HOMES & LIFESTYLES MAGAZINE
MODERN classics BEST LIVING SPACES
are enjoying quite a renaissance. Clutter is disappearing from today’s interiors that want to express “less is more”. Home owners and apartment dwellers are discovering the richness of timeless design while enjoying its smaller scale and simplicity. Furniture becomes classic when it demonstrates a lasting appeal, an original personality, and innovative beauty and function. Classics are living proof that good things endure; they have a way of evoking a particular time and making time irrelevant.
Whether a person is considering embarking on an entire new look or blending in an accent piece, it is good to know a little bit about the history of the Modern Classics.
WRITTEN BY: Bobbie Paul Senior Designer – Western Contract Interiors
With today’s interest in simplicity and clean design, it is little wonder why classic design is enjoying popularity today.
After World War II, new materials such as molded plywood and cast aluminum appeared. The works of Charles Eames are typical examples of mid-century design. The Eames Molded Plywood and Aluminum Group chairs brought about a fresh new look and approach to furniture. It was more than a look, however. It was a statement that design is for living. The Eames believed that furniture should be designed to fulfill the practical needs of people and simply bring pleasure to our lives. Their thinking and designs flourished, due to the new manufacturing possibilities of the era. Mass production was no longer an issue. War efforts made that so.
A VERY BRIEF HISTORY The furniture of the Shakers can actually be considered the first standardized, mass-
coconut chair
produced fur niture. Purity and simplicity of form, while not an aesthetic design objective, was the driving force to their design efforts. Their goal was to produce functional items of the highest quality that were devoid of all that was useless and vain. The austere simplicity of their design style couples well with the thinking of the modernists. Furniture became an industrial product in the 1850ies. The popular bentwood side chair by Michael Thonet can be considered the first example of such furniture. Forty million bentwood side chairs were sold between 1859 and 1914. Machine-formed rods of laminated wood were curved and bent under steam pressure, using strips of tin-plate to hold the stems and bend the wood beyond its natural elasticity without breaking. Thonet’s revolutionary techniques set a standard that changed the furniture industry forever.
Marcel Breuer, Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier explored the mass production of furniture using steel as its structural material. The Corbusier Chaise Lounge (1928), the Breuer Wassily Chair (1925) and the Mies van der Rohe Barcelona Chair (1928) are fine examples of this new era of mass-production. However, steel as a manufacturing method was not an inexpensive material in those days. While the designs looked machine made, they were actually very labor-intensive to produce.
With today’s interest in simplicity and clean design, it is little wonder why classic design is enjoying popularity today. Holding universal and everlasting appeal, the Modern Classics claim understated style and clean lines. It is important to remember though, that while all of these designs appear to be “modern”, they were designed up to 80 years ago. By their timelessness in shape and materials and the unique character of each piece, the works of the modernist designers deserve to be called truly classic.
A CLOSER LOOK AT THREE Knowing the background of a designer helps one to understand the intent of their work. Charles Eames, George Nelson, and Isamu Noguchi are three of the great designers of the modern classics. Charles Eames (1907 - 1978) and his wife Ray (1912-1988) used industrial production techniques to extend the boundaries of design and create a whole new look. Their boundless talents helped to give shape to America’s twentieth century. They developed their process for molding plywood at home in what they called their “Kazam Machine”. This device was their version of a curing oven. It let them create their own plywood and give it shape by using a bicycle pump to inflate a rubber membrane that pushed glued plies of wood against a curved electrically heated plaster mold. In 1942, as their contribution to the war effort, they developed a plywood splint to set broken bones. Their Molded Plywood Chair, designed in 1946, was named the Best Design of the 20th Century by Time magazine. Their Molded Plywood Coffee Table and the Molded Plywood Folding Screen are beautiful companions. In 1940, Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen submitted the prototype for the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman to the Museum of Modern Art in a competition for Organic Design in Home Furnishings. The lounge chair was introduced in 1956 on the “Today Show”. The contemporary icon, which Charles hoped would simply have “the warm receptive look of a well used first baseman’s mitt” is now on permanent display at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Their Storage and Desk Units, introduced in 1950, were the result of work they had done for a 1949 exhibition at the Detroit Institute of Arts. These pieces reveal a machine aesthetic and modularity that was truly ahead of its times.
