 150,
"Toccata for Toy Trains": Correspondence and Narration, 151,
Fine Art and Function: Correspondence, 153,
Staffing the Eames Office: Correspondence, 155,
Art Education in Public Schools, 156,
"The Making of a Craft sman", 157,
Stephens Trusonic Speakers, 160,
"St. Louis Train Station 1957", 162,
Furnishing a Home, 166,
Aluminum Group, 167,
"The India Report", 176,
"Architecture in Miniature", 188,
The Solar Toy, 189,
Glimpses of the U.S.A.: Correspondence, 192,
Industrial Arts Education: Correspondence, 200,
Royal Institute of British Architects 1959 Annual Discourse, 203,
Part Three 1960-1969,
"A Prediction: Less Self-Expression for the Designer", 206,
Architects and Science: Letter to Reyner Banham from Charles Eames, 208,
Making Good Designs Better, 210,
"The Design of Mathematics" (Some Notes About Doing a Mathematics Exhibition), 212,
What Must a Drumstick Do?: Correspondence, 214,
Design Education: Correspondence, 216,
"Architecture and Science": ICA Speech, 217,
"A Visit with Charles Eames", 218,
Eames Contract Storage, 224,
U.S. State Department, 226,
"Chairs, Fairs, and Films", 228,
Films on Architecture: Correspondence, 230,
"Evolution of a Design": Eames Tandem Seating, 232,
Industry Film Producers Association Speech, 241,
"Design: Its Freedoms and Its Restraints", 244,
Handwritten Notes on Design, 247,
Graphex Speech: The 1964-65 New York World's Fair, 248,
A Twenty-Five-Year Appraisal, 259,
Immaculate Heart, 263,
"Excellence", 264,
Gio Ponti, 266,
"Art and Science" Speech, 267,
100 Words on Symptoms of Creativity, 268,
"The Eames Design": Public Broadcast Laboratory, 269,
"The Eames Design": Correspondence, 272,
"Eames": An Interview, 274,
"Sitting Back with Charles Eames": Eames Chaise, 276,
National Aquarium: Correspondence, 280,
"What Is Design?": An Exhibition at the Louvre, 282,
Puerto Rico Advisory Council on Natural Resources: Correspondence, 286,
"Poetry of Ideas: The Films of Charles Eames", 288,
MIT Report, 298,
Part Four 1970-1979,
Eames to Fehlbaum: Correspondence, 304,
Eero Saarinen's Trick, 305,
"Banana Leaf" Parable, 306,
"Goods", 307,
"General Motors Revisited", 309,
"Renaissance Man", 311,
"Q & A: Charles Eames", 313,
"Eames on Eames", 318,
"Disciplines of the Circus", 322,
"The Language of Vision: The Nuts and Bolts", 329,
Design Process at Herman Miller, 332,
An Eames Celebration: The Several Worlds of Charles and Ray Eames, 339,
"Innovator in Earth Shoes", 340,
"Arts, Education, and the Americas", 342,
Library of Congress: Correspondence, 343,
Eero Saarinen, 344,
"Education as a Found Object", 347,
"A Conversation with Charles Eames", 359,
St. Louis Oral History Project: Interview with Charles Eames, 366,
Notes on "Powers of Ten", 383,
U.S.-Japan Conference on Cultural and Educational Interchange, 385,
Part Five 1980-1986,
"Warehouse Full of Ideas", 388,
Letter to Ronald Reagan, 389,
Note to Rolf Fehlbaum, 390,
From Business as Unusual, 392,
Index, 394,