The Designers of Herman Miller

herman the designers of

MILLER

herman the designers of

MILLER

donald albrecht

herman the designers of

MILLER MIT Press

Fifth printing, 2 013 First MIT Press edition, © 2 010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mech anical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher.

Design by Rachel Faye Kapicak.

Set in Avenir LT and Memphis LT. Printed and bound in the United States of America.

Library of Congress Cataloging– in– Publication Data Albrecht, Donald.

The Designers of Herman Miller / Donald Albrecht. p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0 – 76 43 –1119 –3 1 Miller, Her man.

2 Furniture-United States.

3 Designers-United States.

I T itle.

N K1412.E18K 57 2 010 74 5.4’4922 — d c 20 94 — 2 4920 CI P

tableofCONTENTS

3

acknowledgements

13

introduction

14

pa r t o n e

Designers of Mid-Century Classics 14

chapter 1

Charles and

Ray Eames

15

chapter 2

George Nelson

16

chapter 3

Isamu Noguchi

17

pa r t t w o

Designers of other Herman Miller

classics—past, present, and future

18

chapter 4

Gilbert Rohde

19

chapter 5

Alexander Girard

20

chapter 6

Robert Propst

21

chapter 7

Jack Kelley

22

chapter 8

Don Chadwick

23

chapter 9

Bill Stumpf

24

chapter 10

Tom Newhouse

25

chapter 11

Geoff Hollington

26

chapter 12

Bruce Burdick

27

chapter 13

Stephen Frykholm

11 28

chapter 14

Other Designers

Paul Laszio : Fritz Haller : Poul Kjaerholm

Verner Panton : Jorgen Rasmussen : Peter

Protzmann : Ray Wilkesz : Tom Edwards

29

conclusion

30

bibliography

36

index

12

herman miller furniture

INTRODUCTION I used to work at home on an uncomfort-

and a sturdy four-pronged pedestal with

able old chair, probably from a dining set,

wheels (I also discovered an ingenious

in front of a 1950s blonde wood desk that

keyboard stand called a Scooter). My

did not accommodate a computer and

husband Ramon looked at the chair, sat

keyboard. It is too difficult to part with

down, stood up, sat down again and said,

the desk, but I recently brought home

‘This is a wonderful desk chair.” Then he

an Eames Soft Pad Chair with polished

looked at it again and added, “It’s also

aluminum arms and frame, cushioned

beautiful. We could use it just as well in

leather upholstery, a seat with adjust-

the family room or even the living room.”

able height that tilts back and swivels,

(He probably forgot that the living room

eames wire chair Photo from He rman M i l l e r We b si t e

herman miller furniture

leslie pina

13

eames dining setting with eames chairs Ph o t o f r o m He r m a n M i l l e r We b si t e

16

charles&rayEAMES Much of the Eameses’ work stands in

Ray Eames belonged to a generation

the best tradition of the design reform

of designers who, before, during, and

movement (which argued for making

immediately after World War II, were

high-quality everyday objects available

determined to make the world a better

at reasonable prices), and also in the

place in which to live but were not

best tradition of modernism (which,

wedded to a narrow or solely stylistic

from the 1920s on, offered a vision of

definition of modernism. Without ever

harnessing new technologies, industrial

losing sight of their serious objectives,

production, and relevant design to the

the Eameses brought to their products

service of humankind). Charles and

a lightness of spirit that, to a degree,

eames molded plastic chair Photo from He rman M i l l e r We b si t e

charles and ray eames

pat kirkham

17

disguised their commitment and dedication. Their furniture, their films, and their exhibitions delighted the eye, the mind, and the spirit; they also worked well.

The Eameses’ work was often innovative, although they always insisted that

designers should innovate only as a last resort. 1 They reveled in the particular constraints of specific briefs and in the rationalistic search for the best possible solution to the problem at hand, yet they produced work that has been described as poetic. If, as Frank Lloyd Wright said, the poetry of architecture is that which touches the heart, 2 then it is not difficult to understand why Paul Schrader and others have referred to the work of the Eameses in that way. 3 It was not simply their liberal use of hearts and

18

flowers, their direct appeal to what they perceived as universal truths and the inner

1 charles eames / virginia stith , 1977.