Committees and corporations don’t design classics. Individuals do.
eames lounge chair & ottoman
Their Elliptical Table, designed in 1951 coupled a manufacturing technique for welding wire-rod bases with a shape reminiscent of a surf board. Their WireBase Tables, introduced in 1950 were built with the same technique. In 1960, Ray Eames designed the Walnut Stools for the Time-Life Building in New York City. Made of solid walnut, these stools can be used as places to sit, low tables, display surfaces or simply objects of art. In 1953, their Hang It All made the screen, illustrating their sense of play in their work. In 1951, their design for the Wire-Base Side Chairs won them the first American mechanical patent for design. Their Soft Pad and Aluminum Group Chairs, in production since 1958, offer an innovative suspension for a firm, flexible “sitting pocket” that subtly conforms to the body’s shape. The Sofa Compact, in production since 1954, and the Eames Sofa, since 1984, are two strong but unobtrusive solutions to sofa seating. The Eames Chaise, introduced in 1968 and just 18”w, was the Eames’ solution to film director Billy Wilder’s request for a place to take a quick nap.
George Nelson (1908 – 1986) began his career as an architect, which was typical of many Modern Classic designers. He was designer, teacher and author. Educated at Yale, he traveled and studied international style before settling down as the Artistic Director for Herman Miller, Inc. He believed that, “product has to be honest” because “there is always a market for good design”. His Platform Bench is a great example of his appreciation for clean lines. His Nelson Table, designed in 1954, is another example of pleasing balance of style and function. The contours of his Coconut Chair invite you to surround yourself in comfort. In his 1956 statement about the chair, Nelson said that it was developed to give lounge seating comfort together with great freedom of movement. A chair designed to look like a section of a coconut shell; it offered shapely comfort t h a t a n y o n e c a n re l a t e t o . H i s Marshmallow Sofa illustrates how the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. As the 1956 Herman Miller catalogue put it, “Despite its astonishing appearance, this piece is very comfortable.”
“Things of quality have no fear of time.”
Isamu Noguchi (1904 – 1989) felt that there was no line between art and furniture. Raised in Japan and America, his famous Noguchi Table pairs Western and Oriental cultures. As a sculptor, Noguchi assisted Gutzon Borgium who is famous for his presidential sculptures on Mount Rushmore. In his lifetime, Noguchi was famous for, not only his sculpture, but also his gardens, monuments, fountains and even dance stage settings for c h o re o g r a p h e r M a r t h a G r a h a m . RELAX HOMES & LIFESTYLES™ MAGAZINE
“THINGS OF QUALITY HAVE NO FEAR OF TIME” is a framed statement in the showroom at Western Contract Interiors, Herman Miller dealer in San Jose, CA. These words seem to hold the essence of great design. It has been a pleasure writing this brief salute to the Modern Classics for the premier issue of Relax Magazine.
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Modern Classics
How to Purchase Copies may be found at furniture and department stores. Originals, made to the exact design and materials specifications, are available from various catalogue and online sources; but the best prices and service can generally be obtained through contract furnishing showrooms. These companies typically have lower overhead; and therefore, can offer the highest quality and services for the best price.
Western Contract Interiors, a Silicon Valley favorite for professional design services. With almost half a century of experience in providing fine contract furnishings and design, Western Contract has established a reputation for high-quality design and excellent customer relations. Whether you’re looking for a single Aeron chair or need space planning for an entire office, the knowledgeable design staff will provide you with personal attention, great prices and creative solutions. So come see why Western Contract Interiors is known for representing the widest selection of quality furnishings with professional services at significant savings.
www.westerncontract.net
298 JACKSON STREET, JAPANTOWN SAN JOSE 408 275 9600