2 frank lloyd wright , an autobiography ( london , 1977), p . 362. s 3 paul schrader , “ poetry of ideas ,� film quarterly , spring 1970, p . 10. see also blueprints for modern living , p . 52.

charles and ray eames

19

setting with eames molded wood side chairs with wire bases P h oto 1960 by C h a rles Eames

from top left: grouping of chairs from the herman miller c o l l e c t i o n 19 5 2 c ata l o g Photo by Charles E a m e s Of f i c e

d e ta i l o f d i s p l ay s h o w i n g va r i e t i e s o f storage units produced

19 5 0 – 19 5 5

Photo 1952 by Charles E a m e s Of f i c e

eames desk, side view P h o t o f r o m He r m a n M i l l e r We b si t e

charles and r ay e a m e s P h o t o f r o m He r m a n M i l l e r We b si t e

20

admired by many. In this they achieved

ness and effectivity of their compositions and imagery that made many of their products

the modernist designer’s dream of enrich-

so memorable; as in a symphony, the whole was much more than the sum of the parts.

ing the lives of ordinary people with

quality objects produced by means of

In their passion to convey their enthusiasm to others, the Eameses “shaped

not only things but the way people think about

things.” 4

Their films, exhibitions, and

the most up-to-date technology.

multi screen presentations show them to have been at the forefront of new thinking

about the most effective and pleasurable ways of communicating knowledge to large

the Eameses’ work, including ideas

numbers of people. Their exhibitions and multiple-image shows, in particular, reached

drawn from the Arts and Crafts move-

large and largely appreciative audiences. Their design work was respected by the cog-

ment, from Frank Lloyd Wright, from

noscenti and, at the same time, popular in the sense of being seen, used, enjoyed, and

European modernism, from Japanese

4 walter mcquade , “ charles eames isn ’ t resting on his chair ,” fortune , february 1975, p . 98.

The multifarious influences on

charles and ray eames

humanity of people the world over, or even the power of their ideas and the exquisite-

21

architecture and design, from “primitiv-

furniture was more plastic in form.

ism,” from contemporary fine art, from

Their buildings and many of their furnit-

the “Romantic” interior, from Californian

ure pieces were minimalist, yet their films,

modernism, and from a belief in the

multi-screen presentations, exhibitions,

pleasures of work, have been traced. No

toys, and decorative arrangements of

matter what the sources, the end result

objects drew on addition, juxtaposition,

was invariably distinctive and informed

fragmentation, cross-cultural and extra-

by a concern with structure; for the Eame-

cultural reference, repetition, and excess.

ses, designing a chair, an exhibition, a

However, as Esther McCoy has pointed

film, or the front page of a newspaper

out, the interaction between the minimal-

was as much about structure as was

ist frames of the Eameses’ buildings and

designing a building. Despite this, there

their “varied and rich” contents was simi-

was not a single aesthetic formula that

lar to that between the structure and the

related to every area of their work; the

content of their films and exhibitions. 5

architecture, for instance, favored the

geometric forms of International Style

shift in postwar American taste toward

modernism, whereas a great deal of the

favoring organic over geometric forms,

p r e l i m i n a r y d r aw i n g f o r e a m e s g a n g i n g s ta c k i n g s h e l l c h a i r showing measurements and d e ta i l s , 19 5 5

Eames products were part of a

and they found success at a time when modernist design was broadening from a movement with aspirations toward the monolithic to a pluralism in which alternative aesthetics coexisted more or less happily. The Eameses eschewed exclusive insistence on a machine aesthetic, which they used only when and where it suited them. The Cranbrook experience was crucial to their joint work; it validated the eclecticism inherent in Charles’s earlier designs while extending his knowledge and understanding of International Style architecture and design, and it tempered Ray’s more purist modernism.

In Eero Saarinen and in Ray, Charles Eames found empathetic and immensely charles and ray eames

talented collaborators. The furniture he designed with Saarinen certainly proved seminal to the later work of the Eames Office, but it was with Ray that Charles produced some of the most visually interesting and technologically adventurous furniture of the mid twentieth century.

For every designer who was influenced by the Eameses in terms of style, there

were others who drew strength from their commitments to design as a problem-solving exercise, to quality at every level, and to engagement with a wide range of activities, issues, and commercial contexts. They became well known as designers and communi-

23

cators in the United States, in Western Europe, in Japan, and in India.

5 esther mccoy , “ charles and ray eames ,” design quarterly 98/99 (1974–75), p . 29. there is also a direct link between the design process of looking at a problem from the scale above and the scale below ( a process charles eames learned from eliel saarinen ) and the film

“ powers of ten .”

eventually everything connects

—

people , ideas ,

objects . the quality of the connections is the key to quality per se .

—

charles eames

24

group of unupholstered wire chairs with eiffel tower bases P h o t o 19 52 by C h a rles Eames

charles and ray eames

After World War II Japan paid great attention to American design, and from the early 1950s on the Eameses’ work was publicized there by Torao (“Tiger”) Saito of Japan Today. 6 In India they became near-celebrities after the release of the Eames Report, which considered the question of design in modern India in relation to small industries and the “rapid deterioration in the design and quality of consumer goods.” 7 Insofar as this report led to the establishment of the National Institute of Design, the Eameses had a direct impact on design education in India. 8 Their indirect influence was felt in many other countries through design teachers who took them and their methods as models.

The furniture was particularly influential. Beginning in 1950, the plywood and

plastic pieces received considerable publicity in leading Western European design magazines, such as Domus and Bauen und Wohnen, and department stores. 9 It inspired many designers, particularly in Italy, West Germany, France, Britain, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia. 10

Eames furniture was manufactured and distributed by the Herman Miller Furni-

ture Company, or by firms under license to it, all over the world. The management of Herman Miller was horrified at the first imitations of the molded plastic shell furniture

(dining chair, wood) and ( l o u n g e c h a i r , w o o d ) pa i n t e d dcw

p ly w o o d P h o t o 19 81 b y B i l l S h a r p e

lcw molded

but soon realized that this did not stop

is widely acknowledged, not least by

the upward sweep of the sales curve of

those architects themselves. They,

the originals. More than 5 million of the

Michael and Patti Hopkins, and others

chairs were sold in the 25 years after they

have paid homage to the work of the

All over the world

Eameses, not only in the concepts and

people experienced these chairs and

structures of their buildings but also in

other pieces of Eames furniture in

their use of Eames furniture. 13

offices, schools, colleges, and homes.

media presentations, particularly those

The Eames House (their only

Their exhibitions, films, and multi-

widely known architectural work) was

prepared for World’s Fairs, were seen by

celebrated in Europe as proving that

great numbers of people. Several genera-

the purist, rationalist aesthetic of the

tions of Americans were introduced to

International Style could produce habit-

scientific and mathematical concepts

able

buildings. 12

The influence of the

through them—particularly the exhibi-

Eames House on modernist and “high-

tions. Charles’s “deep understanding of

tech” architects (particularly Norman and

the processes of science and technology”

Wendy Foster and Richard and Su Rogers)

greatly impressed some of the top

6 ray eames and elaine sewell jones , interviews with pat kirkham , 1983 and 1991 respectively

7 eames report , 1958.

8 charles last visited india in january 1978, shortly before his death , and spoke to staff and students at the nid . ray last visited the nid in december 1987, when she presented the first charles eames award

9 reyner banham , “ klarheit , ehrlichkeit , einfachkeit … and wit too !” in blueprints , pp . 184 –187.

charles and ray eames

were first

produced. 11

10 see holland in vorm , ed . g . staal and h . wolters ( haarlem , 1987), which illustrates furniture very derivative of that of the eameses by w . rietveld , u . gispen , f . kramer , and c . braakman . see also gingerich ,

“ conversation with charles eames ;’ p .

329; wilk , “ eames furniture : antecedents and progeny ,” and guy julier , “ radical modernism in contemporary spanish design ” in modernism in design , ed . p . greenhalgh ( london , 1990), p . 222.

27 11 gingerich , “ conversation with charles eames ,” p . 328.

12 banham , “ klarheit ,” pp . 184 –187.

13 for example , the hopkins house , in london ( michael and patti hopkins , 1975) and the sainsbury centre , in norwich ( norman and wendy foster , 1974 –1978).

d i s p l ay s how i n g va r i e t i e s o f storage units produced

1 9 5 0 – 19 5 5

experts in those fields.14 This and the role

fascinated with interactive media and

a similar manner.15 Today some of the

he and Ray played in demystifying and

“hyperreality.” It seems more than likely,

techniques once hailed as sophisticated16

popularizing the computer deserve

for example, that they would have been

seem somewhat passé and some of the

greater recognition than they have so far

involved in developing the communica-

ideas naive, but the films have aged

been given.

tions and educational potential of

better than many other short films of the

interactive video, which allows for the

period (both “artistic” and “informa-

criticized in their time for being over-

differential exploration of images and

tional” ones) because they have a strong

loaded with text, objects, and ideas

information.

aesthetic framework as well as offering

suggest that, had they been working in

intellectual and emotional stimulation.

the 1990s, the Eameses would have been

many admirers, some of whom worked in

The exhibitions that were most

In their day the Eameses’ films had

14 see bernard i . cohen , “ introduction to

Paul Schrader recognized their signifi-

15 schrader (“ poetry of ideas ,” p . 10) cites

the office of charles and ray eames ,” in

wheaton galantine ’ s treadle and bobbin

a computer perspective ( cambridge , mass .,

(1954) and don levy ’ s time is (1964) as directly

1990), p . 5.

influenced by eames films . “ powers of ten ” has directly influenced a range of films and advertisements , including peter greenaway ’ s dante (1988) and a british telecom television commercial (1989).

16 national film theatre , london , november 1975. charles eames spoke at the nft on november 10, 1975.

charles and ray eames

Photo 1952 by Char l e s Eame s Office

29

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